Totori VS. Rorona?

[Mlada]

Much of this can be blamed on the producers for forcing games out unfinished and imposing poor work conditions/hours on their employees.

All I can think about with this is L.A. Noire...

[SaturnineTenshi]

It really is rampant within the industry, Mlada. You only hear about the worst studios, but it isn't uncommon for employees to work 60 hours a week, sometimes more at six or seven days a week, on a regular basis. That leads to many mistakes and a real blow to creativity.

And there isn't much room for argument as many contracts signed include potential overtime. If that weren't enough, most industry positions aren't very secure. Complain about the hours or refuse to work "optional" overtime days? Cool, you're reproached and/or replaced. With the boom of the last five-ten years, many video game dev positions are easily replaceable due to oversaturation (less so for programmers).

[Mlada]

It really is rampant within the industry, Mlada. You only hear about the worst studios, but it isn't uncommon for employees to work 60 hours a week, sometimes more at six or seven days a week, on a regular basis. That leads to many mistakes and a real blow to creativity.

And there isn't much room for argument as many contracts signed include potential overtime. If that weren't enough, most industry positions aren't very secure. Complain about the hours or refuse to work "optional" overtime days? Cool, you're reproached and/or replaced. With the boom of the last five-ten years, many video game dev positions are easily replaceable due to oversaturation (less so for programmers).

O__O

I think I'm glad I never decided to go into the gaming industry...LOL

[ninina]

As a Computer Scientist I'm always surprised that games work as well as they do. You really only get about 20-25 productive hours out of most cognitive orientated jobs a week, so all the overtime does is increase mental fatigue and exasperate the managerial problem that caused them to have to work overtime in the first place.

On a completely different note I find that I am significantly more tolerant of errors when dealing with small studio and indie game developers. I'm currently working on a game in my spare time with a few others and I am the only programmer...There is no way I'm going to be able to give the level of polish I would expect from an EA or Activision game. Then again I wouldn't dare ask for 50+ USD for it either haha.

[neonie]

I didn't read the article, Mlada (being a Kotaku article), but anyone that has a problem with mods probably isn't worth reading anyway.

You have a problem with Kotaku? I'm asking because I really don't know much about that site any...should I be wary of their articles? Does it usually revolve around whiny fanboys/fangirls like this guy seems to be? LOL

Kotaku shouldn't be taken seriously, really.

Giantbomb. MAYBE Dtoid, are your best bet for gaming sites.

Also I just finished Rorona and am waiting for Totori to come in from Amazon. Does Totori have the time restrictions Rorona did? That was my biggest problem with it.

I didn't wind up exploring all area's, and it was much more focused on the alchemy then the exploration and JRPG part of it. Is Totori like that too?

[Mlada]

It does, but not entirely the same way as Rorona did. It's a lot more relaxed, while at the same time, it could potentially screw you over too if you're too relaxed. But you shouldn't really be too rushed (like in Rorona) over some deadlines. Not to mention, there's only a small amount of actual deadlines in Totori period.

[myskaros]

I didn't wind up exploring all area's, and it was much more focused on the alchemy then the exploration and JRPG part of it. Is Totori like that too?

Totori isn't subtitled "The Adventurer of Arland" for nothing You've got like 3 huge, long term goals that require you to accomplish lots of subgoals (which you can accomplish at your own pace). I don't think it's possible to hit all the checkpoints without balancing alchemy with exploring and fighting monsters.

[neonie]

Sounds good, thanks for the answers guys.

I wonder how Meruru will balance it too :O

[Reth]

Now I've finished Rorona and Totori, one after another for the first time in succession, I'd like to shed my 2 cents on the Totori vs Rorona debate.

Firstly, all opinions aside, I strongly recommend you play Rorona before you play Totori, not because of gameplay elements but because of the characters. Yes, the story is unrelated (Rorona didn't really have much of a story in the first place) but the characters are.

There is so much I wouldn't have appreciated if I hadn't played Rorona - almost the entire cast makes a reappearance, even THAT wig. Not to mention how weird Rorona herself would have seemed as a character if you didn't recognise her as a previous heroine - on the topic of Rorona herself I would like to say I really liked her character model in Totori. The way she stands with her hand on her hip in her Atelier makes her look pretty cool - and I love the way they made her seem a bit more mature despite still appearing as a loli. She's meant to be what, 22 at the start of Totori? (14 at the start of Rorona, 17 at the end. Totori is 5 years later). Though I find it funny how only the male characters look any older (Iksel and Sterk).

Now, in comparing the two.

- I like the fact there is no healer in Totori, so you feel less inclined to bring along a weirdo with a frying pan everywhere you go.

- I DISLIKE the freedom. This may confuse some of you and it really is a personal thing - I couldn't help but feel no matter what I did, it felt scrappy. I'm a perfectionist with time limit games and if I play any less than perfectly I feel dirty and lose motivation to keep playing. It is almost impossible to play Totori perfectly, and so the whole way I felt rather scrappy, never knowing if I could have done things better, or stressing out because the walkthrough told me I should be able to make uber gear now but I still haven't gotten a dragon scale. Or I should be gold rank by now but I'm not even half way.

