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Well, that was fast – A game I’ve wanted to play for ages is finally in the library here: Pier Solar and the Great Architects for the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive along with the Enhanced CD for the Sega-CD/Mega CD. This isn’t the original print or the Posterity Edition, but the WM Reprint version in English, Portuguese and Spanish. Nice. I need to dig out one of my Sega-CD’s from under the TV set in the home office (oh, that will be a pain, but worth all that weightlifting), but I do have one of my Genesis systems out nearby (Actually, a Japanese Mega Drive), so I can at least start up the game (perhaps this weekend provided I have time).Yeah, yeah – I wanted to support Watermelon’s HD Kickstarter project, but I could only afford to either pick up this set now and play it or sign up for Kickstarter, donate and wait. I’m hoping the HD version of Pier Solar does well enough that it gets a reissue or even better, pops up on PSN (hell, a Vita version I’d kill for – or at least elbow someone gently in the head for)…
As for the other stuff? Well, it was cheap, so I picked them up. Sorcery (which should have been completed so that it shipped WITH the PlayStation Move as a launch title for the peripheral) was $10 and Heavy Rain was a few dollars more. Prometheus I bought to see the edited/deleted scenes and special features. I liked most of the film, but there are a few dumb lead characters and one part of the ending that should have been handled better. Otherwise, the film looks spectacular and ends up answering some questions and leaving others pinging around in the brain.
"DESTROY ALL FANBOYS!" 
Excellent addition to the collection! I think Pier Solar is an awesome retro RPG and I hope you enjoy it š My Sega CD is broken so I can’t used the enhanced CD but I’ll try to source out another one.
Heavy Rain is one of my favorite games. I had no idea what I was getting into when I bought it but I ended up loving every minute. It’s the single best looking game I’ve ever seen and same goes for the story and the presentation. I hope they are more like this one coming.
As for Prometheus; I’m waiting for a directors cut. I feel there must be more plot elements that didn’t make it into the theatrical version. Some things just didn’t make sense to me.
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Oh, I know I’ll enjoy the game a lot. I’ve heard so much about it that I can’t be disappointed. Now, I just need to get through a bunch of reviews so I can play the darn thing!
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omg! I want Pier Solar as well !! But it’s so friggin’ expensive on ebay.. where did you get yours? How much did you pay??
Oh and BTW, I just got a Sega CD!! š I started it up for the first time right now like seriously 5 minutes ago š EXCITING!! ^_^ I only have two games for it so far though.. but now I can start collecting for that system as well š
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Oh, that Pier Solar/CD combo wasn’t cheap (about $125 – not the most I paid for a MD game, btw), but I had the money and couldn’t pass it up. I missed out on the original, first reprint and Legacy versions, but I decided to grab this one over the HD remake because I figure Watermelon Team will get more money from me once that version gets done. I’m hoping they get it out on the Vita and/or PS3, but I may just buy the PC version if it’s available as a physical copy.
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oh, and the snow is really a nice touch on your site ^_^ Much better than the real cold shit that is decimeters deep outside my door >_<
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Thanks! I’d forgotten I had the snow setting on last year at this time, so I was surprised to see it pop up again. Either that, or my site has dandruff! Waaah!
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I’m sorry to say it, but every person that says Pier Solar is a great game (and got more than 10 hours into it) is lying. This game is horrible. I’ve been playing JRPGs since 1992. I’ve beat nearly every RPG from that generation. My list of RPGs I’ve finished sits at 102.
But Pier Solar will never be on that list. The game becomes unplayable once you have a full party. Animations are so slow that battle drag on for minutes, yet usually consist of 2-3 rounds.
I’ve played and enjoyed flawed games. I’m used to (and often enjoy) many of the quirks of 90s era RPGs. But Pier Solar is beyond broken.
All of the 90%, A+, 4 star reviews must be from sites that review based on partial play through. The good reviews for this game are for what the game “is”, not the game itself.
There are going to be so many disappointed KickStarter backers when this game is released on modern consoles if they don’t fix it.
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Well, as someone who owns over well over 1000 RPGs (for too many platforms) and has played through about 500 or so (I’ve been doing this gaming thing since 1972), I can very safely say that it’s not “horrible” at all. There are games with slower battle systems or ones that make no sense that I’ve played that make Pier Solar (and yes, I agree the combat is sloooow) look downright speedy in comparison. “Unplayable” to me means “game-breaking bug that stops the game from being played, period” not a battle taking too long but the game still being able to be completed despite that flaw. If I had the time, I could post a list of PC or console RPGs where you’re locked into longer battles even if it’s one enemy and one character having at it (and some of those games are considered classics!).
As for the PS reboot, I’m sure many fans have let Watermelon team know the combat is slow in the original game, as it’s something I recall reading in some fan reviews. I guess we’ll need to see what happens with that remake rather than judge it beforehand, correct?
