[PS2] Odin Sphere - Hot sex from Atlus

Well, first and foremost, I didn't go the HP raising route. I actually progressed using Alchemy. Certain Boss Fights can be won (on "Hard", no less) using only Napalm. I mean, make about 6-8 Napalm and throw them at Velvet. She will NEVER touch you. Probably the easiest battle I had.

My strategy for fighting became hooked on the Attack boost accessories. If you don't want to fuck with HP boosts, boost your Psypher using high level Alchemy. If you get to level 35, all you need is an accessory that boosts your attack power (I used the one that gains more power as you lose HP and got hit intentionally in some stages to keep my HP low), Overload, and the level 3 Psypher skill that I can't freaking remember the name of either.

If you make high level alchemy stuffs, boost your Psypher, and use the gains you get doing this to your advantage, you can beat the first book without much difficulty. Book 2 on the other hand, I just got to and I didn't have the patience at 4 in the morning to try and figure out the new strategy.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

I don't know, I ran through Book: Valkyrie on Hard just to get a feel for things and it had its moments of "I just died in one hit, thanks guy." HP just didn't matter, I had already seen the discussions on how to break it, but what's the point if you don't want to get hit anyway? I clocked in at 5:15 gameplay time, though a few hours weren't registered on where I spent time learning what mechanics worked in game and what didn't.

Believe me when I say that "Attack Boost Accessory/Overload/Shadow Image" is a boss killer when you see Gwendolyn land that fourth critical hit. The slowdown that occurs gives you generally enough time to react, and a lot of the bosses you're actually going to use that on are huge, so Air Combos are definitely not out of the question and come out lightning fast compared to being on the ground.

That said, aside from that strategy which I found made the game fun as hell, I kind of reflect the sentiment that the game is definitely pretty but occasionally has sections where I just don't dig what I need to do to win without hassle. Like the Velvet battle, on Hard no less. The way she can move is insane, I wish I had those options, but I don't. So I exploited her apparent dislike of fire. I don't like combat in which I do very little combating, and in Odin Sphere, there's very little sense in many fights trying to learn patterns when you can sit back and throw the weight of items and Psypher growth around like nobody's business.

To reiterate, I'm not of the mind to just gain HP and slug it out; however, I'm not going to engage a war of attrition either. I shoot for at least an A rank on any area I enter, even if that takes practice or an assessment of strategy, but I've never really liked the fusion of RPG and straight combat in this kind of fashion. At this point, Odin Sphere feels very hit and run, with engine exploitation on the side. I wish there was more to it than that, but this is only Gwendolyn and every other character plays differently. So that's kind of moot on my part, anyway.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

I'm waiting to find out if there's a point to playing the hardest difficulty, considering that unless the enemies get stronger and I do less damage then it really doesn't dent my strategy. Still, I'm kind of pissed about the requirements considering I'm still on "Hard" mode of all things.

And I will say this, Velvet is the least frustrating character I've had to play as. Best for last, I guess.

Most amazing jew boots

>>What the hell is the chain shystem for?

Higher chains increase your chances for a critical hit and enemy item drops. And Mercedes is probably my least favorite character to play as. The way characters move and respond to controls already feels a bit loose, but she plays like a greasy tile floor. And dear god, the lack of double jump sucks in certain situations.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?