This is it folks. Time to wrap this shiznit up!
Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (Originally released in 1992 on the SNES.)
Oh come now, you don't think I could really make this list and leave out any Zelda game did you? I grew up with these games, and I don't care what anyone says, they are considered rpgs in my eyes. You collect items, monsters have a set number of hits to die, you gain health as you progress throughout the game, and the game is set in a fantasy world where all those rpg cliches exist in full form.
A Link to the Past was the first Zelda game on the SNES and turned out to be the only game of the series to make it to that console. After the first two Zelda games, the fans wanted something bigger and better from Nintendo, and they delivered. This game offers everyone the fans loved about the first Zelda game with a boost of awesomeness. The same top-down perspective from the original with enhanced graphics, obviously.
This game is just delivered in a way that makes you want to never put your controller down and keep exploring and discovering all the new and interesting items and worlds. ALttP has iconic music, and all the characters from the series you have or will grow to love. Link, the staple in every Zelda game is a young lad who is stuck at home while his uncle goes out and explores. Sitting at home was never any of the Link's strong points, so soon after he leaves, Link decides to follow him. He finds his uncle wounded, and his uncle offers up his sword and shield. This is where Link's adventure truly begins. He soon meets and rescues the princess of Hyrule, Zelda. From there he must go out and collect pendants in order to break the seal of the master sword. The master sword is the only weapon that is capable of defeating the evil wizard Agahnim.
As you journey around Hyrule, you meet many friends and foes. You also start every game with only three hearts which serve as a life bar to Link. To get stronger and live through tough situations you have to find the hidden heart containers. Collecting four of them will grant you an extra heart in your life bar. Also, when you beat the boss of a dungeon you will get a full heart container and that will grant you one heart automatically.Every dungeon also hides a new item for Link to use. These items are pivotal for completing the game, and most are new ideas that have since shown up in every game since. Items such as the hookshot, flippers, and the power gloves can all be found in the later games.
Link's adventures seem as though they will never end. I can smell it in the air that one day they will reverse the roles and have a game where Zelda has to go out and find a captured Link. But until then, we get a game that has survived every consoles trial and continues to produce great games for each system it comes out on. ALttP still remains my favorite of the series, but that's not to say that there are many games that are close to my heart and serve as classics in their own accord.
There's just something about the setting in a LttP. The music sets the tone very well, the characters are all so familiar, the dungeons are classics, the items are fun to play around with. Like my brother, this is a game I could and do play a lot. I think he has eclipsed me as far as number of times replaying this game, but we both enjoy it that much. It is, in all forms of the definition: a timeless classic.
Monday, January 31, 2011
#30
Valkyrie Profile (Originally released in 2000 for the PS1.)
I do love me some mythology, so when I heard that a game was going to be dealing with Norse mythology I had to check it out. Valkyrie Profile is a pretty intense game. A lot of the Deity in the game were names I recognized. Being of Norse origins, there were a lot of names that were new to me, but it all ties together so well and fits the mythology scheme. The game really does leave you with a great fantasy experience.
You take control of Lenneth, a recently awakened warrior maiden who is a servant of Odin, the ruler of Asgard. Odin commands Lenneth to go out and search the lands for the strongest humans. These special humans will then serve under Odin as his foot soldiers in the upcoming Ragnarok.. The catch is that all these humans must be dead in order for Lenneth to recruit them, so most of their recruitment scenes shows their last minutes alive in the human realm.
Everyone who joins you, unless they are a God, has a death scene. These scenes are the best part of the game, because you get to witness these characters last moments alive. The game really drives deep into the human emotion of coming to terms with death. Then, when these characters think the end is near and their stories are complete, Lenneth reveals herself and gives them the option of joining the battle of the Gods. Most of the characters are noble one, but some of the better recruitment scenes are the shady characters Lenneth recruits in which she ponders what redeeming traits these people have. There are a lot of characters to go out and recruit. They mostly consider of archers, long-swordsmen, mages, agile swordsmen and in certain instances, the God themselves tag along.
The battles in this game are fun as well. You can select three people to fight alongside Lenneth. Each character is assigned a button depending on where you place them in the party. Selecting that button sends the assigned character off to attack the enemies. You can mash all the buttons at once to send every ones attacks out at the same time, but that strategy does not work to well in this game. This game is based on a combo system and timing is key. You want to start off with characters who have easily chained moves and then find a way to keep the enemies in the air to build combo points. When you collect enough points in a turn, you may trigger a special attack. This is where the battles get pretty. Special attacks all vary from each character and they are powerful displays of hacking and slashing. Some characters are better then others, but you can try out anyone, or fill in teams slots with people that you enjoy watching their specials go off.
