Iji

[pingcode20]

Anyone else heard of this great game? I found it not too long ago, and finished it a couple of times. It's like a cross between Out Of This World and Metroid Prime.

Well, the latter mostly in the way that the story unfolds via optional logbooks. It's linear, but the amount of depth is amazing, and almost old-school in all the secrets to be found by thinking out of the box and exploiting your weapons and enemies to their fullest.

Trailer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33mxD4FjD3w)
Linkie (http://www.remar.se/daniel/iji.php)

[Icewalker]

My friend just recommended I get it the other day. I'll probably be looking into it soonish.

[TheLogman]

Started playing it like 10 minutes ago, FREAKING AMAZING!

Specializing is so much fun. You mentioned it was like Metroid Prime, but the fact of the matter is, it is very very very similar to the other Metroids, especially Zero Mission and Fusion. You should play them too. Except you can't customize in those games.

Anyway, my character is a Cracking and Weapons expert, with a little spending on health to make the game a little easier. Cracking is so much fun, upgrading that early is totally worth it.

[pingcode20]

Yeah - It came to mind mostly because of the 'Piecing together the story' factor. That, and I haven't played the Fusion series. I'll get around to that someday.

Come to think of it, it's a little like System Shock and its ilk in that respect, too.

Personally, I've found that Weapons and Crack necessarily go hand in hand - especially the Shotgun/Resonance Detonator combo for the Reflector, which gives you a pretty solid fighting chance against practically all enemies.

The other important combination was... Shocksplinter (Komato Rocket Launcher) + Something. It was called the Plasma Cannon, and even though it burns ammunition twice as fast as just using the plain old Shocksplinter, it makes short work of a lot of enemies.

The one thing I haven't really seen huge call for is Assimilate - it's handy to take a couple of levels so you've got a nice ammo supply, but the armour recovery boost seems kind of pointless.

[Icewalker]

This game is AWESOME.

I've gotten to sector 7 already...really really fun. The weapon combining system is really great, I've focused on weapons and cracking as well, so I've got all of the Tasen weapons and 3 of the Kamato ones, and all of them with their alternate except for Tasen 4.

Also, just a note which I believe my friend mentioned: the plot is different depending on whether you kill a lot or very few enemies or whatever else. It's a sliding mood/pacifism meter. I've been focusing on complete offense myself, but I'm going to do a second playthrough and try to kill almost nothing.

[Comet]

I've played throught this game twice, once as an unstoppable machine of destruction and once as a pacifist ghost out to save everyone (enemies included).
Great, great game. The storyline is epic, the protagonist likeable even if she becomes something of a psycopath and the gameplay is diverse and fun.
It's a great blend of different games and genres. System Shock, Flashback, Out of this World, Metroid, Deus Ex... great sources of inspiration make a great game!

[pingcode20]

The plot doesn't change that much - the reality of the game is still bleak as ever, and nothing you do can change that.

Once you know that, of course, what you get for your efforts is the warm fuzzy feeling that on some level, even if it's a tiny one, you've managed to make a difference.

You've got to play through violently first, though - it's too hard to read most logbooks while their owners are still clomping around. But once you know the whole story (As well as Yukabacera's background info) it feels really great going through the game doing all those little things that make tiny differences.

---

Which weapons did you guys find the most useful?

Personally I stuck to only a small handful of weapons throughout the game:

- The Shotgun (Got cover? Shotgun it.)

- The Rocket Launcher (Basically your all-around blow-stuff-up gun)

- MPSD(?) Devastator (For the really big stuff that can't dodge/reflect)

- Resonance Reflector (If it's not the shotgun, it's the reflector)

- Plasma Cannon (Dodge THIS!)

Personally, I found anything that didn't cause instant health damage to be kind of useless, since to use those effectively without taking too much damage, you had to be behind cover - and the two 'freebie' weapons (shotgun, reflector) worked well there anyway.

[TheLogman]

I just pumped Cracking and Weapons near the end and 4+8 everything. That yellow beam kicks ass. I also got 10 Assimilation, which it TOTALLY worth it. Getting +3 instead of +2 from Health pickups and tons of bonus ammo is worth it at the end, especially the final stuff.

EDIT:

So, going for Innocent Status, who are the two you have to kill? I broke the Treaty in Sector 3, but I think you had to. I also think I have no choice but to kill the general. A second question: How do you get the poster in area 3? I think you have to pull a rocket jump, but I am not sure.

[pingcode20]

Re: Pacifism
The two characters who must die are Elite Krotura and Iosa the Invincible. Of course, you have to fight every boss, but they're the only two who both have to die on defeat and count as people.

