Is file 11 boss really that tough? At worst I've had to use two batteries on the boss for file 9 mostly because the mechanics were janky as fuck. Other than that I maybe died once or twice the entire game. Guess I'll find out tonight...
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ASTRAL CHAIN™ |OT| PoPo's Bizarre Adventure
- Thread starter vestan
- Start date
I mean that mechanic work with trailing missions for just to blend yourself with people and surrounding .stealth section required you to move around quicker than trailing missions so cut out that animation seem reasonable.
Solid post. While I don't agree with everything here, I do feel the same about a good deal of what you're saying. I'm hoping to finish the game today. I started the last file a few days ago and I've had to spread it out over a few days because I quickly lose interest, and at this point I just want it to be done. Don't get me wrong I was having a blast with the game for a long while, but like I said earlier it's a game that really could have used some trimming of the fat. I liken it to a movie that could have been excellent at a tight 90 minutes, but they made it 2 1/2 hours. I remember early on being excited about the idea of going back to explore and open new areas with new legions and all that, but I have virtually 0 interest in doing that at this point. I think the File structure kind of killed that for me.
I'm not bored with it at this point but yeah, it does file like the game would have been better as a semi open world thing. Ditch the file structure, let me go where I want in the city during down time and let me do secondary missions whenever I feel like it.
For the sequel, hopefully?
EDIT : At the least the game has a nifty solution to let you play a specific mission for a better score BUT in a typical PlatinumGames fashion it's easy to miss it. I don't know if the game explains it to you after you finished the story, tbh.
For the sequel, hopefully?
EDIT : At the least the game has a nifty solution to let you play a specific mission for a better score BUT in a typical PlatinumGames fashion it's easy to miss it. I don't know if the game explains it to you after you finished the story, tbh.
I don't always agree with EatChildren but this post really sums up my feelings on the game. There's a really good game at the core but there's so much crap to sift through to get to it, and it's a shame.
Doesn't matter.
The bonus comes when you hit 80% of clean-up.
I had about the same experience as you. He's definitely tougher than anything else in the game. I got him on the second attempt. He's more of a damage sponge than anything else in the game so it takes a good while to finish. On my second run I realized that I had him down well enough that I would get him at least in the next few tries, so I was more worried about starting it over again than whether or not I'd actually beat him.
He's tough relative to the rest of the game on PT Standard, but he's not as bad as say a really tough soulsborne or sekiro type of boss. I guess you get that later with File 12 and ultimate difficulty. I think the difficulty was appropriate for a normal mode playthrough.
Go to your PC and access File Select, you will be greeted with the rank summary
So what you suggest is to have Files as these linear Action missions while all the exploration (outside of maybe Astral Plane) is localized in the big city hub?
I support tightening up, but I'm not sure I'd like it that much. I'd rather have them improve investigations.
How many extra costumes are there?
I don't mean individual pieces for the Police gear, but complete costumes.
I don't mean individual pieces for the Police gear, but complete costumes.
What is the parry ability called? I read about it but then forgot. Also, what legions have i-frames on their sync attacks? Beast and arm? Thanks!
Yeah, a big hub that updates between chapters. You could make it a giant extension of Neuron HQ and contextualize it as going on patrol.
My Parry comes with an ability code called Call Lock +0.5 sec
The sub-ability itself is called Parry Attack
Legion rushing move (throw with flicking the right stick that goes through enemies) is called Legion Rush and it came bundled with an E-Convert Range +100%.
THIS is what's so weird. These come bundled as sub-perks of mundane modifiers. At leas these particular samples.
best post i´ve seen about the game.
for me it was a 7/10 at best, it just doesn´t come together in a "well done" way.
the combat system has a low skill ceiling which shows in file 12, it is all far too automated, it doesn´t flow in the way a good character action game should flow.
and yeah, 30fps for such a game isn´t great at all, it feels like it runs slower than it should. first Platinum game where i´ve played 2 levels on Platinum Ultimate and sold the game. it didn´t motivate me at all to play it again whereas in all the other Platinum games i was urging for the highest difficulty. (bar Nier Automata which i also didn´t like)
the irony is, i´ve played Transformers Devastation in the last days again and the combat system there has so much more impact and crunch that it made the lacking combat system of Astral Chain even more obvious.
in short, Astral Chain tries to be 3 games in one and doesn´t excel in any area. the exploration is in smallish, claustrophobic areas, the fighting doesn´t feel powerful and the whole minigame/quest stuff feels like padding.
as a result, Astral Chain is the Platinum game that i´ve enjoyed the least of all games they made so far.
