Finally started playing this game. About 4-5 hours into it. It's pretty cool.

I'm actually kind of a bit confused about how the mechanics work. Like... at a "node" the timeline splits into two alternate timelines, at which point if you get stuck in one you can go back to the other one and then changes made in that one (like say, saving someone's life) are also reflected in the first one? Or something like that?

I think I understand how it works in the game, I just don't understand how it makes any sense at all. If I only saved their life in the other timeline, HOW is it saved in the current one as well? Like, what did this look like from their perspective. Did "I" actually save them in this timeline too? But that wouldn't make sense, because "I" was busy doing other important things, hence not being able to just save them in this timeline to begin with. Or did fate just somehow decide that since they were saved in the other they need to be saved in this one and just set things up so that they survive, or what? WHAT AM I MISSING HERE? THIS MAKES NO SENSE TO ME.

@Zero

I don't recall a specific moment where a life was saved in one timeline and then in the other. The only thing is that certain people's tendencies may be reflected in the other timeline if you do something that would change their ways of thinking. But other than that, the way they affect each other usually isn't anything drastic.

@Zero You're not missing anything. The timeline changes don't make much sense. If you remove the danger to someone's life in one timeline, it gets removed in both, or something.

Honestly, the timeline gimmick isn't RH's strongest aspect, despite being the primary selling point. The rest of the game is very good, though.

@VofEscaflowne Really? Early on in the game there is a rock that some bomb expert needs to blow up. So I go one timeline and... he is killed before he gets there. I go another timeline and I'm able to save him and he teaches me how to blow up rocks, but I think due to one thing or another (I'm a bit confused on what) I can't continue on in that timeline to have him blow up the rock. Then the game suggests that if I go back to the first route, things will be changed. So I do and, without me doing anything differently, he survives. Which is actually a bit odd because now I know how to blow up rocks himself and I don't even need him, it'd make more sense if the other timeline didn't change things but with my new skill I could do it myself now.

@nate38 The timeline gimmick is the most interesting thing though! But yeah, it seems pretty well made otherwise as well. The battle system is neat.

@Zero

Yeah I think it's just the fact that you remove the danger as @nate38 said. Change of mind to whoever put them at risk or maybe cause them to think differently before taking that route. Still, there's no real point in detailing it I'm sure

Yeah but I didn't do ANYTHING in the timeline that they are now safe in that would change things! And the kids even mention that changing things in one timeline can change them in another. Whether it makes sense or not.

Anyway, generally speaking, does it make sense to jump around from timelines a lot and explore the various possibilities, or just wait until you "have" to?

@Zero

Didn't you defeat the two thieves that were holding him hostage? He was now free in that timeline but you didn't require his services then... but in the other one, either the thieves or himself did something differently so that he wasn't held back.

But other than sidequests and such, there's really no benefit from exploring the possibilities. Things will open up when they have to.

I just beat the game the other day, and I had a little bit of a twinge of remorse for how I did it. I was careful to make sure I did everything, but then I realized that in doing so, I was locked in. There's an alternate ending if you leave some things undone, and you can continue after beating the game, so I really should have left some things unexplored so I could see both.

Long story short--I suggest you don't worry too much about exploring all the possibilities, until you're in the post-game.

@VofEscaflowne That's what I mean though, I saved him in one timeline, and somehow that... rippled? into the other timeline and he was no longer murdered there. But I'm unsure of WHY that would be the case, other than the game says that is how it happens.

Man this game is confusing, I got stuck in one timeline, went to the other, got stuck there too. I know WHAT skills I need in order to progress in both timelines, I just have no idea where/when I pick them up, and I'm not sure if the game has even hinted at this or not.

When all else fails, does it make sense to go wayyyy back in time and start exploring the time/places that are on the Historia map but I never followed? Or is the way forward usually not that far back?

It's confusing me because I'm unsure if the way forward (in either timeline) is connected to a time or a place... or a specific time and place combo. Probably the latter but there are way too many potentials there.

My feelings for this game are a roller coaster. I think I'm more on the "like" side now, but I have to admit, it took me awhile to get over the fact that the time traveling / alternate timeline stuff doesn't lead to awesome Zelda-like puzzles and such but is mostly just there for the plot (outside of the occasional "find some random person to teach you some random thing to progress.") Still, it does make for an interesting plot, playing out two different timelines and all and battling this secret "dark" person who is also able to jump around in time. (Although if you think about it too much, wouldn't that basically lead to an eternal stalemate?!) And looking at it more as a game with its roots in the traditional JRPG, it has a lot of neat stuff going on. The battle system is better than most, for one.

