Telepath Tactics - Thoughts

Hi!

Anyone playing this? If so, want to share your thoughts? Here's mine.

I played it for a few hours tonight and it's pretty darn fun. I know it's a very low budget game and all, but it plays really well, and I'm actually quite surprised with the AI in the game. It acts intelligently, sometimes more intelligent than me! I got my butt handed to me several times already for making one mistake.

It's definitely a challenging game, and it's a bit of a trial and error thing at times. Making through each battle without having a character die is a tense endeavor as well. Also, saving certain characters in battles requires some skill as well.

Overall, I'm having fun, but I wish there was some exploration or something to break up the combat. It's very combat heavy, and while the combat is definitely good, I get the urge to just want to explore a town and relax at times. Granted, there are certain moments in the story where you take a breather, such as making a camp and being able to talk to every party member you have so far, but I don't know. I need more. Just a personal preference.

Other than that, really enjoying it. The dialogue and story is actually quite nice so far, and I love the humor in the game. Very modern writing and it's actually really well done.

Graphics are simple but beautiful on a nice screen. Sound and music is good, too.

So, there are my thoughts so far. Anyone like to share their thoughts on this one?

One of the very few games in recent years that created challenging tactical gameplay for me.
But a fair warning:
Trying to survive with all team members can lead to temporary raving madness.
You need a lot of map replays to achieve this, because you can't save during a battle.

This is a tough one, because I really want to recommend it and I applaud the developer for attempting it. It has some great ground work, but could do with a graphic uplift, interface redesign and improved story telling (or processes designed to convey the story).

The biggest problem is that this has all been done before and better (including mechanics). From a console perspective, it doesn't really bring much to the table. I could play Shining Force 2, a 20 to 25 year old game and have a superior experience. You can even buy the emulated version of the game on Steam for a fraction of the price of Telepath Tactics.

I'd love it to be the next "Fire Emblem" (which the mechanics seem to be based off) or "Shining Force", but its got quite a way to go. Personally, I want a more fluid, complete experience to a strategy/tactical rpg. Combat mechanics are pretty good though and it is clear that is where the focus has been.

@Scrav

Now I have bought Shining Force 1&2 on Steam...

HiddenX said:

@Scrav

Now I have bought Shining Force 1&2 on Steam…

Click to expand...

I hope you enjoy them.

The first game is alright, but keep in mind that the second game is a massive improvement.

I'm playing TT too, share the same opinion, tactically very good, but outside that it's not so good. It also has a mechanic that some games have that I personally hate with a passion, that there are chests in the map, and loot from enemies you kill, that if you for some reason end the fight without collecting them, you lose them. Not only does it lead to you 'farming' the last enemy (leaving him/her alive while you send your people to open chests and grab loot), but also non immersive, and specially upsetting as the fight can end if the last enemy hits your swordsman and it dies from the retaliation!
I would defintely like a little more interactivity with the places you visit.
I wonder if I really want to keep playing the 'nobody dies' approach, as at least the little I've played, it's very hard to keep my party well equipped. In my first 'shop' I could barely afford to give 3 of my party members armor, plus one shield and one helmet total. Don't know if money is more abundant later, but the more party members to equip, the less equipped they'll be.

You can exchange the equipment for you current party (<> all characters) at the beginning of each map.

I think the game is very good, but you can tell the focus was on combat, although the story and characters are quite fun as well.

TT may not be Fire Emblem or Shining Force right now, but it has potential to be really, really good if the developer keeps up with it and turns it into a series. I'm excited to see future games in the series.

I just hope in the future, they add some stuff beyond just 90% combat. A better inventory with manageable character stats and skills that you can customize yourself would help.