Oh hi, combo videos! Was waiting for these to start materializing.
There's a lot more potential for air play in here than a few people give it credit for.
I mean, it's on on rail section.
I love this motorcycle and its segments.
Semi Open World Sequel where we drive around town on this Bike when?
Actual driving would handle and feel differently.
Yeah but I used it too early and didn't charge up in time for the final section
I would give the boss a few more tries. File 12 opens up a lot of extra content.
Try detaching your arrow legion to keep him occupied and hit him from behind. Keep the axe legion handy to quickly generate a shield for his ranged attacks. If you feel yourself being sucked into that ball thing, send your legion away from you and the boss and chain jump out of it. It would be helpful if you have fusion, but I'm not sure you totally need it. Otherwise just try to stay alive as long as you can, its a battle of attrition. Use all the health and upgrades and batteries you have.
I completed the game last night and overall I really liked it. The only slump in the game for me was File 8, but other than that I really enjoyed the game's combat and overall style.
I finally managed to beat Noah in Pt Ultimate. What a shitshow, almost everything that wasn´t a melee attack was a OHKO, not a fan of that. The boss was very cool and with a more balanced damage output it could be really fun to fight, I like how a lot of attacks can easily be stopped by the correct Legion technique, though it´s also true that just riding the beast will get you through anything.
I´m going through the file 12 missions in Pt Standard now, it´s amazing how easy things seem now after beating the game in Pt Ultimate. I like a lot the combat system but I also think it´s not balanced at all: It seems like the devs just made everything overpowered and then just throw in a bunch of enemies at you to try to overwhelm you, but with Howl, Slow Shot and Gravity Bomb you can gain instant control of almost any battlefield and you still have Axe´s barrier and shields or you can ride Beast to become untouchable. There should be some special type of attacks that can break Axe´s barrier in one hit, other to hit you when you´re riding Beast and some special kind of floor (maybe summonable by enemies) where Beast can´t walk.
I don´t like that some times the camera will fuck you over and if you just mash buttons and unleash techniques in a panic you´ll most likely destroy all the enemies and even get a S+ (seriously, the ranking system is just horrible, it has no meaning at all). The camera shouldn´t be that bad and you should get killed if you act mindlessly.
Also, there´s really bad checkpoint placement. This wasn´t an issue in Pt Standard as you rarely died, but playing through Ultimate without using healing items it´s a different story. For example, there´s this time you have to tail a guy, then a portal will open and you´ll get into a lengthy fight. If you lose you spawn right back at the base so have to go search for the guy to start the mission again, skip the cutscenes, perform the tailing sequence and then go back into the Astral Plane to do the fight again. Same with the stealth sections, if you find a secret portal and lose the fight you´re put back at he beginning of the level and have to do all the stealth section again. It tremendously disencourages trying to get good at the game as if you die 3 or 4 times you´ll eventually become so tired of the preceding sections that you´ll give in and just use healing items or whatever to get it over. Even the final boss does something like this in a lesser extent: If you die you have to skip a cutscene every time,
. It´s not too long, but after some tries it starts piling up. What is more bizarre is that the section already puts you right at the start of the boss, there´s nothing more to do so why did they have to bring you right before the cutscene every single time? At least the game allows you to select specific parts of a file to jump into and you can get out as soon as you beat that part you want, but it still could do better. I hope Bayo3 gives you straight access to every single verse from a menu and just cuts out the bullshit. These games are designed to be replayed and master the nuances of the combat system, yet at the same time they always have some bullshit that tries to make it as tedious as possible.
I´d really like for there to be a way to detect Beast and Arrow´s collectibles more easily once you´ve gone through the level 2 or 3 times. I´m not going to walk through each level a 4th time walking the Beast legion all around while looking with the camera at every corner, that was nice 2 or 3 times, but enough is enough. BTW, when I realized that the Beast legion wouldn´t detect hidden spots if you weren´t manually moving it around I wanted to scream. Having it walk besides you or riding it doesn´t do anything :(
I think that once I´m done with the file 12 missions I´ll be done with the game, the combat system has a lot of depth but there´s nothing in the game to incite you to master it.
