Incline Elminage Gothic (former Japan only dungeon crawler)

[eric__s]

Yeah, my pal sabotaged my team and made one really old hotlet who is going to die in like 4 years. I've also got a fairy who will die at age 30, so age is something I'm kind of concerned about and clearly blew at character creation.

Here's my team -

It goes samurai - brawler - cleric - valkyrie - bard - alchemist

This is Mory, the character my friend made. She started out as a servant because what the fuck is a servant????? We had to find out. She's a "dutful" old lady that follows the party around and cleans up after them. We found out early on that servants aren't actually that good, so we made her an alchemist which made her age a year and lowered all her stats to the base. She's pretty awful and she's a geriatric but her alchemist spells are nice. The legend of Mory...

 

[Mortmal]

Yeah, my pal sabotaged my team and made one really old hotlet who is going to die in like 4 years. I've also got a fairy who will die at age 30, so age is something I'm kind of concerned about and clearly blew at character creation.

You can solve this by triggering the kiss of the goddess trap.

 

[Zetor]

Haha, Mory sounds pretty amazing. Also, screw magic drain traps.

 

[TigerKnee]

Servants are good as "final" classes.

Collect spells from multi-classing from other classes first because otherwise they'll just twiddle their thumbs.

 

[Chaotic_Heretic]

This plays a lot more like Wizardry than GTX and a lot less animu...But I honestly like GTX gameplay better.

But I am having to grind quite a bit at the start of the second dungeon... is it because i suck at this or expected?

Party is lizard Brawler/human Valkyrie/werebeast Bard/fairy Alchemist/dwarf Priest/elf wizard. No class changes yet.

 

[Crooked Bee]

60% off during the Halloween sale: http://store.steampowered.com/app/291960

 

[Lord Azlan]

Excellent tip - no time wasted - bought and installing - many thanks

 

[Dorateen]

So is anyone else still playing this jewel, this uncrowned 2014 cRPG of the Year? It seems a shame that there hasn't been a post in over two months, buried in this damnable quarter of the forums notwithstanding.

I found this game to be an excellent throwback to a style that just isn't seen anymore. Not only the party building and class progression, but even leveling up brings tension to the experience. I'm enjoying the exploration with the need for real mapping. Discovering secret doors after consulting hand-drawn maps on graph paper yields such satisfaction. Combat varies from amusing to challenging. Once the world map areas opened up, I like being able to choose where to go, and not be directed.

While MMX offered a more realized game world with better developed characters, I'm drawn to the superior dungeons and full party dynamic of Elminage Gothic. I also enjoy managing a roster of back-up parties to run errands or hold onto surplus items.

More players should check out this title.

 

[Crooked Bee]

It's good, but I enjoyed GTX: Code Hazard or even The Dark Spire (NDS) better when it came to dungeon design and character building, not to mention the more advanced stuff like Strange Journey. Perhaps you could check those out if you enjoy Early Wizardry-like RPGs.

MMX is very different from this type of RPGs, though. Not all blobbers are directly comparable.

 

[Dorateen]

I'll be sure to check those out at some point. While I do lean in preference toward the latter Wizardries, there's nothing wrong with a straight dungeon delve. I like having towns to visit and wilderness areas to traverse, which is why I was torn between MMX. But I can appreciate the efficiency of static menus just as well.

I think there are similiarities, however, among combat focused first person crawlers that can be looked at. For instance, I liked triggering abilities and special attacks in Legacy, but Gothic seems to have a better spell selection. Plus having two extra party members allows for more options and keeps things interesting. For me, it's all about the game infrastructure, and one that lets me to take the party I've created through its content. Naturally, I'm using the same four characters in both games, plus two others I haven't been able to party with since Storm of Zehir.

Actually, I thought I was going to end up making the same party from Crusaders. But it's due to the differences in EG, I've had to adjust accordingly. No fairie ninja this time, he's gone thief-hunter. And our previous bard is serving quite well in the role of alchemist.

