About 18hrs in and just started ch.6 on
Neptune V. I'm really liking it so far. No where near as frustrating as the first one but not as easy as the second one either.
Performing a "Guard Break" on the enemy during battle is almost as important as the first on as some of the larger enemies won't take much damage without doing so. In
Mk.2 you could've just repeatedly attacked the enemy with any combo and you would've managed. Though the new Exe Drive moves are a total game breaker as they're extremely powerful. Even boss class enemies go down with one or two hits of it. (assuming they're in a "guard break" status) I bet players of
Mk.2 remember the dragon, fenrir, and dolphin type monsters you were supposed to stay away from early on in the game? Yeah, they go down with one hit of these too. (O_O)
At the end of each chapter the game even gives a review on your playthrough of that chapter. With four judges with 10points each you can get a max of 40 points, if you score high you get a rare item and...I have not been doing well. You're scored based on:
*FIXED "Quests" and "Share"
Quests - How many of the quest that appear in that chapter you have completed. *some exceptions*
Share - How many you've acquired for Planeptune
Seeker/Reporter/Researcher* (is what I'd guess would be a close translation of it) - How much use of this new system
Enemies defeated - <- That says it all
The seeker/reporter is a new system introduced in
V and what you do is send the citizens of the world to search dungeons for items, new characters, new dungeons, etc. Sometimes they will return with new info that will either change the enemies or the items that appear in a dungeon or they will come with info that will either increase or decrease exp gained, money gained, or item drop rate. Though ofcourse you have to pay them, the higher their level, the more you can pay for higher success.
The only category I score a 10 on all the time is the "enemies defeated", I haven't scored over a 5 in "quests" and "shares" as the scoring is very harsh. Doing quests as they appear isn't enough, you pretty much HAVE to repeat a cleared quest numerous times to score a 10 in "quests" and "shares". I had to redo quests a couple dozen times to score a "7"...orz. I've given up scoring high in these categories on this playthrough as I'm sure I'm going to give this game another three, four playthroughs.
Not to mention in
V you can't accept any quests that are ranked higher then you are. In
V you have to take promotion quests to raise your rank to be able to accept higher rank quests. I'm on ch.6 and I'm still a D rank...orz
...but what I love the most about this game is Hanazawa Kana's voice acting of Puluruto/Iris Heart. As Puluruto it's the usual HanaKana that I'm used to, slow paced and cute but as Iris Heart...I never thought that I'd hear HanaKana be sadistic...it sends shivers down my spine.