Protip: Notice how the 'fluff' on Assassins say that they teleport away when seriously injured. That makes them fair game.

[TheLogman]

So, more on my Pacifism run:

Okay, so I was playing and I went into the teleporter that you unlock from being in a pacifism run. And that was a LOT of Assassins. Like 5.

Anyway, okay awesome, because I am at Iosa, and I keep trying to not kill her, and I keep just dying. Good to know that I can just end her.

So then I assume the final Assassin battle doesn't count as a kill, I suppose he just teles away. Awesome.

I am loving this game by the way.

[pingcode20]

Actually - it's just the boss stages where you are forced to fight.

In the second fight against the One-Armed Assassin (Asha, or something), the logbook actually makes it clear that he's fighting to the death, and when you beat him he explodes and his helmet-thing falls to the ground.

That reminds me - have you read Yuka's Notes yet? They're some pretty neat backstory, that explains a lot of what happens in the game.

Don't worry - it doesn't spoil anything. It's just that once you've finished the game, reading it gives a lot of neat context.

I'll add a link to the OP.

[TheLogman]

Ya, hey problem.

It counted as a kill when I finished off the One-Armed Assassin. Which gives me 3 kills. Was it that I used a Shotgun? Because I think the logbook mentions he won't tele if I am shooting with a shotgun. Do I have to go get a different weapon to kill him? Or do I just run away from the fight somehow?

[pingcode20]

Re: Avoiding that third kill
Remember the power core?

The one where you have to kill him to open the doors?

Re-read the logbook there carefully.

[TheLogman]

Wow, just, just WOW. I did it. I accomplished the game on Innocent.

Link to End game picture (http://img123.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ijiinnocentba5.jpg)

Freaking Amazing man. I mean, I know I won't get anything for doing Innocent, but I felt a draw to it, over Immortal or Nano-whatever.

This game has some of the best secrets ever. Now I gotta go figure out the rest of the posters. There's some charm about indie games, they aren't afraid to be too hard, aren't afraid to be different, and it makes it SOOOOOO much better.

For the most of the Innocent Run, my stats were as follows: 10 Health, 10 Strength, 10 Crack, 10 Assimilate. I avoided Attack and the Weapons, because duh, Innocent run. The thing was amazing the second time through, totally amazing. Those little changes and tweaks make it just WOW.

Plus being able to kick things out of the way without killing them was a TON of fun.

[Icewalker]

Working on my pacifist run on hard mode. Just finished Iosa and discovered I'd made a kill somewhere, so I'm gonna need to redo the level. Other than that, quite successful. Checked how you get past Asha the second time, and had to reset my field, making for some hard times on that level.

Edit:
Bad plan: taking on max charge Tor on a hard mode pacifist run. :smallsigh:

[KKL]

Iji is wonderfully fun, although I'm somewhat bad at it.

[pingcode20]

Heh. I reset my field practically constantly on my pacifist run.

Maximum Charge is bloody hard, though, no matter what difficulty you're on. :smalleek:

I suspect that if you can beat Maximum Charge on normal, you can beat it on any difficulty.

[KKL]

THIS JUST IN GENERAL TOR LIKES FAT HAIRY MEN becuase holy **** even with the Health 10 Passive Trait he's dealing imperial craptonnes of damage to me.

This is fun.

[Icewalker]

I was totally wrecked by Maximum Charge Tor on my hard difficulty pacifist run.

Then I did an extreme difficulty violent run, got to Tor, and wrecked him on maximum charge using only the reflector, only important stats health 10 and assimilate 10, and never was below about 6 damage. Because he drops +4 hp every time, I really didn't have any trouble with him.

Those flying turrets can get damn annoying though.

[Cespenar]

First, a thanks for pointing out this great game is needed, I believe. I'm having a lucky streak this month, discovering both Cave Story and this.

Anyway, somehow (probably because of the experience), a pure-pacifist run at hard(Maximum Charge Tor included) felt easier than my first regular normal game. And the only thing I can say about those damned turrets are, that an early usage of the reflector takes care of them most of the time, leaving you undisturbed for that "moment of truth".

Another suggestion for the Charged Tor would be, "get Strength 10 along with Health and Assimilate, and jump all the time".

[MeklorIlavator]

Well, first of all, truly great game. Seriously, its amazing.

Now that that's out of the way, a couple questions:
What happens if you get all the ribbons?
What do you mean by "fully charged Tor"?