BTW, some nice combos:
Those look cool, but is there the only launcher the perfect evade+ZR move? All combos start with that :/
I´m going through the file 12 missions in Pt Standard now, it´s amazing how easy things seem now after beating the game in Pt Ultimate. I like a lot the combat system but I also think it´s not balanced at all: It seems like the devs just made everything overpowered and then just throw in a bunch of enemies at you to try to overwhelm you, but with Howl, Slow Shot and Gravity Bomb you can gain instant control of almost any battlefield and you still have Axe´s barrier and shields or you can ride Beast to become untouchable. There should be some special type of attacks that can break Axe´s barrier in one hit, other to hit you when you´re riding Beast and some special kind of floor (maybe summonable by enemies) where Beast can´t walk.
I don´t like that some times the camera will fuck you over and if you just mash buttons and unleash techniques in a panic you´ll most likely destroy all the enemies and even get a S+ (seriously, the ranking system is just horrible, it has no meaning at all). The camera shouldn´t be that bad and you should get killed if you act mindlessly.
Also, there´s really bad checkpoint placement. This wasn´t an issue in Pt Standard as you rarely died, but playing through Ultimate without using healing items it´s a different story. For example, there´s this time you have to tail a guy, then a portal will open and you´ll get into a lengthy fight. If you lose you spawn right back at the base so have to go search for the guy to start the mission again, skip the cutscenes, perform the tailing sequence and then go back into the Astral Plane to do the fight again. Same with the stealth sections, if you find a secret portal and lose the fight you´re put back at he beginning of the level and have to do all the stealth section again. It tremendously disencourages trying to get good at the game as if you die 3 or 4 times you´ll eventually become so tired of the preceding sections that you´ll give in and just use healing items or whatever to get it over. Even the final boss does something like this in a lesser extent: If you die you have to skip a cutscene every time,
then watch an unskippable cutscene of the boss summonning those platforms into the air and taking you with him
I´d really like for there to be a way to detect Beast and Arrow´s collectibles more easily once you´ve gone through the level 2 or 3 times. I´m not going to walk through each level a 4th time walking the Beast legion all around while looking with the camera at every corner, that was nice 2 or 3 times, but enough is enough. BTW, when I realized that the Beast legion wouldn´t detect hidden spots if you weren´t manually moving it around I wanted to scream. Having it walk besides you or riding it doesn´t do anything :(
I think that once I´m done with the file 12 missions I´ll be done with the game, the combat system has a lot of depth but there´s nothing in the game to incite you to master it.
BTW, some nice combos:
- Use Axe´s shields, then Hit Rush.
- Change to Arm, use Gravity Bomb.
- Change to Sword, activate Circle Swords. The enemies should already be gathering around the Gravity Bomb, so bind them all and perform the followup Sync attacks. Alternatively you can Hit Rush with Sword after binding the enemies and call out Axe or Arm to manually attack the binded enemies (Gladius combos with Axe will destroy most mobs). Axe´s shields should stop you from being interrupted if any enemy escapes the bind too soon.
- You´ll most likely have now destroyed 4 or more mobs, making the rest of the encounter very easy. If they´re still standing use Howl, as they´ll all still be close together after the Gravity Bomb you´ll most likely stun all of them.
- Use Slow Shot to stop the survivors from attacking. By the time it runs out you´ll most likely be ready to unleash another Gravity Bomb if you want to, but it´s rarely needed at this point as all that´s left is probably the boss if there´s one.
They can both come as main abilities as well, I have a Parry Attack with no subs and a Legion Rush with 2 subs. I think abilities are randomized, so if you are hunting for something you can farm the level 12 missions which after the first completion will each reward you with a specific ability.
Those look cool, but is there the only launcher the perfect evade+ZR move? All combos start with that :/
There's a number of moves that look like launchers to me.
Like Arm's and Axe's back-forward commands, although I haven't tested those.
Edit: Yep, take a closer look at around 1:30. Axe back-forward is indeed a launcher, it seems.
Damn, if there's one tweak I REALLY want for part 2's combat, it's to give me the damn thing for my standard moveset. Parry is a random drop I need to farm, lol.
Yeah you´re right. IMHO this is what makes AC´s combat so different from previous P* games, you have very few options to stay in the air safely dealing damage.
Yup, I agree. I still haven´t found which mission (if any) in level 12 gives you the Parry Attack, will let you know if I come across it as I´m also hunting for it :P
While I think that the groundedness of the combat system is kinda overstated by some people, I think they could safely expand air play in the sequel without detracting from that uniqueness. For one thing, they could have all the command moves have their own aerial permutations with associated Syncs.
