The best game on the 3DS or the best game on the 3DS? I'll let you decide.



Has anyone else played this? I'm so hooked. At first the controls were a bit hard to get used to, but aerial combat is so ridiculously good and ground combat is decent enough. But the visuals...oh god, the visuals. 3D on or off, this game looks BEAUTIFUL and, in my opinion, really sets the bar for 3DS games. The combat is fast and satisfying, the enemy designs are unique and interesting, and the depth of the weapon system is mind-boggling.

There's like 6 types of weapons, with like 20 different designs, and each one is random and comes with both melee and ranged attack ratings, plus special abilities. To top it all off, you can fuse these weapons (that you buy, earn, or find in a stage) to try and create better or more diverse weapons. If there's ever a reason to keep playing, it's to get a weapon good enough to tackle 9.0 difficulty.

Speaking of, every level has a rating between 0.0 (or 0.1 or something, I've never actually checked) and 9.0. 2.0 is standard. Anything less costs hearts, but it makes the stage easier if you're having trouble. Anything more also costs hearts, but it ups the ante and allows you to beef up your potential victory spoils. Gotta spend money to make money, as they say (or in this case, hearts). Certain hidden areas (which aren't actually hidden) can only be accessed if you play the level on a certain difficulty or higher.

Beyond that, there are different moves and abilities you can earn and equip. Each ability has a preset shape that must be fit onto a square grid. If it doesn't fit, you don't get to use it (think Tetris meets Diablo's inventory system). Basically, it's a creative way to force the player to prioritize which ability he wants without just limiting them to a certain number or point system. This is, after all, a bit more creative and fun.

Not sure how many levels there are yet since I haven't beaten it. My only real gripe is the boss battles. While the bosses are positively badass, they're incredibly easy, too. You'll find yourself having a much harder time simply reaching the boss than you will trying to beat it. But that's a minor complaint for an otherwise seemingly flawless game. I'm deployed, so no co-op for me yet, but I can't wait to try it out.