Valkyrie Profile sets the mood just right. You are set to enjoy a game whose story revolves around the Gods conflict with one another. The characters are all entertaining, and the game has multiple endings, so be sure to choose wisely in every decision you make. I enjoyed this game a lot due to the all the ties with Norse mythology I did and did not know about. If you are also a lover of that genre of literature, then I suggest you give this game a try. You may even find out something you had never known before. I know I did.
I do love me some mythology, so when I heard that a game was going to be dealing with Norse mythology I had to check it out. Valkyrie Profile is a pretty intense game. A lot of the Deity in the game were names I recognized. Being of Norse origins, there were a lot of names that were new to me, but it all ties together so well and fits the mythology scheme. The game really does leave you with a great fantasy experience.
You take control of Lenneth, a recently awakened warrior maiden who is a servant of Odin, the ruler of Asgard. Odin commands Lenneth to go out and search the lands for the strongest humans. These special humans will then serve under Odin as his foot soldiers in the upcoming Ragnarok.. The catch is that all these humans must be dead in order for Lenneth to recruit them, so most of their recruitment scenes shows their last minutes alive in the human realm.
Everyone who joins you, unless they are a God, has a death scene. These scenes are the best part of the game, because you get to witness these characters last moments alive. The game really drives deep into the human emotion of coming to terms with death. Then, when these characters think the end is near and their stories are complete, Lenneth reveals herself and gives them the option of joining the battle of the Gods. Most of the characters are noble one, but some of the better recruitment scenes are the shady characters Lenneth recruits in which she ponders what redeeming traits these people have. There are a lot of characters to go out and recruit. They mostly consider of archers, long-swordsmen, mages, agile swordsmen and in certain instances, the God themselves tag along.
The battles in this game are fun as well. You can select three people to fight alongside Lenneth. Each character is assigned a button depending on where you place them in the party. Selecting that button sends the assigned character off to attack the enemies. You can mash all the buttons at once to send every ones attacks out at the same time, but that strategy does not work to well in this game. This game is based on a combo system and timing is key. You want to start off with characters who have easily chained moves and then find a way to keep the enemies in the air to build combo points. When you collect enough points in a turn, you may trigger a special attack. This is where the battles get pretty. Special attacks all vary from each character and they are powerful displays of hacking and slashing. Some characters are better then others, but you can try out anyone, or fill in teams slots with people that you enjoy watching their specials go off.
Valkyrie Profile sets the mood just right. You are set to enjoy a game whose story revolves around the Gods conflict with one another. The characters are all entertaining, and the game has multiple endings, so be sure to choose wisely in every decision you make. I enjoyed this game a lot due to the all the ties with Norse mythology I did and did not know about. If you are also a lover of that genre of literature, then I suggest you give this game a try. You may even find out something you had never known before. I know I did.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
#29
Grandia (Originally released in 1999 on the PS1.)
Grandia is one of those games I had heard whispers of, so when I laid my eyes on a copy of the playstation version of the game I had to give it a try and see what all the fuss was about. The game had apparently sold pretty well on the Saturn in Japan, so when it was ported over it gathered quite a buzz...at least around the rpg community!
Grandia deals with an aspect in rpgs that most do not. The main character, Justin is a pure hearted, young spirited, adventurer. The main theme of this game is traveling into the unknown. Justin has a passion for exploration and when he is given his chance, he sets off and decides to travel the world and see sights that no eyes have ever seen. The main goal for young Justin is to journey past the end of the world, which in this game is represented by a wall that scales far beyond the clouds. Justin believes there is plenty of the world that has yet to be discovered and he will not let one measly wall stop him from exploring it all.
The game also has one of the best supporting cast ever. Everyone is fleshed out and has tons of development. Characters like Rapp, and Feena or the strong willed Gadwin are just a couple of names that join Justin on his adventures during the game. The villains all have strong cases for their actions and even the less important characters you come across in your journeys have interesting stories and personalities. Game Arts went out of their way to make sure everyone of importance in this game left a lasting impression.