Also, using the chain like spring-rope, if an air-comboed enemy falls on it, to throw them back in the air for more punishment.
Another reason why I'd like more aerial options is because Winged Chimeras don't shy away from hitting you in the air, so it'd bee cool to have improved air capabilities to take them on up there.
I really love how secret bosses and encounters are hidden in this game.
I just randomly decided to trudge through the flames in 05 with Axe Legion's Barrier on and found a new shell type. Also lifted a switch based wall back up while standing on it, turned left and found a new Power-type boss. They even bothered recording a bit of dialogue for the intro cutscene (nothing major, just Olivia warning you about a signal approaching before it busts through a wall)!
THIS is the good shit. THIS is what the next game's downtime should double down on.
I just randomly decided to trudge through the flames in 05 with Axe Legion's Barrier on and found a new shell type. Also lifted a switch based wall back up while standing on it, turned left and found a new Power-type boss. They even bothered recording a bit of dialogue for the intro cutscene (nothing major, just Olivia warning you about a signal approaching before it busts through a wall)!
THIS is the good shit. THIS is what the next game's downtime should double down on.
I would leave Files pretty much as they are now but you would have the option of keeping secondary missions for after doing the File mission you're on.
Yeah, I'm for tightening up the individual files, but I don't want exploration to be relegated to some hub world.
Here's a really minor tip that isn't really useful, but is cool.
So pressing ZR while sprinting makes you do a cool slide kick, right? So when you need to access something behind a shutter, do you crawl under it like some loser or do you slide under it like a styling Stand Cop boss that you are?
I love this, lol. I know what I'm going to try next time I play.
Finally managed to get S+ in every case on PT Standard. The majority is not hard to get. But I had a hard time in some of them.
Next, I'll probably get all the collectables. Then, I'll finally start with File12.
PT Ultimate run is most likely gonna be my final act with the game. lol
Still so much to do. I love it
Next, I'll probably get all the collectables. Then, I'll finally start with File12.
PT Ultimate run is most likely gonna be my final act with the game. lol
Still so much to do. I love it
I feel like every screenshot I take in this game is a pixelated mess.
Which is a shame, because it's the kind of game where I take alot of screenshots.
Which is a shame, because it's the kind of game where I take alot of screenshots.
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I'd say put them through one of those newfangled AI upscalers but it'll only highlight just how bad the AA is in AC.
Finished the game on Platinum Standard with 35 hours and i think this is an outstanding title. File 11 is along with 9 my favourite thanks to the sublime final boss and basically everything that led up to him. Such an epic succession of great fights.
Already have beaten 3 cases in file 12 and i'm long not done with this game yet as it seems, having too much fun with the combat system:)
Negatives are the silent protagonist, which is by far my biggest downside to the experience, it just doesn't work.
Some aeras are reused to frequentely and the writing in general is not too hot, which makes some sidestuff tedious.
I'm not gonna elaborate what i love about the game, since it is pretty much perfect in everything else for my tastes.
Professional reviews reflect perfectly how i feel about the game: it's a 9/10 and a strong candidate for my personal GOTY.
Already have beaten 3 cases in file 12 and i'm long not done with this game yet as it seems, having too much fun with the combat system:)
Negatives are the silent protagonist, which is by far my biggest downside to the experience, it just doesn't work.
Some aeras are reused to frequentely and the writing in general is not too hot, which makes some sidestuff tedious.
I'm not gonna elaborate what i love about the game, since it is pretty much perfect in everything else for my tastes.
Professional reviews reflect perfectly how i feel about the game: it's a 9/10 and a strong candidate for my personal GOTY.
I honestly didn't care about playing as a silent protagonist, one way or anotherm except for a couple of scenes where your MC is trying hard to emote properly, but can't because they are contractually obligated to stay silent.
Collectible collection rate is shared between all difficulties (as well as blue missions) so you could play through Pt Ultimate while finding the ones you missed.
I know but thank you!
I just don't wanna bother about finding hidden stuff in my PT Ultimate run. ^^
Has this been confirmed? I also read that they move more slowly but haven´t seen any confirmation either way. BTW I´m trying to not clean my Legions to see if I feel anything different, but haven´t found anything yet.
Supposedly Taura has confirmed but I haven't seen the confirmation firsthand.