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Forums - Gaming Discussion - Resonance of Fate Preview


Set in a steam fiction world that resembles Lando Calrissian's Cloud City in The Empire Strikes Back (you can see a glimpse of it at the end of the trailer), Resonance of Fate is nothing if not well imagined. The almost gyroscopic looking city literally runs like clockwork, in the sense that it's actually built from cogs and springs that are all part of one big timekeeper. This clock decides the fate of the world's citizens - when they're born; when they die; what cereal they eat [ed. confirm cereal]. However, only the city's upper-classes, who live at the top of the needle, are aware of this as the poorer dwellers are intensely religious and therefore believe in the superior judgement of the gods. In other words, it's all one clever flip on William Paley's watchmaker analogy.

Visually speaking, this needle in the clouds is not only stunning in the CG sequences but also while being freely roamed between battles and missions. Pendulums, pulleys, weights, and cogs protrude from the environment in every direction, maintaining the theme of fate and time around every corner, and there's even a day/night cycle to boot. Within this setting, gamers play the role of three Hunters, who are essentially guns for hire that are employed by members of high society to do dangerous work. There are three playable characters in the game - Zephyr, Vashyron, and Reanbell - who are not, despite their names, a type of French cheese or a mild breeze.

Instead, they form the typical cast of a JRPG: one young and impulsive male, a slightly older and wiser male, and an attractive young female. Having said that, early indications are that Resonance of Fate's characters may not be overly constrained by traits, which will open up a broader range of customisations as a result. SEGA has indicated to us that characters can be levelled-up symmetrically across the board, so if there is a sub-machine gun dual-wielding skill available, then it can be assigned to any of the three main characters in the game.

As far as we could tell from our first look, gamers explore the world as one character and can seamlessly switch between skins of Zephyr, Vashyron, and Reanbell as they go. The party then splits into three for battles. Whether this setup will negatively affect the amount of depth each character has is a question that can only be answered with more hands on time, but it does seem to suggest a more blank slate approach towards characters than a typical JRPG. Nonetheless, we're hopeful that each character will retain certain strengths and weaknesses in areas such as agility and strength etc.

As far as the battle system is concerned, SEGA was keen to underline that Resonance of Fate's combat is not turn-based. However, as is so often the case with JRPGs that innovate in the battle arena a bit, the system is grounded in turn-based attacks but also fluid enough to incorporate elements of real-time play. Players have options at their disposal such as drawing lines of attack for each character, which will then run down that line and perform a Matrix-style, acrobatic manoeuvre combined with a volley of gunfire at selected enemies.

Gamers can also determine when these attacks are unleashed in real-time by pressing the required button at any moment across the designated line of attack. These attack lines are pretty useful for strategy as well. In some of the more complex battle arenas, it's possible to draw a line that will put the character into cover behind a wall once they've completed their allotted guncrobatics (N.B. we're not going to coin that term as a Google search reveals that at least one other person has used it previously). SEGA is even promising interactive objects in the environments such as explosive barrels, so there will certainly be a lot more going on in the battle arenas than your average JRPG.

Resonance of Fate's health system adds an additional layer of strategy to the combat, with both 'scratch' and 'actual' damage meters to negotiate. Simply explained, 'scratch' damage is recoverable whereas 'actual' damage is not, so it's best to finish off an enemy as quickly as possible once their 'scratch' damage is depleted. Enemy groups will also have ringleaders that are harder to kill, although taking them out first is likely to cause their underlings to flee from a fight.

On top of all this, invincibility power-ups offer an interesting balancing act for gamers to tussle with. The demo we saw had three of these power-ups displayed on the HUD, although we understand that players can upgrade to more slots as the game progresses. Using the power-ups offers obvious benefits although, on the other hand, having less power-ups in your inventory will affect a character's strength and confidence, so a constant balancing act must be negotiated by players between more potent attacks and the lure of invincibility.

 

I'll Have A JRPG Please, Bob

Our sneak peek at Resonance of Fate also included a look at the game's map interface. We were taken around a small area of the world called Abel City and, given the overlay for the map, it looked a bit like something out of Blockbusters. All of the paths through the city were represented by conjoined, hexagonal slabs. As player's progress through this world, they will unlock various configurations of these hexagonal slabs to use by doing jobs for NPCs or defeating a certain boss etc. Almost like a jigsaw puzzle, players then lay down these differently shaped configurations onto the map to unlock new areas. The system is then vivified by rarer hexagonal slabs of different colours. These are harder to find and are often needed to unlock the passageways between new sections of map, which we felt added an element of intrigue to the exploration.

Resonance of Fate really is one of the most exciting RPGs to emerge from Japan in quite a while and a welcome addition to the 2010 calendar (which is, of course, a Final Fantasy year). While it may not better the main JRPG event of next year, Resonance of Fate will be one of the best supporting bands you could find for the headlining FFXIII.