@Zero

Huh, for some reason I had you pegged on the "LIKE" side for this game from the beginning. I suppose I was wrong!

But now you're on the "LIKE" side now so all's well that ends well.

Well, I guess I went from liking the first hour feeling like it was a super fresh, new take on the JRPG to feeling like it turned into a traditional JRPG full of tropes and confusing navigation after that to feeling like it's... still a traditional JRPG full of tropes but has enough cool stuff going on with the dual timeline story and the battle system and such to make it stand out. And the timeline navigation is slightly less confusing once you realize that there are essentially just two main paths and if you get stuck in one 9 times out of 10 you can just hop to the newest point in the other and that's where you're supposed to be.

I'm not going to list every trope but one that stood out bigtime was the whole "there is an evil, oppressive ruler that you know is evil and oppressive because EVERYONE TELLS YOU". Really? How oppressive can this place be if people feel free enough to talk down the ruler to a total stranger on the streets right in front of said ruler's very castle?!

I think I just had to get past my OMG THIS IS GOING TO BE ONE OF THE BEST RPGS EVAR hype and accept it for what it is instead... a pretty good RPG with a few neat things and a few annoying things. We'll see how I feel at the end.

I'm kind of in the same boat. At first it seemed really fresh and interesting and like it was going to be really awesome, and now it mostly just feels like a pretty good traditional RPG. Which isn't bad necessarily, but it's not something that I find super compelling. Which is probably why I've only put 12 hours or so in over the last three months.

I like it, but it's definitely not my typical game, being that I'm not really into RPGs, and so it's definitely taking me some time to get through it. It's also tough to stay hooked when I take long breaks between sessions, and the time travel-heavy story can have me completely lost when I start it back up again.

I do really like some of the changes to the typical RPG formula though -- the battle system is great, I love the lack of random battles, and the time travel element does make things interesting even if it's more of a story thing than anything else.

There aren't many things about RH that are super duper special or inventive. It's just a lean, meaty JRPG with hardly any weak spots. Which puts it up there with Chrono Trigger as my favorite JRPGs ever.

Can someone explain something to me?

I'm still early in the game (early in Chapter 1), and I'm trying to recall a conversation that the two children from Historia told me. I think they said that changes in one timeline can reverberate in another? As in, I can save someone's life in one timeline, and in turn, save their life in the other timeline?

How exactly does that work? I was under the impression that each timeline was a separate entity. I don't quite understand how doing anything in one timeline will affect another. Is it similar to how Stocke can keep abilities and memories learned in one timeline? So, if he interacts with someone and saves their life, they will be saved in another timeline?

Or maybe I read it wrong?

@PogueSquadron Yeah, the timelines are "separate" but somehow you can alter a person's destiny in one timeline by messing around in the other. It doesn't make a ton of sense. Just go with it.

@nate38 Yeah what I've done in my head is just explained the Mana between people across timeline is linked.

Anywho, this game feels so long! I feel like so much has happened but I'm only 19 hours in and it looks like halfway through the game (somewhere in chapter 4 right now). The game still does a great job of dangling carrots in front of me that make me want to keep playing. I always use the next event or node as a good stopping point.

I'm still enjoying it, although right now I feel like the timelines have practically become their own separate games. I feel like this bit with Rosch and having to repair his Gauntlet (which didn't make much sense to me) is the first time I've really been using the time travel to affect the outcome of the events in the story. I think they squander too many moments in the game by simply having you go to the other timeline to learn an ability, making it feel too much like a Metroid game in a way (except instead of going to a different part of a map, you're going to a different timeline to unlock an ability).

So I'm like 15 hours into the game and have a question. Some of the nodes and events have a branching path to them that usually lead to a game over screen (but I do it anyway because I want to see all the outcomes), but I still have a few events with a branching path that I cannot seem to find the alternate route to take. For example, the very first node where you choose to go with Rosch or Heiss, there's another branching path through the center but I can't seem to find the route (I thought it would be the Sonja subquest, but apparently not), and there's a few of these scattered throughout my timeline thus far. So does it become apparent later in the game when I can explore these alternate routes?

I like to tie up all my loose ends before I move on in the story, and these are bugging me.

@Bjomesphat Yes, a lot of them become more apparent later in the story. I remember that early one bugging me until nearly the end of the game. There are a couple that are very hard to get naturally, without a guide, which can lead to spoilers. You can beat the game with some open nodes and then load the same save file to fill them in and beat the game again.