The battle system is impressive as well. The game has an active time battle system. Everyone in the fight is listed in order of fastest to slowest. They are all in a line, and when someone reaches the end of the line it marks their turn. When your characters get a turn, you have a couple different options. Every move you select has a charge time. Depending on what you choose, and your characters mastery of what you are selecting that chanrge time can be instant or slow. Regular attacks are your normal average powered attacks. Selecting a critical attack will allow you to cancel enemies current turns if they are in that small charge time period. Critical attacks are less powerful then regular attacks, so you will only want to use them if you can reach the enemy in time to cancel their attack. You also have special attacks and spells that work off of a leveling system. The more you use each and every spell and skill the faster you are able to cast them in battles. You also get more spells and skills when you meet certain requirements. Leveling two spells high enough could allow you to master a new spell that combines both. The battle system is fast and fun, so you won't get bored with it because its always challenging. You could in essence cancel the enemies turns from start to finish without so much as letting them take one turn.
Grandia offers a breath of fresh air. The game takes a light hearted approach, and tells the tale of group of people traveling to the ends of the world to see sights like none before them has ever seen. The cast is great, the story is wonderful, the battles are enjoyable. I now see why this game was gathering such a buzz in Japan. It was a buzz well deserved.
Grandia is one of those games I had heard whispers of, so when I laid my eyes on a copy of the playstation version of the game I had to give it a try and see what all the fuss was about. The game had apparently sold pretty well on the Saturn in Japan, so when it was ported over it gathered quite a buzz...at least around the rpg community!
Grandia deals with an aspect in rpgs that most do not. The main character, Justin is a pure hearted, young spirited, adventurer. The main theme of this game is traveling into the unknown. Justin has a passion for exploration and when he is given his chance, he sets off and decides to travel the world and see sights that no eyes have ever seen. The main goal for young Justin is to journey past the end of the world, which in this game is represented by a wall that scales far beyond the clouds. Justin believes there is plenty of the world that has yet to be discovered and he will not let one measly wall stop him from exploring it all.
The game also has one of the best supporting cast ever. Everyone is fleshed out and has tons of development. Characters like Rapp, and Feena or the strong willed Gadwin are just a couple of names that join Justin on his adventures during the game. The villains all have strong cases for their actions and even the less important characters you come across in your journeys have interesting stories and personalities. Game Arts went out of their way to make sure everyone of importance in this game left a lasting impression.
The battle system is impressive as well. The game has an active time battle system. Everyone in the fight is listed in order of fastest to slowest. They are all in a line, and when someone reaches the end of the line it marks their turn. When your characters get a turn, you have a couple different options. Every move you select has a charge time. Depending on what you choose, and your characters mastery of what you are selecting that chanrge time can be instant or slow. Regular attacks are your normal average powered attacks. Selecting a critical attack will allow you to cancel enemies current turns if they are in that small charge time period. Critical attacks are less powerful then regular attacks, so you will only want to use them if you can reach the enemy in time to cancel their attack. You also have special attacks and spells that work off of a leveling system. The more you use each and every spell and skill the faster you are able to cast them in battles. You also get more spells and skills when you meet certain requirements. Leveling two spells high enough could allow you to master a new spell that combines both. The battle system is fast and fun, so you won't get bored with it because its always challenging. You could in essence cancel the enemies turns from start to finish without so much as letting them take one turn.
Grandia offers a breath of fresh air. The game takes a light hearted approach, and tells the tale of group of people traveling to the ends of the world to see sights like none before them has ever seen. The cast is great, the story is wonderful, the battles are enjoyable. I now see why this game was gathering such a buzz in Japan. It was a buzz well deserved.
#28
7th Saga (Originally released in 1993 on the SNES.)
Ok, first of all I don not really consider this game to be a great game....but it has one thing that many rpgs tend to lack: difficulty. The 7th Saga is one of (if not the), hardest rpgs I have ever played. For that reason I consider it a classic, and a game I enjoy to play every now and then for the sheer curve of difficulty it brings to the table.
The game has a very cookie-cutter story. The leader of the world has collected seven brave warriors for a special mission. There are seven runes scattered around the world, and he promises whatever these warriors can dream up of as a reward for gathering all seven runes. It has a rat race type of feel for it and the seven adventurers are all fighting against each other till the end. The catch is, you get to pick who you want to be at the start. It doesn't matter who you choose, the story stays the same.