 

 

 

 

I can not put into words how Xxcited i am for this game...i mean reading this gave me butterflys...RoF is my number1 love this gen..and its not evrn out yet.

http://www.totalvideogames.com/Resonance-of-Fate/preview-14442.html



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Looks good, but still a year away



Another one:

Being an RPG fan, I typically have to put aside my favorite genre and tackle action/adventures, FPSs, and a myriad of other genres that get far more attention in the early days of any new hardware generation. I don’t mind doing this in the slightest but after a few years, I begin to pine for the new role-playing experiences. Thankfully, many are a-comin’ for the PlayStation 3 (the likes of Dragon Age: Origins, Demon’s Souls and Alpha Protocol will launch before 2009 is over), and another that has snagged my interest is Tri-Ace’s Resonance of Fate, which will be published by Sega and is also known as End of Eternity in Japan. We’ve already seen the introductory cinema – awfully pretty! – and a great gameplay video, so of course, we needed to pin down some concrete details and provide you with an interesting preview. We know you RPG buffs are lurking out there, and you’re well aware of Tri-Ace’s triumphs in the past; names like “Star Ocean” and "Valkyrie Profile” should ring a bell.

First of all, perhaps the developer is following in the old-fashioned footsteps of the original Wild ARMs in more than one way: obviously, this RPG is more about guns than swords, but also, it appears we’ll be taking control of three mercenaries right from the start. For those of you who remember the first Wild ARMs, you were introduced to three main characters at the beginning of the quest, and they would be with you throughout; no switching in and out of other party members. We’re not sure if this will be the case in Resonance, but we just wanted to make the observation. Anyway, those three characters are as follows: Zephyr, a young, mysterious man who can wield a firearm with the best of ‘em, Vashyron, a veteran gunfighter, and Reanbell, a shy girl who may utilize magic or other special abilities. It likely won’t surprise any who are familiar with this genre to learn that each character has a back story, and you’ll discover those details as you progress through the plot. But no giving away of any crucial storyline segments here…

Now, the combat: it’ll be quasi-real-time like most of Tri-Ace’s productions. But there’s one unique feature that strikes us immediately and reminds us of the battle in Eternal Sonata. See, the enemy won’t move until you move, which implements a certain amount of strategy and even instills a sense of tension into the combat. It’ll be interesting to see how this plays out, but in addition to this, you’ll also be able to “shatter” your foe’s health bar into smaller sections, which will therefore make the assailant easier to defeat. If you factor this into the bullet-time feature, which we’ve already heard about, than you’ve got one hell of a dynamic system that ought to be loaded with a continual flurry of entertainment. And as far as we can tell, this is indeed a fantasy world devoid of blades, as your entire arsenal will revolve around modern-day and/or futuristic firearms. Pistols, rifles, machine guns, shotguns and a variety of projectiles (grenades, Molotov Cocktails, etc.) will be at your disposal, and yes, combination attacks and skilled maneuvers will add to the overall spice.

As for the setting, it is “fantasy” but it could also be construed as a fictitious earth city, as you’ll only find humans (no Moogles here) and examples of impressive machinery and other technology. From what we’ve seen in the new media, most backdrops appear to have a stylized industrial-type flair, in that it may feel like a cross between current steampunk fashions and a straight-up sci-fi environment. The most intriguing aspect of the story is the “villain;” a “God-like” machine that, unknown to the peasants of that civilization, actually controls their actions and thoughts, and even dictates when they are born and when they die. The nobility is aware of this and for some reason, they don’t wish to do anything about it, so you may have to stare down the barrel of your gun at them, if you desire answers. Like most JRPGs, the game will clearly focus more on plot than so-called freedom, but you will be able to take on multiple side-quests as time goes on. Signing up for missions at the various Guild Halls in the city will grant you extra experience and more insight into the current predicament. This is a format that should come together and work smoothly; we certainly expect a nicely paced adventure.

Sega has said they want to cut down on the localization process for Resonance of Fate, so hopefully, American gamers won’t have to wait too long after it arrives in Japanese stores. The tentative release date for Japan is Q1 2010 while the North American date could be Q2 or Q3 2010, but we desire something more concrete than that. We’ll let you know when Sega or Tri-Ace is more forthcoming with exact dates.

http://www.psxextreme.com/ps3-previews/362.html

 



This game is going to be a welcome addition to any JRPG loving PS3 owner and 360 owners



This is gonna be the most painful wait for me....hopefully SO4 makes it to PS3 soon to keep me occupied



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Do we have battle game play of this game yet? I think am going to purchase this day 1 for PS3.





enjoy Zezler



The only problem is that it is Q3, which is when XIII will be delayed to...



I wonder what build that footage is from, is it running on PS3, 360 or just off PC at the moment?

@Munkeh111 i hope FFXIII isn't delayed but i think it is inevitable since they are planning to release it waaaaay too close to the Japanese release for SE's usual release schedule!