Original Generations 2 is here! Thoughts, nitpicks, and plans

After about what seems like an eternity, Original Generations 2 has arrived, and more importantly, is in my clutches! As a preorder bonus I also got the OG booklet pictured above. It basically contains info on the various characters and mecha of the series, and also attempts to plug the various model kits for the latter. So far I’ve played about five stages on the Ryune route.

I’ll start with the nitpicks first.

Nitpicks

Lack of useful volume controls. You can only adjust the BGM volume, and even at the lowest setting it’s still fairly loud. This doesn’t make Arranged Battles impossible, but it will impact the quality – I’ll only be able to use LOUD music and the sound effects and voices will have to suffer as a result. Still, this rather minor detail is a such a huge disappointment for me.

BB Studio can’t seem to decide which kind of animation skipping controls they like better. In Saisei you could press Square to ‘skip’ to the next phase of the animation, in OGs2, we’ve gone back to press Circle to fast forward. And you can’t fast forward starting dialogue either. Why can’t we ever have both?

Due to the PS3’s XMB handling of save games, quick saves and rage resets take longer than normal.

And finally, the quirks of playing this game on a Western PS3. As usual for Japanese imports, Circle is confirm and X is cancel in game…except when you go to save your game. Then it’s the other way around. :S

What I love

Pretty much everything else in the game. The game is really responsive. Everything loads extremely quickly, there’s no lag during intermission dialogues etc. Wings of the Legend is awesome. And that HD goodness will melt your face with pure awesomeness. Everything is just so well animated and sharp. I must’ve spent a good minute or two ogling at the Valsione. And this is just the beginning!

Gameplay

Similar to SRW Z, characters have extremely low SP, and there are no overpowered purchasable skills like SP Regen or Continuous Action anymore. In other words, you’ll have to play a slightly more legit game to win now.

Future plans

As of right now, I still haven’t quite decided what I’ve got in store for OGs2 yet. Because of the volume control issue, I’m going to play the game until I can find a BGM that might be soft enough for me to be able to work with, if such a thing even exists. Once I do, I might try making some Arranged “All-attacks” type videos for the cast.

Other than that, I could do something gameplay related instead of media, such as recording an EX Hard run or similar.

I’ll end this post with two items. First is a straight up rip of the Wings of the Legend from the title of the game, just as a test for my HD capture setup.

And finally, a picture of this rather…uh…provocative inlay you’re greeted with as you open the OG booklet. It’s probably NSFW, so scroll down at your own risk. I’ll reupload a better version when I have time.