You characters range from a knight, an elf, a dwarf, a priest, a demon, an alien, and a robot. Everyone is different in some way or another. The knight is the most well balanced character in the game. He does not excel in any category, but he has no glaring weakness either. The priest acts as the best healer in the game, but has very poor offense and defense. The elf is the only female character and is the best offensive magic user. The demon is able to cast every offensive spell in the game, but he never gets any healing spells and has a bad selection of armor to pick from throughout the game. The dwarf is similar to the knight, except he is stronger, but slower and has less spells to choose from. The alien has the highest HP total from everyone, but his magic is very bad. The robot has the highest attack and defense rating in the game, but his magic is bad and he gets no armor upgrades until near the end of the game.
You can pick whoever you want. The only differences in play will be who wants to join you and who will want to fight you as you progress through the game. As you start to collect the runes, the other characters might want to join you or fight you. It is random who does what, so if you really want a character on your team, you can reset a lot until they decide to join up. The demon and priest are the hardest group to pair together because they are polar opposites. When you confront them, you will usually be forced to fight one another because they do not see eye to eye on any subject. That isn't to say they can't ever pair up, it's just harder to do then any other team combination.
The game starts off easy enough, but by the time you are able to recruit a teammate the game hits a huge difficulty spike and it barely ever diminishes. You are forced to grind a lot in this game or you will fall behind and regular enemies will crush you. I can say with experience that I often avoid certain paths because there are some annoying random encounters that are able to wipe your team with a single spell. When you reach a certain part of the game, and the plot twist occurs you are sent into the past where you can no longer back track. The game gets even harder form this point, so if you aren't sufficiently leveled by this time, the random fights may too hard for you to beat which will cause you to be stuck with no means of getting stronger. If this happens, you might have to just start all over since you can not advance any further. The game is hardly kind in any regard. It is meant for those who enjoy a challenge and do not mind failing every now and then.
The 7th Saga has nothing as far as an engaging story or interesting characters. Everyone is basically the same, and the story is there I suppose. It's a fun game to play with if you don't mind grinding a lot. I guess there is some sense of replay ability since you can mix teams around and see who goes best with who. This game is not for the faint of heart. if you get annoyed at challenges, then you might want to skip this game altogether.
Ok, first of all I don not really consider this game to be a great game....but it has one thing that many rpgs tend to lack: difficulty. The 7th Saga is one of (if not the), hardest rpgs I have ever played. For that reason I consider it a classic, and a game I enjoy to play every now and then for the sheer curve of difficulty it brings to the table.
The game has a very cookie-cutter story. The leader of the world has collected seven brave warriors for a special mission. There are seven runes scattered around the world, and he promises whatever these warriors can dream up of as a reward for gathering all seven runes. It has a rat race type of feel for it and the seven adventurers are all fighting against each other till the end. The catch is, you get to pick who you want to be at the start. It doesn't matter who you choose, the story stays the same.
You characters range from a knight, an elf, a dwarf, a priest, a demon, an alien, and a robot. Everyone is different in some way or another. The knight is the most well balanced character in the game. He does not excel in any category, but he has no glaring weakness either. The priest acts as the best healer in the game, but has very poor offense and defense. The elf is the only female character and is the best offensive magic user. The demon is able to cast every offensive spell in the game, but he never gets any healing spells and has a bad selection of armor to pick from throughout the game. The dwarf is similar to the knight, except he is stronger, but slower and has less spells to choose from. The alien has the highest HP total from everyone, but his magic is very bad. The robot has the highest attack and defense rating in the game, but his magic is bad and he gets no armor upgrades until near the end of the game.
You can pick whoever you want. The only differences in play will be who wants to join you and who will want to fight you as you progress through the game. As you start to collect the runes, the other characters might want to join you or fight you. It is random who does what, so if you really want a character on your team, you can reset a lot until they decide to join up. The demon and priest are the hardest group to pair together because they are polar opposites. When you confront them, you will usually be forced to fight one another because they do not see eye to eye on any subject. That isn't to say they can't ever pair up, it's just harder to do then any other team combination.
The game starts off easy enough, but by the time you are able to recruit a teammate the game hits a huge difficulty spike and it barely ever diminishes. You are forced to grind a lot in this game or you will fall behind and regular enemies will crush you. I can say with experience that I often avoid certain paths because there are some annoying random encounters that are able to wipe your team with a single spell. When you reach a certain part of the game, and the plot twist occurs you are sent into the past where you can no longer back track. The game gets even harder form this point, so if you aren't sufficiently leveled by this time, the random fights may too hard for you to beat which will cause you to be stuck with no means of getting stronger. If this happens, you might have to just start all over since you can not advance any further. The game is hardly kind in any regard. It is meant for those who enjoy a challenge and do not mind failing every now and then.