[Cespenar]

I don't know much about the ribbons, but,

If you finish the game at least once, an optional teleporter appears in the "preparation room" before Tor. There, you can use a console to charge Tor to his maximum potential, which means simply making the boss fight much more harder. With no changes in most runs, it's purely a masochistic choice :smallbiggrin:, though I think I read that if it's used (and beaten) in the hardest setting, Iji will make a comment about it.

[Icewalker]

Anyone know how Retribution works? I know of it, but I can't find anything about it. There is a log on it in I believe Sector 9, and I found a guide to get there, but haven't gotten around to it yet.

[Cespenar]

Was it the skill that needs you to have at least 1 ammo of each eight gun, and a health of below x, whatever x was? I don't recall the details, but the logbook was in Sector 8, I guess.

[Icewalker]

Yeah, it's that one. I saw what I believe was it in the trailer, it involves a lot of exploding, looks pretty awesome.

[Icewalker]

Okay, Ultimortal difficulty...

Enemies are faster, you can only upgrade health, and there are no red or green nanofields. Yes, there is no health that can be picked up.

Also, you have a rigid (4 to 6 minute) time limit on each level. It's 10 on Sector X, but you have to fight Asha there.

I burned all the way straight to Sector X, pretty easy actually, taking a mostly pacifist path (the only time I kill people is when I get my hands on a Tasen shredder)

Then I got to Asha. Who SLAUGHTERED me. Twice, due to the regeneration thing before him. I didn't get him down to 2/3 hp, in two added deaths. I lost hard enough that I didn't try again to see if it was a first time deal...at that speed, his images become really hard to follow.

I'll go back and beat it eventually.

EDIT: Well, I beat ultimortal. Gotta say, Tor is pretty hard on maximum charge when the only stat you have above 1 is health 10, and HE DOESN'T DROP HEALTH.

[TSGames]

So... What did people think of
Sector Z?
I thought it was one of the more interesting parts of the game.

[Comet]

So... What did people think of --
I never got around to experiencing that part of the game and since I'm not likely to reinstall this game soon, would somebody be kind enough to explain in relative detail the contents of that part for me? I'm kinda curious what it's all about.

[Icewalker]

I've been going through and gathering posters now.

[TheLogman]

Well I went to Sector Z in my Pacifist run...

And DAMN was it hard!!! I didn't even gain anything from being down there, since this was a pacifist run, so the weapons/ammo/even levels meant nothing to me (I had maxed out everything but Attack and the Weapons, so why bother leveling more?). But Sector Z contained about 10 Assassins all at one time, and with my shotty, I couldn't really kill them, so it became get in and get out as quick as possible. A really great challenge, it just got me nothing in return >.>

[pingcode20]

Isn't Sector Z the one you need all 10 posters for? Or was it the one you had to spare that Tasen's girlfriend for?

The one where you have to spare the girlfriend was hard as hell - I managed to get a fair bit in before dying though. Plasma Cannon is awesome for taking down assassins.

[Icewalker]

Yeah, Logman, that isn't sector Z. That's the assassin section at the end of a pacifist run, not sure if it has a name. Sector Z is...interesting.

[TSGames]

Isn't Sector Z the one you need all 10 posters for? Or was it the one you had to spare that Tasen's girlfriend for?

The one where you have to spare the girlfriend was hard as hell - I managed to get a fair bit in before dying though. Plasma Cannon is awesome for taking down assassins.

It's the first one. It's really trippy, but was one of my favorite parts of the game. Especially
The poster that is "Too epic to unlock"
The sector with all the assassins was "Deep Sector" iirc. And yeah, that was hard as hell on my Extreme Pacifist run(thank goodness assassins aren't kills though, I really needed the XP)

[Icewalker]

I love all the little changes that can happen in the game. For example, killing Asha with a nuke.

It changes his dialogue afterwards, to something more along the lines of "WHAT THE HELL, HOW DID YOU GET A NUKE! GOD DAMNIT!"

Plus he drops a supercharge.

[MeklorIlavator]

Does anyone know where the trapmine is? And if you get it, what changes if
Dan lives

[TSGames]

Does anyone know where the trapmine is? And if you get it, what changes if
Dan lives

IIRC
Not a lot changes if he lives, just slightly different dialogue. Anyway, the mine is in the upper left of a huge chamber...I think it had an annihilator in it... just go as far up and to the left as you can, and you can't miss it. Sorry I can't be less vague, but I always found the trapmine by coincidence every time I played through.

[TheLogman]

The end is different, and of course, a pacifist run is impossible without the tripmine

[MeklorIlavator]

The end is different, and of course, a pacifist run is impossible without the tripmine

Really? Why?

[TSGames]

Really? Why?

