First time playing...shoulda known

[22ndsolstice]

Wow. So uh...I'm an idiot.

This is my first time playing a fanmade game. I'm used to speeding through the originals, maybe fainting only once, twice max. Wins were pretty easy - it's "rock paper scissors grind".

This is not that game. I've been playing for hours, and have yet to get CLOSE to beating the first gym.
I can see Jasper Ward. It's right there. LET ME WIN SO I CAN CONTINUE

What was your experience when you first starting playing?

[_SaltyBacon_]

Started playing too, and HOLY CRAP.

This is a game.

It is so hard just to catch a Pokemon, specifically because they feed your starter two fights and bump it to level 7 from the get-go. On top of that, people want to battle you everywhere, meaning that you need to have lots of those Common Candies to keep your Mons in line.

In short, I LOVE THIS GAME (and i'm probably somewhat masochistic for liking it).

[Spineblade]

I figured it would be hard, but damn if I wasn't unprepared for just what would be expected of me.

You two have just started? You have a long storm coming your way. Good luck.

[22ndsolstice]

@Spineblade, I figured from reading the forums (as much as I can without excessive spoilers, anyway) that this game was gonna suuuuuck in the most compelling way possible. Excited!

[Combat]

I didn't expect it to be difficult, and only really got stopped at the third gym. From there though, I learned the true meaning of pain and suffering, but also learned of the beauty that come with defeat.

[Personthing]

While nowadays I can have a pretty comfortable and fun time going through the hardcore mod, my first playthrough was an experience to say the least. I completed episode 12 with only a Typhlosion, Swampert, Mightyena, cannon fodder Heatmor, and two other cannon fodder Pokemon because I was playing badly and not going out of my way to find stuff and was very picky. I still remember my hype when Heatmor barely scrapped by Serra's final Pokemon.

[Lugruf]

I had been warned by the guy who introduced me to Reborn that the game was hard so it didn't catch me by surprise. Julia swept me several times however since I discovered the way to beat her.

Oh, and Corey has been the hardest battle in Reborn so far for me. I got stucked there forever.

The game gets easier though the better you get at understanding the other's strategy and preparing your own. I actually haven't had real trouble with any fight past Corey.

[Lostelle]

It wasn't incredibly difficult for me, and I guess because I followed along watching Shofu's let's play of it back in 2013. I was prepared and could know what I needed to do and what I shouldn't do. That doesn't mean I've never lost, though.

[bepe]

That's how it was for me too, watching shofu tipped me off to the level of difficulty so I knew to be very prepared for some of the harder battles.

[Lord Drakyle]

I hadn't seen any of them playthrough things so wasn't prepared for the difficulty however I quickly adapted to it and defeated the first gym then the second gym came along and oh hell have mercy that took ages I've currently completed my progress through the content so far released twice and I assure you...it's a long bumpy road and it will HURT them bumps aren't hills they are jagged rocks!

[BreezyPonie]

I had no word whatsoever on the difficulty of the game, save for a couple threads that were basically "OMG CHARLOTTE IS SOOOOO HAAAAARD PLS NERF", so I was completely thrown off guard when Julia swept me off my feet and tossed me out the door. The other fights I at least expected, not that it made them any less hard or ragey (except for Charlotte, which I well prepared myself for after hearing the horror stories from the Internet.)

Edited February 25, 2016 by BreezyPonie

[Phi-Bi]

Tbh i enjoy the reborn difficulty since I first playing it. Actually I kinda want to play previous episodes which contain pre-nerf leaders but eh..maybe next time. Hardcore is a nice challenge too maybe I will start another run on hardcore because grass is OP. But if this is the first fan game you're playing well enjoy the difficulty, you will live all the pain and suffering someday~

[Masquerain]

It was a dark rainy night (literally in both the game and RL). My friend had recommended me this game and I was finally going to try it.

As I start my adventure, there's already this feeling of desolation. Trainwreck, earthquakes, scarcity of pokemon? Awesome.. let's get me a starter! Walking into a fancy building, meeting a fancy prof... Everything looks cool so far.. Oh, what's this?A wide selection of starters, hm? Good good.... What should I pick? It's been a while since I used a Charmander, let's go with that. What could go wrong anyway?

And so, 10minutes in, I venture out into the wild with a Charmander... But look, it's raining! Neh, who cares? Trainers are easy anywa- Oh, what? Just how many pokemon do you have, dood? Why are they already at my level or higher? Well, nevermind, I'm sure my fire can-oh wait..... What do you mean I blacked out?? This was not the plan! Ok, f this sh*t, I'm picking a mudkip.

And that is how my first experience went.

[ZEL]

I was prepared for the difficulty because the person who recommended the game to me had been playing it up until Agate Circus already before I even started, and he told me a lot about what it's like. (Most memorable to me will forever be his struggle against a certain PULSE.)

The difficulty was very enjoyable to me. When I started I was worried that it'd be too difficult for me and that I couldn't beat it, but while a couple of battles sure got me stuck for a while (looking at you here, Florinia), I never once had to ragequit or felt like I'd give up.

It was exactly the right amount of challenge. At least for someone like me who's only a casual player.

That said, what I expected from the game and what I got was very different for sure.

I expected absolute nightmare difficulty bordering on the unreasonable (hey, don't blame me, I've witnessed someone losing to Abra over IIRC twenty times), and more notably, that the story would be mostly just sloppy shock value and nothing I'd get invested in (based on the spoilers I got).

It took that person at least a week to even persuade me to try the game, that's how wrong my impression of it was at first.

...And then it turned out to be fun to play and I got very attached to the characters, the end.

[DemICE]

It was a dark rainy night (literally in both the game and RL). My friend had recommended me this game and I was finally going to try it.

As I start my adventure, there's already this feeling of desolation. Trainwreck, earthquakes, scarcity of pokemon? Awesome.. let's get me a starter! Walking into a fancy building, meeting a fancy prof... Everything looks cool so far.. Oh, what's this?A wide selection of starters, hm? Good good.... What should I pick? It's been a while since I used a Charmander, let's go with that. What could go wrong anyway?

And so, 10minutes in, I venture out into the wild with a Charmander... But look, it's raining! Neh, who cares? Trainers are easy anywa- Oh, what? Just how many pokemon do you have, dood? Why are they already at my level or higher? Well, nevermind, I'm sure my fire can-oh wait..... What do you mean I blacked out?? This was not the plan! Ok, f this sh*t, I'm picking a mudkip.

And that is how my first experience went.

Haha i had better luck. I also picked charmander (like my trainer card shows), with solar power ability, but it was SUNNY outside! Oh the massacres... he slaughtered everything and then i realised i needed to make a team .... and the other pokemon had much more trouble fighting the enemies...

Still , Charmander ftw! What is that pulse tangrowth everyone's crying about? Ever heard of Dragon Rage? ^^

Edited February 26, 2016 by DemICE