- I both like and dislike the crafting. I'm glad they got rid of the factor that puts priority on weaker traits on synthesis items over the stronger traits, but at the same time I don't like the Cost Value system that limits what traits you can put on an item.

- I don't like the characters in Totori much. Mimi seems like a Cordelia that got less attention and importance. Overall they just seemed to have less appearances and influence on Totori - and I just really didn't like Marc at all - and I couldn't help but feel like the overwhelming message of Totori was that "Men are useless and/or creepy." - seriously, look at Marc, Peter, Guid, Gerhard and Gino. They're all either creepy or useless. The exception is Sterk, who is so overflowing with GRIMDARK I'm expecting him to turn into Kiritsugu from Fate/Zero at any second.

- What in the world was with the item management UI in Totori? Sure, it was great that you could return requests in straight from the box. That was great, but the search function was clunky at best, and if they're going to make it possible to sell things straight from the container they could have at least seperated the basket and the container lists. Also, traits! It was impossible to check what traits and effects DO before you've made the item, and I couldn't even figure out how to inspect items in my basket or container either. Only time I could do it was immediately after making an item while CHOOSING which traits to put on it. Would have been nice to be able to see what the Cost Value of each trait was before you throw it into the pot as well so you could plan ahead. You couldn't inspect items in your library either. I mean, sure, Regen Essence sounds helpful, so does Source of Life, but what on earth do they DO?!

That's about all I can think of right now.

[vampko]

I found Marc a very fun character, and didn't find him creepy at all really.

I also don't compare Mimi to Cordelia, but of course it's inevitable just because she's a tsundere. But I would venture to say they are actually quite different.

I'm not sure what to say about that message, but that I disagree with it. Ah well though, everyone thinks what they think.

[Reth]

I also don't compare Mimi to Cordelia, but of course it's inevitable just because she's a tsundere. But I would venture to say they are actually quite different.

A wealthy aristocratic loli tsundere with emotional expression issues that's strongly suggested as crushing on the heroine?



Fair enough on disagreeing with me on the overall opinion though, as you say, each to their own.

[myskaros]

@Walkthroughs: in this kind of time-limited game, the guide is best approached assuming you already know the entire system very well or are on your second playthrough. You can't really play blind, then check a guide to see how you're doing, since chances are you missed some events or did something very inefficiently.

@Freedom: I was of the same opinion when I first started Totori. I felt like I was wasting time anywhere I went, since there was no hard due date on when I had to do anything by. However, after my second playthrough, I greatly preferred the freedom since it let me get more things done faster when I didn't have to worry about hitting various short-term goals and could just focus completely on a single long-term goal.

Basically, in Rorona, if you knew what you were doing, you were constantly reminded how far ahead you were, so it was easy to gauge your efficiency. In Totori, you can't compare as easily how strong you are in relation to your progress, but you are able to do more in one go without being interrupted (more exploring, more synthing). I think both games have strengths and weaknesses in terms of time management, but, after all is said and done, I did prefer Totori's increased freedom.

@Healer: dropped Iksel like a hot potato once Lionela came into the picture <3

@Item IU: yeah, this one was kind of a mess. Once you got the hang of it, it wasn't too bad, especially since you can mass-select very easily, but otherwise it was a pretty noticeable downgrade from Rorona.

@Characters: Melvie is my favorite~ but mostly because Shintani Ryouko's voice was very fitting. However, the big downside to playing in JP is that Sterk's EN voice actor is like 8000% better than his JP...

[vampko]

I also don't compare Mimi to Cordelia, but of course it's inevitable just because she's a tsundere. But I would venture to say they are actually quite different.

A wealthy aristocratic loli tsundere with emotional expression issues that's strongly suggested as crushing on the heroine?



Fair enough on disagreeing with me on the overall opinion though, as you say, each to their own.

Well, I"m a HUGE fan of Cordy and Mimi. Considering they were my favorites from the first and second games respectively. So, what you see as a general blanket, I see as deep and complex issues/traits. I won't say more than that though, as you will keep your opinion regardless of what I have to say I'd imagine.

[Reth]

@Freedom: I was of the same opinion when I first started Totori. I felt like I was wasting time anywhere I went, since there was no hard due date on when I had to do anything by. However, after my second playthrough, I greatly preferred the freedom since it let me get more things done faster when I didn't have to worry about hitting various short-term goals and could just focus completely on a single long-term goal.

Basically, in Rorona, if you knew what you were doing, you were constantly reminded how far ahead you were, so it was easy to gauge your efficiency. In Totori, you can't compare as easily how strong you are in relation to your progress, but you are able to do more in one go without being interrupted (more exploring, more synthing). I think both games have strengths and weaknesses in terms of time management, but, after all is said and done, I did prefer Totori's increased freedom.

Nicely put. I missed True End in my first playthrough becuase I actually found myself running out of time, and spent the last part dedicating my time to making the best equipment I could for my next playthrough, since that carries across. Despite all that though, I STILL couldn't find a dragon scale! /raaage

I think I'll enjoy my second playthrough a lot more now I won't have to duck and weave past monsters so I can get to gather points and drop bucketloads of consumerables on bosses for License Points so I can get the rank up by the time the guide recommends.

[Fyre1234]

Does anyone else get reminded of Leon(FF VIII) when they see Sterk?