The 7th Saga has nothing as far as an engaging story or interesting characters. Everyone is basically the same, and the story is there I suppose. It's a fun game to play with if you don't mind grinding a lot. I guess there is some sense of replay ability since you can mix teams around and see who goes best with who. This game is not for the faint of heart. if you get annoyed at challenges, then you might want to skip this game altogether.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
#27
Shining Force 2 (Originally released in 1994 on the Sega Genesis.)
Fire Emblem might be the grand daddy of all SRPGs, but I did not get to play that series until much later in my life. My 1st SRPG experience came in the form of the Shining Force series. When I was young and still new to the whole rpg phenomenon, my step brother Justin was my guiding light for every and all that was rpgs. He introduced me back into Final Fantasy and he would always talk about these games where you play through generations of heroes (Phantasy Star 3; real bad game, but I digress.), and he would always play a plethora of rpgs so I could see every facet of the genre.
One game that I took notice of early and often was Shining Force. he would play it around me and I had never seen a game like it before. You get a cast of characters who are mostly all different types of characters. You have front line fighters, characters who can soak up some damage and deliver some to the opposition. There are mages and archers who enjoy attacking the enemy from far away. They are frail, so it is best to keep them behind your tougher teammates. You also have healers who float around and mend the wounds of friendly units all around the battlefield. You have a couple of people that have multiple functions. These could be monks who can damage enemies and heal people, or winged fighters who are frail but can usually move out of harms way before they are in danger. Then you have the hero and leader of the squad. The leader acts like a front line fighter and also commands powerful magic at his disposal. In this game, the main character is named Bowie and he has a special spell that is called Egress. If the fight is looking gloom, you can cast Egress and the battle is reset, but all experience is retained.
SF2 is a huge step above the first game in the series. The first game was episodic, meaning you went from one fight to the next without much exploration. The story and the characters within weren't all that fleshed out, but in the 2nd game you can explore the world, the story is improved, and the characters have a little more personality to them. in pretty much every category did SF2 succeed its predecessor. It works the same as most SRPGs do. You are given a map with a grid like you would find in a game of chess. Your characters placing is almost out of your control, but you can manipulate where everyone starts, its just extremely annoying and I never bother. The enemies are placed all over a huge map and you send your team out to destroy them, but don't send anyone frail out too far or they can be ganged up on and die rather quickly.
To think that by most accounts SF3, the game which was broken up into three games is the supposed best game in the series is a shame to me. I mean, I would have loved to play it, but for one it was on a system I did not own, and two: only one chapter was released in America. For these reason I enjoy SF2 as the best game in the series, but that could very well change if Sega gets off their lazy asses and ports over SF3 in a complete works fashion. What are you waiting for Sega? Do it already!
Fire Emblem might be the grand daddy of all SRPGs, but I did not get to play that series until much later in my life. My 1st SRPG experience came in the form of the Shining Force series. When I was young and still new to the whole rpg phenomenon, my step brother Justin was my guiding light for every and all that was rpgs. He introduced me back into Final Fantasy and he would always talk about these games where you play through generations of heroes (Phantasy Star 3; real bad game, but I digress.), and he would always play a plethora of rpgs so I could see every facet of the genre.
One game that I took notice of early and often was Shining Force. he would play it around me and I had never seen a game like it before. You get a cast of characters who are mostly all different types of characters. You have front line fighters, characters who can soak up some damage and deliver some to the opposition. There are mages and archers who enjoy attacking the enemy from far away. They are frail, so it is best to keep them behind your tougher teammates. You also have healers who float around and mend the wounds of friendly units all around the battlefield. You have a couple of people that have multiple functions. These could be monks who can damage enemies and heal people, or winged fighters who are frail but can usually move out of harms way before they are in danger. Then you have the hero and leader of the squad. The leader acts like a front line fighter and also commands powerful magic at his disposal. In this game, the main character is named Bowie and he has a special spell that is called Egress. If the fight is looking gloom, you can cast Egress and the battle is reset, but all experience is retained.
