The gameplay and mechanics of Joyful... [Possible Spoilers]

[Nameless]

...are so poor they nearly killed the game for me. I'm talking about the near infinite HP enemies, the 3 different choices of abilities, the lack of support characters and complete lack of equipment. The original game was fleshed out way better in every aspect. I don't regret the purchase in any way and I'm satisfied by the end of the story but damn, the time I spent 20 minutes mindlessly beating on Arty or Harrry and accidently "escaped" from the fight was so infuriating I had to take a break before continuing.
Now don't get me wrong, all things considered I love the game... but I'm really surprised by some of the design choices in Joyful.

Anyone else agree?

[ModdedPan]

Yeah, I agree. There were some opportunities in the game to add party members, imo. Maybe Buddy could get party members who would immediately be surprised and turn on her if she takes a mask off. An RPG just can't function well without party members.

[Ichidoge]

Strangely enough, someone mentioned he only wanted to enjoy the story, but I think Joyful mechanics and gameplay actually help you to enjoy the story even more. You're the last woman on the planet, so it's hard to find anyone willing to help you without giving them your body in return. Rando leaving you was shocking at first, but then you realize Buddy has been acting like a maniac, killing everyone just like Brad did, only she doesn't have "noble" goal like her father. Brad told her she didn't need fancy moves, that's why she only has a few stabs and the throat lunge, and he also told her she need to be precise, cue the timing mechanic. I admit it, it's really hard at first, I used all my Rando rations, I struggled with mags, I didn't know how to time my attacks and I was in a pinch when Rando left my team, oh, and also, I was trying a Joyless run, but when people told me there was no penalty for using them, the battles became easier, even without Rando on the team.

You know, I wanted to see Buddy recruiting mutants, or characters like Terry and Queen Rogers coming back to help Buddy, but in the end, the only thing that bothers me is that ugly baby in the ending.

[Void]

I saw the Joyful as more of a skill based game, that relies on resource management. It's a lot more fun and challenging if you try to beat it wihtout using Joy, imo. I would have liked a little more charactter diversity, but I'm not altogether disappointed considering the way Buddy's skills differed from anything found in Painful.

[Nameless]

Originally posted by E!Damnation:

Strangely enough, someone mentioned he only wanted to enjoy the story, but I think Joyful mechanics and gameplay actually help you to enjoy the story even more. You're the last woman on the planet, so it's hard to find anyone willing to help you without giving them your body in return. .

You do have a point. Playing Buddy solo really makes you feel more like Buddy. I assume there's a decent chance that's intentional.

Originally posted by Abaddon:

I saw the Joyful as more of a skill based game, that relies on resource management. It's a lot more fun and challenging if you try to beat it wihtout using Joy, imo.

Yeah, there's some skill to the time based attacks and the resource management. I started out killing the bartender, big mistake. I don't really agree about it being more fun Joyless though. I started out playing like that but I didn't find that the that the combat ever got more complicated than Flash-stab-flash-stab with the occasional timed move. Maybe I was playing it wrong.