For a reason that escapes me, after you blow up the alien that tries to teleport in behind you, it doesn't count as a kill. I always figured planting the tripmine was basically the same as killing the guy, but apparently the game creator disagrees.
Then again, I guess I shouldn't be surprised.
On my pacifist run
People I killed: 2
Deaths I was responsible for:200+

[MeklorIlavator]

Ah, I meant why does that let you get a Pacifist run? Why would it be impossible to get the run without that?

Also, I just got into sector Z today. Its definitely...interesting.

[TSGames]

Ah, I meant why does that let you get a Pacifist run? Why would it be impossible to get the run without that?

Also, I just got into sector Z today. Its definitely...interesting.

If you don't kill the alien with the mine, then you have a minimum of 3 kills, which puts you above "pacifist" (at "murderer" I think).

And sector Z was pretty awesome. Took me like seven tries to beat it(for some reason I thought you had to kick the orb things in the first part); didn't even try shooting until like my 5th try.

I also loved the "This poster is too epic to unlock"

[MeklorIlavator]

If you don't kill the alien with the mine, then you have a minimum of 3 kills, which puts you above "pacifist" (at "murderer" I think).

And sector Z was pretty awesome. Took me like seven tries to beat it(for some reason I thought you had to kick the orb things in the first part); didn't even try shooting until like my 5th try.



Just beat Sector Z today, and I must agree with you about how awesome it is. Also, How does one avoid the third kill? I just finished my attempt at a pacifist run, and I got 3 kills(the Commander, the Assassin, and Isoa? The Annihilator). I had to fight the assassin as I couldn't Nanofield Reboot(do you have to discover the ability on that play through?). Any advise on where I went wrong(I have saves, so i can just go back)? And does doing a pacifist run get unlock anything.

[pingcode20]

Just beat Sector Z today, and I must agree with you about how awesome it is. Also, How does one avoid the third kill? I just finished my attempt at a pacifist run, and I got 3 kills(the Commander, the Assassin, and Isoa? The Annihilator). I had to fight the assassin as I couldn't Nanofield Reboot(do you have to discover the ability on that play through?). Any advise on where I went wrong(I have saves, so i can just go back)? And does doing a pacifist run get unlock anything.

Huh? You get Nanofield Reboot from one of the logbooks right near the core.

Also, to avoid Asha? Read the logbook talking about the defences carefully. It's reinforced against nukes.

I really ought to start properly hunting for posters. Sector Z sounds fun.

[endoperez]

Thanks for the recommendations here. I gave it a try (to take a break from Sacred Grounds secret level of Cave Story...), and it is indeed a great game.

I had some trouble in the beginning, the screen stayed black but the sound were on, but that went away when I put the game into compatibility mode.

[MeklorIlavator]

Wow, has anyone else tried the
Scrambler you can find in sector 6? It really makes the dialog/logbooks...interesting.

[Eldan]

Now I feel bad. I mean, I felt good for finishing this game today, but I haven't found a single one of these secrets you people talk about.

[LiteYear]

Well, by finishing the game, you get sector maps which tell you where the posters are, which helps immensely. There's also a hard-to-get log book in Sector 3 that gives you a lot of hints on how to reach posters.

Unfortunately, my Iji game is now experiencing a bug with my sound card that randomly causes complete computer lock-ups, so now I have to play without sound effects (until I decide to try to re-install the game). Which sucks because enemies can target you off the screen and you don't know it's coming :/

[LiteYear]

*bump*

Iji is now is up to version 1.3. According to the change log, among other things, it's now possible for a true pacifist run.

[Kalir]

Wow, has anyone else tried the
Scrambler you can find in sector 6? It really makes the dialog/logbooks...interesting.

IJI: You... y-you promised me a pony... with missiles...
DAN: See this shirt? It's cool. You're not. I win.
ASHA: PEW PEW PEW


Also... I hear there's a new gun somewhere around somewhere. For the record, I know about the secret gun in Sector 9 and the pacifist reward weapon. I hear there's one in addition to those two.

[metamorphosis]

just announcing my release of 'PassivePack' - alternative music pack for Iji:

http://www.mediafire.com/?n1uz2gzghko
or here: http://www.box.net/shared/bsrasi50vt

This is a subtlely sedate'ish music pack designed specifically for for those wanting a different feel upon replaying through on hard and other levels.
It's sanctioned by Daniel except for hero3d.mp3, which I courteously removed due to the fact that the
original is a cover of a Machinae Supremacy song "Hero", which he likes, and doesn't want anything replacing it!

Feel free to redistribute elsewhere.
All music by www.mattbentley.net
M@