Should I buy Baroque?

[CaptainFalcon13]

I was looking at the EBgames web site looking for mew videogame prospects and I saw on the cmoing videogames list Baroque. The title and cover got me and I looked the game up and it looks really good. I have not played the original for sega saturn, but I heard that it was really good. Is there any reason why I shouldn't get this game brand new for the low cost of forty dollars. thanks.
*_* *_* *_* *_* *_*

[suckerpunch5]

no, you should wait until you have money! HA!


(i blame april fools day for that one, sorry)

[Bojay1997]

It has received a couple of bad reviews so far. Not that reviews are everything, but for me it makes a difference in what I buy at full MSRP and what I wait for the inevitable price drop to buy. The fact that it is being released on PS2 and Wii indicates to me it won't be rare and probably not a risk if I wait.

[Sniderman]

Yes. You should go for Baroque.


:above me:

[Gapporin]

<Sniderman stole my joke. Curses.>

[TonyTheTiger]

Well, you know what they say. If it ain't Baroque, don't fix it!

[Sniderman]

http://i26.tinypic.com/1pa542.jpg

[Cinder6]

I'm interested in it. Be warned, Nintendo Power gave it a 3/10. Here's their review of it.


You may not have heard of it until now, but the Baroque series has been around for almost a decade in Japan. And while we usually envy Japanese gamers for getting games we don’t, in this case we would have been better off without it. You spend the majority of your time wandering through dungeons and fighting monsters in real time.

As in most dungeon-crawlers, Baroque’s combat is slowed down to the point that it almost feels turn-based, and it quickly grows boring. As you progress, you gain experience and collect items as you might expect, but when you die (a key gameplay element), you lose everything and have to start from square one.

On top of the boring gameplay, Baroque just throws you into the action from the get-go, with no explanation of what is going on or who you are. (The main character, conveniently, has amnesia.) When you die and are reincarnated, more of the story is explained, but it’s in little bits and pieces, and you’ll often find yourself wondering what to do and where to go next.

The rest of Baroque is underwhelming as well. The graphics are average, and the dungeons are drab and unimpressive. The localization— from lines that are completely nonsensical to the character who cheerfully adds “goddammit” to every sentence—is laughably bad, and doesn’t make the story any easier to comprehend. All in all, Baroque has few redeeming qualities, and your money is better spent elsewhere. —Tom H.
Final Score: 3/10

Actually, though, that review makes me want to play it more. The reviewer obviously doesn't like the amnesia part, but it sounds intriguing, along with the fact that dying is a "key mechanic" to the game. The reviewer seemed mostly to be complaining that the game is difficult and doesn't hold your hand, which I'm fine with.

Now I think about it, it sounds like a modern-day Roguelike, which is a good thing, in my book.

I just preordered it :) I think that's the first time a bad review has made me buy a game.

PS - I'm impressed that Atlus both sent that review in an email, and put it up on their forums for people to discuss.

[mailman187666]

well I've been playing this for a few hours and I gotta admit that it is pretty hard at first. You do start from square one when you die, but more of the story slowly becomes unlocked. I think its fun in its own way, but I'd choose any of the more recent PS2 rpgs (Mana Khamia, Person 3) over this one any day. Its weird because I'd die so easily and the more times I start over, the better at the game I get. There is a lot of item managment to it and it is a difficult game. The story is interesting though, and it makes me want to play it more in hopes that I will understand what I'm doing in it better. I will admit, it is confusing at first, and I'd go through the whole training sessions before actually getting into it. Whats everybody else think?

[roushimsx]

I don't normally play a lot of roguelikes, but I ordered this because it doesn't seem quite as hardcore as the others (without being as watered down as Pokemon Mystery Dungeon). Plus, I may or may not be completely homosexual for Sting. The company, not the singer.