SF2 is a huge step above the first game in the series. The first game was episodic, meaning you went from one fight to the next without much exploration. The story and the characters within weren't all that fleshed out, but in the 2nd game you can explore the world, the story is improved, and the characters have a little more personality to them. in pretty much every category did SF2 succeed its predecessor. It works the same as most SRPGs do. You are given a map with a grid like you would find in a game of chess. Your characters placing is almost out of your control, but you can manipulate where everyone starts, its just extremely annoying and I never bother. The enemies are placed all over a huge map and you send your team out to destroy them, but don't send anyone frail out too far or they can be ganged up on and die rather quickly.
To think that by most accounts SF3, the game which was broken up into three games is the supposed best game in the series is a shame to me. I mean, I would have loved to play it, but for one it was on a system I did not own, and two: only one chapter was released in America. For these reason I enjoy SF2 as the best game in the series, but that could very well change if Sega gets off their lazy asses and ports over SF3 in a complete works fashion. What are you waiting for Sega? Do it already!
#26
Phantasy Star 4 (Originally released in 1995 on the Sega Genesis.)
Something about the number 4 made games better back in the day. I believe Phantasy Star 4 was my first venture into the series. This game introduced a lot for rpgs. It had a deep story, interesting characters and even dealt with the death of a character you had grown fond of.
The game was visually beautiful for its time. To my knowledge this was the first game that added anime-styled panels to the main parts of the story. During the important segments the game would break away from the bland world graphics and show you boxes of beautifully created images of the characters up close. These boxes of art were found throughout the entirety of the game. From start to finish you were rewarded with good, still action shots of the characters as they progressed through the games most dire of situations. The death of Alys comes to mind. It was a very sad point in the story and watching it without those panels would have really taken away from the mood at hand. I had never before seen that in a game of this nature, so it stands out.
The game had a great cast of characters as well. The game was set in a futuristic world where space travel was something of the norm. The main planet is named Motovia, but you soon finds means to travel around the solar system and explore numerous different planets around the area. The main character in this game is a young hunter by the name of Chaz. He is young and kind of hot tempered, but he has no real experience doing any jobs. You see a hunter is short for bounty hunter, but he is still a green horn in that field. He is being mentored by Alys Brangwin, who by all accounts is the most famous hunter in the land. For the early part of the game she acts like the leader, but after stepping in front of a deadly arcane attack, she suffers a mortal wound and leaves the party permanently. Chaz takes the lead after her death and grows into a powerful leader of the team. You also meet Rune Walsh, who is my favorite character in this game. I am inclined to think that my sarcastic nature stems from me having an infatuation with Rune who was overly sarcastic in my eyes.From the early parts of the game Rune picks on Chaz and the two clash early and often, but Rune shows that he is a valuable member of the party and has a pretty important role in the games story as certain events unfold.
The battle system is decent and is one of the earlier rpgs to introduce team attacks. By selecting the order in which your team attacks you could accidentally stumble upon a collaborative attack that inflicts much more damage then two separate attacks would. The game also has a macro list where you can choose team order and attacks so you can program team attacks into your battle plan. Players have a wide range of abilities to choose from. There's magic, which is a dying talent. Skills are found in the characters that do not possess magic, but it acts in the same fashion. Only humans, espers and green people have access to these abilities. The robots that join you are not capable of either. Techs are found in basically everyone that joins your team. All these abilities work the same, its just that magic and skills work off the same point system where as techs use an entirely different one. You will find it hard to run out of resources in a game like this.
For what it was, PS4 at its time was a huge success. It is a huge shame that this was the last sequential title in the series. Afterward, Sega decided to go the MMO path for the series and stopped making games for us single player fanatics.Regardless, PS4 is still a prime example of what old school games were capable of. It maxed out the Genesis' potential and produced a game that will be loved for generations to come.
Something about the number 4 made games better back in the day. I believe Phantasy Star 4 was my first venture into the series. This game introduced a lot for rpgs. It had a deep story, interesting characters and even dealt with the death of a character you had grown fond of.
The game was visually beautiful for its time. To my knowledge this was the first game that added anime-styled panels to the main parts of the story. During the important segments the game would break away from the bland world graphics and show you boxes of beautifully created images of the characters up close. These boxes of art were found throughout the entirety of the game. From start to finish you were rewarded with good, still action shots of the characters as they progressed through the games most dire of situations. The death of Alys comes to mind. It was a very sad point in the story and watching it without those panels would have really taken away from the mood at hand. I had never before seen that in a game of this nature, so it stands out.
