Posts Tagged ‘koei’
Harutoki 3/Izayoiki for PSP
Hmm, I don’t remember seeing this new item, and just noticed it on the Koei site – they’re released a combinedi Harutoki 3/Izayoiki for the PSP on March 19, priced at Y5800. If you’ve never played either game, Izayoiki is like an expansion on Harutoki 3, with more scenes, extra voices, and two new capturable characters, Tomomori and Shirogane. There’s also a premium version available for Y7800.
This is a great idea if you don’t have these two games already, because as most fans will tell you, you WILL want to get Tomomori after finishing #3 ^_^ And with this, you don’t have to do that annoying game disc swap every time.
Kiniro no Corda PSP
Now that I finally have a PSP, after having the Kiniro no Corda original game for, oh, about 2 years XD, I am finally playing it. It’s interesting playing through the first story while being familiar with the characters from 2 Encore and seeing them meet and develop relationships.
The gameplay has some differences from 2 Encore, and it took me a while to figure out how to play. I’ll compare the process in getting ready for a performance in each:
1. Get music for a performance.
- Original:Each piece is split up into three or more sections, and you need to get them from Fahta (fairies) that you can only find in an area after practicing by yourself.
- Encore 2: Buy a piece of music at Lily’s store.
In both games, you need a certain skill level to play each piece, and if it’s not high enough, you need to practice other pieces to raise it first. But in the original, you also have a level for each of three styles, and these also have to be high enough for each piece. Also, harder pieces have certain skills that you require, which you get by perfecting easier pieces. You can also buy skills at the fahta stores.
2. Practice pieces alone.
- Original: It doesn’t matter where you are to practice other than being able to run around and look for Fahta afetr practicing. People don’t listen to you practice.
- Encore 2: Different places have bonuses to practicing in them, but you can also go where people are and get Bravo Points practicing in public.
3. ‘Finish’ pieces.
- Original: First you have to get the adaptations of a piece. To do this, you need to get to 20 with each section of a piece, then run around finding Fahtas with adaptation bells. When you ring these bells, you see a little skit (literally, it’s on the school stage with characters acting) about the origin of the piece and showing keywords to describe that adaptation. Sometimes you choose answers to add keywords as well. These keywords come into play when choosing what adaptation to play in a concert, because they each have keywords that you should try to match. The you need to practice an adaptation to perfect it – this is when you can get bravo points.
- Encore 2: You have to get people to play pieces in an ensemble with you. The concerts require different numbers of pieces to be ready, and you have to choose a good ‘order’ depending on the styles of the pieces. Each piece requires a certain combination of instruments, and each musician (either a major character or a music student) has a certain requirement before they’ll play with you. When you have an ensemble ready, you all need to practice together to gain expertise at a piece. Some characters (ahem, Kaji) are kind of low level when you first meet them, so you might have to practice with them (as a duet) before they’re high enough to play certain pieces.
4. Perform in concerts.
- Original: Here you compete with the other major characters. I haven’t won one yet, haha, so I don’t know exactly what it takes, but I think it’s a combo of difficulty level of the piece), perfection level both in the original and adaptation.
- Encore 2: You put on a concert and try to get a certain level of audience response. Before the concert you also have to play in earshot of enough people to get them to attend – each concert has increasing required attendance. The audience response depends on how many people are there, how perfect your ensemble is and how good the players are at the piece, and the difficulty level. You also don’t get as many points if you re-use pieces from past concerts.
5. Win.
- Original: Apparently you don’t have to win the competition to get a good ending – I didn’t, and I got Yunoki’s ending, though I’m not sure if it’s the *best* ending possible with him.
- Encore 2: You do need to ‘win’, but it’s more a question of survival – each step has its own pass requirements that you need to achieve.
Other differences:
- In Encore 2 Lily is the only fahta
- In the original you can do quizzes with Lily to get free items, as well as getting them when you’ve found certain numbers of fahta.
- No Kaji in the original! Wahhh!!
- Some different spots in the original that you can run around, like the train station.
- No dates in the original, since you’re just developing relationships.
- No ‘fights’ in the original – in Encore 2 major characters would have an argument while practicing in an ensemble and you’d have to help them make up.
- I don’t know if there’s any point in playing a duet or ensemble in the original, though you can do it. Maybe just more bravo points? Also, in the original you have to be near each person you want to play with, you don’t just call them up like in Encore 2.
- In the original time to practice and talk to people is calculated as minutes until 6pm when you go home. In Encore 2 you have a set number of practice sessions and events don’t factor into this.
Overall, I think I like Encore 2 better – it’s slightly easier, and characters have more events. But the original is definitely very good, and as the first in the series, is important to play to get background for each character.
Has anyone else played both? Which did you like better? Anything I missed that you’ve noticed?
Yume no Ukihashi Harutoki 1-3
I’ve had a chance to play Ukihashi now (though not much). The first thing you do is choose which miko you’ll be, and from then, which hachiyou you’ll start the story with. I chose Nozomi from #3 and Liz Vaan . The story begins in the middle of each game, so the miko are already in their own stories and need to get back to save Kyouto.
You start off being lost in a maze with your hachiyou, the one you picked and their partner. Then you come upon two other pairs from the other two games and together you try to find the exit. You unknowingly enter the North Palace and meet Hokutoseikun, the ruler of this world. He says that he brought you here because onryou have appeared here and it’s your fault. Escaping, you meet his brother Nantoseikun, who says that this world is like a dream to you, so while you’re here, your body in the real world is wasting away, so you can’t stay too long. He tells you to released the other miko to get back to your own world and timeline.
The world is divided in a circle shape, with Heaven’s Garden in the middle which includes the North and South Palace. There are a series of smaller structures in each of 12 directions, and then gates at the edge of each of those areas. The first hachiyou that I released were in one of the small structures. Outside the gates are the areas of the Four Sacred Beasts, but until you have the right hachiyou for a certain gate, you can’t pass through it. Once you’re outside the gates, you need to gain the assistance of the Beast. And then even further out, is the towers where the other miko are held.
Similar to Harutoki 3, when you’re supposed to go somewhere for the story it will glow blue. Love events are also shown, with pink dots. But unlike the other games, onryou are shown by purple clouds that move around the map as you move, so it’s harder to avoid them. However, you can blow into the DS and sometimes make them move away.
I found the battles to be a simpler version of #3′s, with each person having a couple special moves and a basic fight command, and the elements are all the same.
There are three types of endings. One is where you get through the game with only some of the hachiyou. The second is where you released all the hachiyou, and the last is a love ending. You can only get love endings with the hachiyou from your timeline though (too bad!).
That’s about it for now, I haven’t gotten any love events yet, hopefully tomorrow!
Tokyo Demons
Diabolik Lover
Renai Banchou 2
Atelier Elkrone
Juuzaengi
Brothers Conflict
Shinigami to Shoujo