[skaar]

well I've been playing this for a few hours and I gotta admit that it is pretty hard at first. You do start from square one when you die, but more of the story slowly becomes unlocked. I think its fun in its own way, but I'd choose any of the more recent PS2 rpgs (Mana Khamia, Person 3) over this one any day. Its weird because I'd die so easily and the more times I start over, the better at the game I get. There is a lot of item managment to it and it is a difficult game. The story is interesting though, and it makes me want to play it more in hopes that I will understand what I'm doing in it better. I will admit, it is confusing at first, and I'd go through the whole training sessions before actually getting into it. Whats everybody else think?

Ever play Nethack?

[mailman187666]

Ever play Nethack?

never heard of it.

[Juskin]

Get Mario Kart Wii.

[DKTheArcadeRat]

Reading NP's review makes me want to really play this game. Now the question is whether to get the PS2 or Wii version?

And Juskin. That prizerebel site sucks. They are really morons. More than one person can use a single IP. They never seem to understand that. (LONG STORY)

[Roufuss]

I don't normally play a lot of roguelikes, but I ordered this because it doesn't seem quite as hardcore as the others (without being as watered down as Pokemon Mystery Dungeon). Plus, I may or may not be completely homosexual for Sting. The company, not the singer.

My interest just shot up tenfold... I really like Sting's art style.

[Cinder6]

I started playing the game last night. It's pretty fun, and yes, it's hard. You will die a lot, but you can save in between each floor of the Tower you're in. If you have the option, I'd probably buy the Wii version, as it apparently has 16:9 mode, which the PS2 version unfortunately lacks.

[Oobgarm]

Looks like the Wii version is plentiful, while the PS2 version isn't.

Seems that most retailers have only gotten at most 2 PS2 copies versus 4+ for the Wii.

[PDorr3]

The Bst Buy I work at got 4-5 Wii copies (so far I think I am the only one who bought a copy) and 0 for PS2. I plan on trying it out sometime today I have been busy on Final Fantasy 11. I will post impressions. I bought Shiren the Wanderer too yesterday so I have a good understanding on what type of game I will be getting into.

[Bojay1997]

Toys R Us got a ton of copies of the PS2 version in today. I went to one store that got 10 and one that got 8. I kinda doubt this is going to be a rarity on either platform. I might wait until it drops a bit to get it as I have heard good and bad things about it from both of my friends who bought it.

[PDorr3]

So I tried this out yesterday and I must say I think Ii got addicted as I played for a good 4-5 hours. I made a game on normal and proceeded to gradualy get better and better at the game making it deeper into the dungeon each time. I have died 7 times so far (a couple of them from training because I kept trying to use a boom bone and killing myself) and restarted over from scratch each time (not reloading saves). Heres my impressions of the game so far (Wii version), also note this is my first roguelike experience.

Graphics:
The dungeon is very bland and repetitve and your character has stiff animation. Character designs however are great especialy for monsters and NPC's. If you play this for graphics though you are missing the point.

Sound:
I like the soundtrack alot, has creepy to some metal like tunes in it, voice acting is fine by me though it is by no means great.

Control:
Takes some getting used to, the camera is not too bad once you get used to using the D pad to swing it around, but expect some frustrating moments when enemies surround you. Attacks feel very robotic and unpolished, lock on system isnt very helpful, and throwing items is cumbersome. I use the wii remote and nunchuck combo and swinging the remote is only for your special attack (though it is used often)

Gameplay: Quite addicting, I love getting new items and weapons and trying them out. Leveling happens quick so you always feel a sense of progression especialy with the never ending flow of new items to try out. I love the idea of being able to carry over selectable items forwhen you die. Taking that powerful sword, armor, and item with you from the first floor from your last run helps keep a balance between starting over so you atleast have something from your last run. You wil die unless you are somehow a master at managing your health items and such, and then there is the ever depleting Vitality which when it runs out your health will always deplete (think dark cloud's water system). Everytime I die I learn from my mistakes, and I never really felt dissapointed with a death and was sorta looking forward to jumping right back into the dungeon to give it another go. Think of this as a RTS game. Each time you start a game you start from scratch and must manage your materials and resources, if you lose you start over. Now put that into a dungeon crawling RPG game and you have Baroque.