The game had a great cast of characters as well. The game was set in a futuristic world where space travel was something of the norm. The main planet is named Motovia, but you soon finds means to travel around the solar system and explore numerous different planets around the area. The main character in this game is a young hunter by the name of Chaz. He is young and kind of hot tempered, but he has no real experience doing any jobs. You see a hunter is short for bounty hunter, but he is still a green horn in that field. He is being mentored by Alys Brangwin, who by all accounts is the most famous hunter in the land. For the early part of the game she acts like the leader, but after stepping in front of a deadly arcane attack, she suffers a mortal wound and leaves the party permanently. Chaz takes the lead after her death and grows into a powerful leader of the team. You also meet Rune Walsh, who is my favorite character in this game. I am inclined to think that my sarcastic nature stems from me having an infatuation with Rune who was overly sarcastic in my eyes.From the early parts of the game Rune picks on Chaz and the two clash early and often, but Rune shows that he is a valuable member of the party and has a pretty important role in the games story as certain events unfold.
The battle system is decent and is one of the earlier rpgs to introduce team attacks. By selecting the order in which your team attacks you could accidentally stumble upon a collaborative attack that inflicts much more damage then two separate attacks would. The game also has a macro list where you can choose team order and attacks so you can program team attacks into your battle plan. Players have a wide range of abilities to choose from. There's magic, which is a dying talent. Skills are found in the characters that do not possess magic, but it acts in the same fashion. Only humans, espers and green people have access to these abilities. The robots that join you are not capable of either. Techs are found in basically everyone that joins your team. All these abilities work the same, its just that magic and skills work off the same point system where as techs use an entirely different one. You will find it hard to run out of resources in a game like this.
For what it was, PS4 at its time was a huge success. It is a huge shame that this was the last sequential title in the series. Afterward, Sega decided to go the MMO path for the series and stopped making games for us single player fanatics.Regardless, PS4 is still a prime example of what old school games were capable of. It maxed out the Genesis' potential and produced a game that will be loved for generations to come.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
#25
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (Originally released in 1997 on the PS1.)
I could not talk about my all time favorite rpgs without mentioning this beauty, now could I? SotN was the first Castlevania game to add rpg elements to the side scrolling atmosphere found in the series. Equipment and leveling found its way into Castlevania, and the series has never been the same. They found something real special with that combination and most of the games since have followed the trend.
SotN is a game that follows the story of the events after Richter Belmont defeats Dracula. All seems well until one day, Dracula's castle mysteriously reappears. Dracula's son, Alucard decides to investigate and with this you have the setting. The entire game is played within the confines of your father's multi-layered fortress and for the first game at least you only have control of Alucard. Alucard is very powerful and is instantly stripped of all his powers when he walks into the castle. He losses all of his equipment and starts at level 1. Inside you deal with all of your fathers most loyal servants and some of his more interesting choices of pets.
For its time, SotN was visually stunning. The backgrounds all gave off an eerie feel and the music set the mood perfectly. Every part of the castle is different and offers new challenges. It felt like you were in Transylvania climbing your way to the top of Lord Dracula's domain. Alucard is blessed with being a vampire and shares a lot of powerful abilities that were handed down from his not-so-dear father. Alucard actually dislikes his father and views him as a monster.
The entire game is played out in a 2D setting. You move left to right. There are steps that lead upward and holes that lead you into the lower areas. It is a classic side scroller to the definition. The game itself is not too hard, but one can find certain early stages and monsters to be quite frustrating. In the later stages of the game, Alucard collects tons of trinkets and items to play with it is hard to fear death. You actually face the grim reaper who just so happens to be one of Dracula's most loyal of subjects. Shame that in this game, Death is less the impressive. Blame Alucard for being overpowered I suppose.
Konami always seem to find the niche that fans enjoy and crave more of. Not long after SotN's success did you see more games in the series follow this same design. Some people call it a mix between rpg and Metroid with Castlevania settings. These games are more commonly called Metroidvanias. Whatever you wish to call them I call them extremely fun to play and have bought every CV title that delivers this type of gameplay. They are fun, usually quick, and enjoyable to dive into.
I'm definitely glad the games I played as a kid have found there way into the new era of gaming.
I could not talk about my all time favorite rpgs without mentioning this beauty, now could I? SotN was the first Castlevania game to add rpg elements to the side scrolling atmosphere found in the series. Equipment and leveling found its way into Castlevania, and the series has never been the same. They found something real special with that combination and most of the games since have followed the trend.