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I thought it was pretty bad… I do have hopes for the HD version. But I’m going to let it sit for a few months and see what the consensus is. It just worries me that whatever quality control Watermelon Games had for the original allowed something so significant to slip through. To me it is so glaring. Speed up the animations for gathering and healing and the game would have been a solid 8/10 (at least the 10-15 hours I played.)
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Well, we’re on the same page on the waiting front. I’m also holding out to see what the battle speed as like. I’ve been playing a LOT of RPG Maker games when I can and have gone through some with much faster battles and some that drag out even longer because they try to be too fancy or intentionally difficult right from the start (as in trying to copy certain older RPGs). As for the original game, I look at it this way: The seemed to be so in love with the art they made that they wanted those battles to be long so people would admire that artwork. That doesn’t work as much as it should in a game like this, that’s for damn sure… ;3
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I totally understand a comment that says “the battles are too long because of all the animations”. That would be someones preference. Fair enough.
But I want to toss my 2 cents in and say that Pier Solar is not at all broken. I think it’s great. I know some people don’t like the slow grind of an old school RPG but I really do. In part because I’m never in a hurry to beat a game that I really enjoy. So in my option this not an issue of QA. It was a design choice and I’m cool with it.
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Ah, I was hoping you’d chime in here. Amusingly enough, Star Odyssey has some looooooong battles as well, but in that game, if you don’t commit to learning the kooky battle system, your character and party are dead meat even against a weak enemy group. The fact that you NEED to turn your characters to face the same direction enemies attack from is pretty nuts, but you get used to it (or take double damage from the rear and do less to no damage because you’re swinging at air).
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I saw the post earlier than my reply but I had to take some time to calm down and write a civilized comment š
Ian Clue had a fair comment but I don’t think it was worded in way that was Fair to Peir Solar.
You know I haven’t even tried out Star Odyssey yet. Shame on me… But I think I remember you saying once that the combat is hard or different. I’m still looking forward to checking it out. I wont mind a hard grind just so long as it’s something that you can figure out and get good at.
Lately I’ve been sucked into Volgarr the Viking. What a great game!
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Heh – Just drop the $20 for that RPG Trifecta Pack and you’ll see what’s up with Star Odyssey. It’s a killer initially because enemies are so tough, but you eventually get used to the combat system’s quirks. The real killer is the long walking you need to do throughout the game because you can get stranded with no supplies and be almost dead in the middle of nowhere if you get too careless or bold in some spots. I hear Volgarr is brutal and fun, so it’ll get bought soon!
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I do have the cartridge version of Star Odyssey so when I can I’ll play it on my Genesis. But I still might buy that RPG Trifecta Pack to get the Beggar Prince.I was really hoping I could get it on cart but it costs too much now.
So far I’ve only gotten to the boss of level 1. The game is hard but not too hard. It’s a total blast. I’m loving it. I tried uploading a youtube video showing some gameplay but at a half MBit upload rate I was 20 hours into my upload when my Intenet Serivce had an outage. So I’ll try again when I can.
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Yeah, I got that pack because of Beggar Prince and Legend of Wukong myself. I need to order a copy of Nightmare Busters, as it’s already going to take a few months to arrive based on the info on the SFT site. That game looks pretty awesome on the SNES…
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I went a little crazy and ordered 3 copies of Nightmare Busters. These games seem so hard to get if you don’t buy them day one. So I’m hoping I’ll be able to trade my 2 extras for something good. Maybe even a Beggar Prince! š It’s a bit of a risk but we’ll see what happens.
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THREE??? Wow. Heh, maybe I can trade one for one of those PS RPGs I’m still sitting on, lol! Well, only 1200 are being made and I bet Brandon appreciates that pre-order you made. Finding Beggar Prince is TOUGH. I almost bought one a few years back for $140, but passed on it (and it went up to almost double the price later, argh). I’m still kicking myself for not paying $100 a few years before that, but oh well… I keep hearing it’s only “OK” as it wasn’t an official licensed Sega game at all (and neither was Legend of Wukong), but I’ve only put about 20 minutes into it (and it takes some time to get going, lol)…
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I know three copies is a bit over kill but I’m learning that these games disappear after release so I’m sure I’ll be able to make some good trades for them down the road.
Even if Beggar Prince is just OK I would still like it for the collection.
What’s that PS RPG? Pier Solar?
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PlayStation RPG, lol. I should have been more specific. I do have a bunch I’m thinking of selling, but I would trade for something cool. Let me see if I can actually still order a copy of Nightmare Busters, though. I missed out on the initial wave of orders, but got that second email saying SFT was taking a few more for a later run.
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I only ordered Nightmare Busters very recently. I’m sure you can still get in on the pre-order.
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Oh, I’m just waiting for a payment for a freelance proofreading gig to pop up and then it’s getting ordered. I’m just keeping a few options open in the meantime just in case someone ordered a dozen copies to dump on eBay or something, lol. You know it’s going to be up there selling for $300 or so as soon as it’s released (probably some European seller or guy here with some disposable income who wants to make a big profit)…
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