Overall so far:
I think it is definitly a fresh title that fans of dungeon crawlers should check out, I went in not fully knowing if I would enjoy a roguelike game and came out really liking it. The game achieves a certain atmospheric presentation that makes it unlike anything available for the Wii at the moment, I would say its a definite rental, however if the thought of losing your powered up character and mostly all of your items (although later you can store many many more items to use again) and starting from scratch sounds terrible to you, avoid the game because chances are when you die after 5 hours of a crawl with your uber setup and lose it all, you will never play again.

[boatofcar]

Get Mario Kart Wii.

It's overrated.



Is Baroque roguelike in the sense that when you die, you lose everything you had in your inventory?

[Gamemaster_ca_2003]

Listen If you are even remotly intrested in this game, GET IT because Atlus will probliy not print enough copies of this game, or probily issue a second run.

[Cinder6]

Is Baroque roguelike in the sense that when you die, you lose everything you had in your inventory?

You lose your entire inventory, your position in the Neuro Tower (the dungeon), and your character level. You basically start over, but story stuff remains unlocked, or they will be slightly different the next time through.

There's supposedly a way to stop item decay when you die (according to the manual), but I haven't played that far yet (I think this is the type of game where I'll want to just devote a big chunk of time into it, and I can't do that right now).

[josekortez]

Strangely, this game is more plentiful at Toys R Us than at any other retailer I've seen lately, including Gamestop. It'll probably drop and get clearanced there within the next six months to a year.

If you're looking for HTF games for later, I'd get Arcana Heart or the upcoming Chaos Wars instead.

[Snapple]

The whole "You have to start over at the beginning of the dungeon and lose your inventory everytime you die" sounds a little bit like Azure Dreams. In Azure Dreams, the only dungeon in the game is a tower, and you can only take five items with you into the tower, including equipment. Every time you enter the tower, you start at level 1, and you have to start from the bottom floor each time. And if you die, you lose all your items. Although, you can teleport out of the tower to keep your items. That seems to be different.

[carlcarlson]

So what's the point of this system? I mean I would hate to lose all of my stuff and progress, so I would just reload from my last save, and that's no different than any other game. What's the incentive to keep going without reloading?

[mailman187666]

So what's the point of this system? I mean I would hate to lose all of my stuff and progress, so I would just reload from my last save, and that's no different than any other game. What's the incentive to keep going without reloading?

thats part of the way the story progresses. You can also save certain items by tossing them into these big orbs you'll find on certain floors and that particular item will be carried over to the next time you have to start over. I usually go with a powerful sword so I can breeze through the beggining.

[PDorr3]

thats part of the way the story progresses. You can also save certain items by tossing them into these big orbs you'll find on certain floors and that particular item will be carried over to the next time you have to start over. I usually go with a powerful sword so I can breeze through the beggining.


I like to stock up some experience point bones so that I can go up in levels early on as well. Also I find that using flesh and seeds to make hour max hp and vt higher helps much more early on than later (it really adds up to keep you alive longer).

If you can manage to get a Stanima wing early on you rarely ever haveto worry about your VT.

BTW I made a forum for this game if anyone is interested:

www.orderofmaluth.forumer.com

[FantasiaWHT]

I absolutely loved Azure Dreams, glad I picked this one up on a whim! (Haven't played it yet though, I'll try tonight)

[FantasiaWHT]

In Azure Dreams, there was a way you could speed time up so you could recover (but if there were monsters left on a level they could find you and wail on you if you weren't careful). Is there anything like that here?

[blissfulnoise]

I think I like the games concept way more than the game itself.

I'm going to try to play it a little more to see how the story unfurls, but failing that, I'll read some spoilers somewhere.

[PDorr3]

There is no way to speed up your HP recovery without using different equipment which will indeed do it for you. Or you can always stand there as your HP increases slowly.