InvertY.com

I’m not sure I like this. I did play it for about three hours last night, which would suggest that I do like it, but it annoyed it me a fair bit.

I don’t think I like the jobs and abilities system. Rather someone having a class, you learn skills from bits of equipment, but only if you’ve currently got the correct job set. So everyone changes jobs every couple of fights. My main character was a soldier, but is now an archer. My black mage became a white mage, then a beastmaster. My thief was an animist, but is now a moogle knight. That’s confusing enough on its own, trying to remember during a fight who’s meant to be doing what. But it’s made more confusing by the menus. It’s far too easy to end up forgetting to put abilities and equipment back after a job change – and it’s a pain when you do remember. Especially when you have to fiddle about in the Unit Info menu, then pop off to the shop for a bit, then go back and fiddle some more. I wouldn’t be surprised if it turned out I was spending more time on micromanagement than on fighting. I long for a step-by-step series of screens that would lead me through the process more easily.

Also, the law system is completely unfair. It’s one thing not to be able to perform certain actions – but when your characters are taken over by the enemy then you still get penalised if they use the forbidden actions. So my archer last night was charmed by some horrible monster and attacked a friendly unit, using his bow. Which was forbidden. Law broken. Gah!

So, yeah, I don’t like those bits. But there’s still something compulsive about it. I need even more time with it to decide on a final verdict.

Played for about an hour and a half. The actual fighting seems incredibly simple and easy so far, but everything outside the fights seems incredibly complicated and bewildering. I have no idea how jobs and abilities work as yet. I think that your job dictates which abilities you can learn, along with your current equipment, but I’m not sure. And there seem to P,R and A abilities, or something. My main character has an ability I can put in an A slot, which lets him use a shield, but he seems to be able to use a shield anyway without it being there. Maybe because of his current job, I’m not sure.

Anyway, I’ll play it a bit more and if I don’t get a handle on it all within another couple of hours I think I’ll go back to Disgaea, which was the original plan anyway.