Status TheBeautifulEric Jan 20, 2025 Completed
Completely floored by how much I enjoyed this game compared to both 4.1 and Iron Rain. It basically addressed every issue I had with 4.1. If you aren't already a fan of the core gameplay, I don't think this game will change your mind, but if you like 4.1, this is a better version of it. My comments are going …
Completely floored by how much I enjoyed this game compared to both 4.1 and Iron Rain. It basically addressed every issue I had with 4.1. If you aren't already a fan of the core gameplay, I don't think this game will change your mind, but if you like 4.1, this is a better version of it. My comments are going to be focused on the Wing Diver because that was my main class in both games.
Improvements
- Improved movement. Wing Diver gets dashes and Ranger's get a sprint. Both classes get improved pick up radius.
- Pick up improvements. Pick ups apply to all classes. This makes armor farming and obtaining new weapons way more convenient. Failing missions also rewards you with partial pick ups depending on the difficulty. And playing online let's pick ups apply to the entire team, so no need to coordinate or fight over drops.
- Weapon drops are improved. Getting duplicate weapons aren't worthless, they can potentially lead to upgrades to the weapon you picked up. This probably makes the game grindier if you are going for 100%, but I think the pros outweigh the cons.
- Wing diver gets different cores for its flight and energy. You can choose the core that fits your playstyle or is appropriate for the situation instead of sticking with the same static value like in 4.1.
- Improved stages. There's more diversity in the levels. It's nice to see other countries and environments. It was weird that it's the "Earth" defense force when you only saw one country. Underground sections are also improved by being less labyrinthian and dark.
- Wing diver weapons feel nerfed because of the charge mechanic. You have to be more conscientious of the energy as a resource.
- Only the fencer is allowed to equip two of the same weapon. I can only imagine this is to dissuade dual wielding a powerful weapon like the Idunn in 4.1.
- Some missions are really slow and long. The tutorials are dreadful and any mission where they take control of your camera slows down the pace quite a bit.
Overall, I'd say that if anyone is interested in the traditional EDF games, I'd say jump into 5 and skip 4.1 and Iron Rain. The story is separate from 4.1 and Iron Rain has different mechanics anyway. I haven't played any of the World Brothers games or EDF6 yet though, so maybe I'm wrong with this recommendation.
