Xak
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You are currently reading a thread in /vr/ - Retro Games
You are currently reading a thread in /vr/ - Retro Games
I see some Ys threads once in a while but never a Xak thread. Does anyone played all of them? Do you think it is better than Ys?
![Xak_1_and_2_(NTSC-J)_[TJCD2032]-0142.png](https://i.imgur.com/rFcOaPO.png "Xak_1_and_2_(NTSC-J)_[TJCD2032]-0142.png")
Only played Xak 1 and 2 for the PCE-CD so far.
Pushing monsters into walls was kind of fun but the balance was off. The platforming in 2 was annoying.
Ha, I think there can only be a handful of ultra DIE-HARD Xak fans that consider the series better than Ys.
I've played all the PCE releases of the Xak games (only barely 3; I only just started). And while there are certain things I like, they have their share of problems.
As the other anon says, the balance in Xak 1&2 is really off - it lurches between "everything fucks you in one hit" to "you're an unstoppable badass." The PCE port fucks up the MSX originals by forcing you to grind to hurt some bosses (who won't take damage unless you are a certain level). The downside is that by doing this grinding it trivializes the rest of the game, to the extent that the final boss dies instantly. And so does the Xak II's final boss.
The combat revolves around pinning enemies against walls and watching their health bars deplete. It's kinda fun and satisfying, but I don't think it's what the developers intended. It's a weird take on the Ys bump system where... you just hold a button to bump into things.
The platforming is also a lame inclusion because it is so fucking easy to die in Xak II, because the platforming segment(s?) use wonky perspective to make it difficult to judge where to jump. Fail? Hope you saved right next to the area to try again!
Then again, I don't know if the PCE port was handled by Micro Cabin or Telenet (the kings of garbage).
Fray in Magical Adventure is actually my favorite thus far, despite being incredibly easy. It at least feels like it was balanced around being an easy spinoff game. It was also developed/published by Micro Cabin themselves, which may have something to do with it. It's colorful, has variety, and is a pleasant playthrough - I hear the PC versions are different and likely worth trying.
All that being said, there's quite a bit I like about Xak I&II! The first moreso than the second, since that seems to have more creative locations and a quicker pace. As fast ARPGs go, I found them fun if flawed (in the case of the PCE versions).
>>3274957
The third game looks somewhat like the cover I posted and it's decent/good game
>>3274921
I know what you mean, Telenet really handled the port bad, I like 3 more anyway but sadly I'm stuck somewhere near the end. At some point you get to a room with stone pillars (a bit like stonehenge) and for some reason I can't figure out how to go to the next room.
>>3274957
The third game* (the one in the OP) is a bit more serious and grim than the other games, so its art reflects the change in tone (though there are plenty of silly moments - anyone else remember Fray and the dolphins?).
The other games look a bit more like pic related - a very colorful period anime with heavy Ys influence. They do have very nice soundtracks for the MSX (their original platform - they were ported to a lot of other consoles/pcs as well):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NxrzcOVTQM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JpR7q7DRJw
*technically the fifth, but it ends the "Xak trilogy."
Xak: The Art of Visual Stage (a really cool if meaningless title imo)
Xak: The Tower of Gazzel (Xak II-ish?)
Xak II: The Rise of Redmoon
Xak Gaiden: Fray in Magical Adventure (cutesy spinoff)
Xak III: The Eternal Recurrence
>>3275197
> MSX (their original platform - they were ported to a lot of other consoles/pcs as well):
Are you sure? Wikipedia lists PC88 as the original platform for 1 with the MSX release six months later.
Xak 2 is more evidently a MSX game and it holds down the other computer ports.
>>3275942
You might be right; I assumed the MSX was the starting point - maybe because those versions seem to be the most well-known?
It's a shame that the only version of the game that has smooth scrolling is the PCE remakes, and those are a little gimped in comparison. Unless the X68000 port plays different; i don't know.
>>3276475
X68k version of Xak is smoother than MSX, probably not as much as PC Engine.
Fun fact: art in the OP's by Nobuteru Yuki of Lodoss War/Chrono Cross fame. That cover's probably the most "Western" piece he's done that I can think of. Xak III and Illusion City both aimed for an older audience vs. earlier Micro Cabin games, and games made afterward like Riglord Saga and NIRGENDS dialed that back. Elm Knight ironically feels more like the original Xak just because one of the main developers on PC-88 Xak came up with a sci-fi mecha game concept.
>>3277141
>Fun fact: art in the OP's by Nobuteru Yuki of Lodoss War/Chrono Cross fame.
It's certainly cool, and the art style of Xak III is the best in the series, imo. Everything does have a serious look about it and it's a nice change of pace from more bubbly RPGs.
This might get overlooked, but nonetheless here's a treat: zips of Xak III's soundtrack, in two forms:
1) the All Sounds of Xak III album, which contains the original FM, CM-64, and two arrange tracks
http://www.mediafire.com/download/ncukehkqdivtqmz/Xak_III_-_The_Eternal_Recurrence%2C_All_Sounds_of.7z
2) The PCE-CD rip of the soundtrack
http://www.mediafire.com/download/k618e270b1fdlbn/Xak_III_-_The_Eternal_Recurrence_PCE-CD_OST.7z
What makes this a little better than what's out there is my OCD/autism forced me to rename and organize the file names into something much cleaner (lots of artifacts and "???" on the Japanese All Sounds album), and I went and did simple audio mastering (amplifying) on the PCE rip, because the tracks as they are are really, really quiet. Super quiet, in fact.
lol i should have renamed them. Whatever!
I've never played the SFC version of Xak, but it looks like it plays more like a Zelda than the Ys-style that the other versions so clearly ape. It looks to be high-quality; I'll have to check it out.
>>3277141
For the good of the topic, here's a higher-res version of the OP pic.
>>3278848
>Ys-style that the other versions so clearly ape.
More like Hydlide/Druaga. You have a clear distinction between attack and defense mode and I'm not sure if there's facing involved.
>>3278887
While there certainly is a toggling between attack and not, I don't notice any appreciable difference in damage taken whether or not Ratok has his sword sheathed. Was there an actual difference in Hydlide? I only played Hydlide 3.
And this is the PCE ver., but it didn't seem that enemies took more damage depending on where you hit them. I doubt that would be different on weaker hardware.