 

[Crooked Bee]

Dorateen If you enjoy the combat focus of blobbers, you might do well to check out Labyrinth of Touhou 1+2. Personally I think those are tactically the best when it comes to menu-driven RPG combat -- and honestly, turn-based RPG combat in general. (Do search the JRPG forum for dedicated threads about those games.) The writing and setting are JRPG-like inane, but the combat is the most flexible, open-ended, and challenging among all TB RPGs I've ever played (and I have played a lot), especially when it comes to LoT2.

 

[LeStryfe79]

You all just got weak and gave up. Admit it.

 

[grudgebringer]

So is anyone else still playing this jewel, this uncrowned 2014 cRPG of the Year? It seems a shame that there hasn't been a post in over two months, buried in this damnable quarter of the forums notwithstanding.

I'm struggling to find a spare time, but I'll get back to it when it's possible. Definitely one of the brightest spots of the year.
According to GOTY awards not a lot of people tried it, though, so it's a question of awareness, I guess. But anyway I like it even more when underappreciated.

 

[Durante]

I recently managed to man up and actually get into this game, and I think it really might be the most underappreciated release of 2014. The fact that you need to put quite a lot of effort into it before seeing any reward (as in, interesting dungeon design or party building/dynamics) probably didn't help.

 

[Dorateen]

It is definitely one that rewards patience. Seeing those new textured dungeons after the multi-level opening caves, was a great moment. A lot of the appeal I find, is the unveiling of the next off-the-wall monster design waiting around the corner. (And subsquently executing a strategic retreat to come back later...)

 

[Damned Registrations]

I probably would have tried this earlier but I got fairly burnt out on the genre from Wizardry Xth; wherein I spent too many hours retracing my steps because I found a secret passage leading to a certain death trap. That game did not reward exploration.

 

[victim]

I have this game but its not near the top of my to-play list. Is it better than Elminage Original? I thought that one was ok but not gripping enough to finish.

 

[Shadenuat]

The need to click 20 times to do anything anywhere and read wiki to understand what the hell is a paladin ruined it for me, as well as all the random encounters, same textures and all that stuff. Strange, I thought I liked blobbers... I think I am broken. But I just didn't find everything fun. And you know what, I found Grimoire, no matter how broken and weird it is, fun, since it was just fun to look at and dungeon design was fairly well done.
Other than that, it's a blobber alright. Everything is a carbon copy of what you might used to, including starting city screen, bar, shop, all the stuff. And you will have to roll a lot to make that Ninja.
Sorry for being so decline.

 

[LeStryfe79]

Did you roll a ninja? I tried for 27 hours and didn't get one.

 

[grudgebringer]

The need to click 20 times to do anything anywhere and read wiki to understand what the hell is a paladin ruined it for me, as well as all the random encounters, same textures and all that stuff. Strange, I thought I liked blobbers... I think I am broken. But I just didn't find everything fun.

For me it's part of the game. You have to explore things and find out everything on your own. Don't try to build a perfect party and know just about everything, instead have fun with what you can do with different classes/skills and learn through the game.
And texturing is working great as a reward for working your way through dungeons, it's fun to discover different set of textures on deeper floors.

 

[Shadenuat]

Did you roll a ninja? I tried for 27 hours and didn't get one.

Biggest I rolled was about 30-35 I believe. Most chars got between 20 and 26. Rolling is great for some random pen and paper experience. In a video game?
ehh

 

[HiddenX]

RPGWatch review by Forgottenlor

 

[zwanzig_zwoelf]

So, how many people gave up and ran off from this game with their asses handed back to them? I'm considering to give this game a try.

 

[Rahdulan]

Outdone by RPG Watch. So who's going to pick up this cup and write Codex's own review?

 

[Lord Azlan]

RPGWatch review by Forgottenlor

Thanks for the link - it's a decent review - more or less what I already knew but some decent tips.

I have only engaged with it for a short time - but I think next time I try it I need all the tricks and tips written down somewhere - otherwise it will end as fail due to frustration.

Problem - tips and tricks aren't in one place!