Arg, I hate having been so good. Failed a level several times, which I remember being as one of the easiest, originally. >_< 68-to-1 transitions SUCK. :P
If only I had my save from another site, this would be so much easier. Muscle Memory has me still remembering what I could do, taking on an Arcane wave, making every wave angry (with grade 2 gems!), and still getting through almost without a scratch. Trying that on a NEW game? Not so much. :P
Funny, how even after using a guide, I still couldn't get my character *quite* to where I wanted him to be. Ah, well... :)
Anyway, hours of fun and massive replayability, since it's pretty much impossible to do everything in one runthrough. ;)
(Oh, and by the way, it might seem kinda newbish of me, but I don't suppose there's a stat that improves how quickly the skills improve, is there? .3 at a time is really slow. *Points to work score* >_<)
Lol, first time I've ever been in the top scores. Only for this week, but still... :P
Anyway, I loved almost everything about this game, with one slight exception: the unique logos. Every study and every job in the original looked different. (My favorite being the Dragon Taming not going well.) This? Same, succeed or fail, for every. single. thing. That...is very annoying, to say the least.
Also, something which you might want to consider is to add a "this level requires X". I honestly only unlocked all the dungeons by dumb luck. :P This COULD also apply to the locations which you can visit (like the Mountain Castle), but then again, in that case, part of the challenge is finding those places.
Just my thoughts. :)
Right, so something I tend to hate about descriptions of how to win a level: how vague they are. I got to 45 with the strategy silverblade82's strategy, which was only to 41. With the very vague strategy of Fire-and-Ice spamming ~10 fire/16 ice, I got to 29. Maybe I should begin taking my own notes and try to see what works and what doesn't. >_<
Also, I've found that each of the five versions has a unique touch which makes some parts more enjoyable than others. For example, in this game, I actually like the look of the enemies better. Also, the units upgrading change drastically in look--something which was mostly dropped later on. I like the effect. Some time, I should compile all the strengths/weaknesses of each version for ideas/suggestions to bounce around if/when a new Protector is started. ;)
"Heh, heh. Four down, two to go. One hard--shouldn't be a problem; I just beat moongate which is also listed as hard. Marathon--even easier, as my units will have more time to level up."
*ten minutes later*
"Alright, so maaaaaaaybe this will be a bit harder than I anticipated..." :P (Got to around 30 on Star Room, and survived 'til 35 on Green Acres. Dang, I thought I was better than that...)
In order, I beat
-Protector (a year or two ago)
-Protector III
-Protector: Reclaiming the Throne (with the knowledge I gained from Protector III), both Normal and Hardcore,
-And just recently, Protector IV: Mercenary.
...The ONLY one left?
The original, the prototype, Defender. *crosses fingers* I'm gonna need all the luck I can get, 'cause I remember playing Defender before Protector and quitting when I found Protector 'cause Protector was easier. :P
Lol, hardcore doesn't seem hardcore with all those skillpoints--in fact, the worst levels felt exactly the same as on easy, while many of the simpler ones felt far easier. :P
"Sweet, I'm totally massacring these enemies with my armor pierce warriors! Now all that's left is the b--500 armor?!? My units did nothing but specialism, and aren't leaving a dent. Ah, well. My mage with cripple will kill it."
*cripple stops working once the boss reaches 1 HP* Now that's not fair...! :P
I have made a discovery:
Archers are awesome. :P
They just helped me beat a map I was having trouble with in the past. Barely, but hey, at least I got it done! ;)
(Ah, how many comments I could make...this game is proving far more extensive than the others, to say the least. But right now, I have a particular comment in mind.) You know, The Forgotten Ruins are lovely. Bringing back a Protector location classic! It's a good idea, and I loved that location in the original, because of how many tiles there were. And it seems the monster types were ALSO lifted directly from its predecessors!
...Problem is, in all the other Protector games, you have access to all five elements. Instead of, oh, say, three at a time. Meaning, there is no single element on that map which is always going to be effective. Heck, three elements have absorb waves! Now in the original Protector, not a problem. Just create more of an element that unit is vulnerable to or--if you know that'll backfire later--a neutral unit.
...Not so much for this game. With only three elements, no matter what, I can only cover a fraction of the waves. Extremely annoying, to say the least.
My gamebreaker: the map with 30 waves. Gives tons of Gold and XP, and once through the first five, you can upgrade your units to a single element. (Cold has ten waves vulnerable to it, AND has no waves except the first five immune to it!) So, four starting Warriors at the corner spaces, and spend money on creating four mages behind them (to take care of the flying waves before they become archers). Then pave the tiles right behind those mages (there's only 1 each, due to ruins in the way), and then pave the only other corner tiles and put two more warriors on them. Upgrade as needed, and you get thousands of gold and XP.
(Comment Part 2) It's not bad, don't get me wrong. It's just that I kinda prefer the original. It seemed like a good challenge (believe me; beating some of those levels took me countless tries), but this one to me feels...a little beyond a good challenge (as in, pushing it a BIT too far).
Now, I'm sure it can probably be explained by me not having...fully adjusted...to the new system. Old-fashioned as I am, I'm not used to having as many options as I do now, so I'm sure the reason I can only beat 4 maps is due to me not having fully fit in.
Very good game. (Just not so much for me.)
Now, believe me, I think this game is actually the most addicting of the three, BECAUSE of how hard it is right now. ;)
(Comment Part 1) I have determined that this game is many times more difficult to a veteran player of the original Protector (as well as "Defender"). The original?
A few days, maybe a week maximum to defeat it (it says 50 hours wasted, so yea). This one? Same time (okay, not wasted, but it's been that number of days), and I have barely gotten a few maps in and I am experiencing trouble y'know, actually WINNING. Four Easy Maps, then Easy Marathon, Three Mediums, and a Medium Marathon--the main island. The island on the lower left? Three Medium, two Hard.
This game?
About the same. Only, instead of starting at the top (like the original), we're at the bottom, which feels...strange. Also, I enjoyed Dexters only having two options: general and special (critical). Now they have four specials to worry about, and can choose their element. Instead of having to place mages down of each element, it's just elementless mages who gain an element.
 "GemCraft chapter 0"){kind=icon}
 "My Pet Protector 2"){kind=icon}
 "Dead of Night"){kind=icon}
 "Defender"){kind=icon}
 "Protector: Reclaiming the Throne"){kind=icon}
 "Protector IV"){kind=icon}
 "Protector III"){kind=icon}