SotN is a game that follows the story of the events after Richter Belmont defeats Dracula. All seems well until one day, Dracula's castle mysteriously reappears. Dracula's son, Alucard decides to investigate and with this you have the setting. The entire game is played within the confines of your father's multi-layered fortress and for the first game at least you only have control of Alucard. Alucard is very powerful and is instantly stripped of all his powers when he walks into the castle. He losses all of his equipment and starts at level 1. Inside you deal with all of your fathers most loyal servants and some of his more interesting choices of pets.
For its time, SotN was visually stunning. The backgrounds all gave off an eerie feel and the music set the mood perfectly. Every part of the castle is different and offers new challenges. It felt like you were in Transylvania climbing your way to the top of Lord Dracula's domain. Alucard is blessed with being a vampire and shares a lot of powerful abilities that were handed down from his not-so-dear father. Alucard actually dislikes his father and views him as a monster.
The entire game is played out in a 2D setting. You move left to right. There are steps that lead upward and holes that lead you into the lower areas. It is a classic side scroller to the definition. The game itself is not too hard, but one can find certain early stages and monsters to be quite frustrating. In the later stages of the game, Alucard collects tons of trinkets and items to play with it is hard to fear death. You actually face the grim reaper who just so happens to be one of Dracula's most loyal of subjects. Shame that in this game, Death is less the impressive. Blame Alucard for being overpowered I suppose.
Konami always seem to find the niche that fans enjoy and crave more of. Not long after SotN's success did you see more games in the series follow this same design. Some people call it a mix between rpg and Metroid with Castlevania settings. These games are more commonly called Metroidvanias. Whatever you wish to call them I call them extremely fun to play and have bought every CV title that delivers this type of gameplay. They are fun, usually quick, and enjoyable to dive into.
I'm definitely glad the games I played as a kid have found there way into the new era of gaming.
Monday, January 24, 2011
#23 & #24
(This is a two-fer)
Super Robot Taisen: Original Generation 1 and 2 (Originally released in 2006 on the GBA.)
I had always seen the chibi robot games as kind of silly and never looked that much into them. The main reason I never did was because I never had the chance. The Super Robot Wars series had been a japan release only series due to all the legal issues with the anime characters that were found within the game. Well, when Super Robot Taisen: Original Generation was created it did not have the limitations that the other games in the series possessed. Within its contents were new characters not tied to anime TV shows so the company could actually distribute to the US without any problems. The SRW franchise finally came over to the states in GBA form in the OG series, and I started to pay attention.
Original Generation 1 was my first attempt at this series. It was a pretty ugly game for its time, or so I thought. The map graphics were nothing to write home about, but the in battle graphics were not all that bad. They resembled the sort of anime look you would find in most 90s Japanimation. It gave it a real old school appeal to the game. The game is a SRPG and the rpg market was running dry on SRPGs and was starving even more for good and great ones. After the first couple of maps I knew this game was going to be special.
SWT:OG deals with giant mech-like battles so you deal with not only characters, but an assortment of robots the characters can pilot.
At the start of the game you have the option of picking from two characters. You can pick from Kyosuke, the more serious of the two, or Ryusei the younger of the two who loves Robots. When I say Ryusei loves robots I mean its to the point of obsession and sometimes creeps out the other pilots. Both pilots are hot blooded and love the heat of the moment-type situations, but Kyosuke is the better leader by far. In the second game he is the hands down main character and for the most part is commanding everyone else. Kyosuke is also very lucky in battles, having survived numerous near death situations. He loves to gamble and also has a fiery girlfriend named Excellen. The two make quite the team, both as a couple and in combat.
In this game everyone who has a picture is either a pilot who possibly joins you at some point, or a villain who you will have to defeat eventually. Sometimes both situations can occur. There are certain stipulations for each map that award you with a medal. These medals are extremely important to the story because you generate different paths by the amount of medals you have collected. It changes the overall story ever so slightly, but you maps or characters that join you are affected. If you are a completion monger, you really have to go out of your way in some maps to collect each medal. It is not needed, but for those that enjoy the extra challenge.
Each pilot is unique in the fact that they all get skills and different strengths and weaknesses like being more proficient in space, air, ground, or water battles. They all have all the normal stats you would find in almost every rpg and of course some pilots are just more talented and have better skills then others. Some pilots are obvious support units who aren't meant for battle up in the front lines. Others are good at pure attack, while others enjoy superior evasions skills and can pick apart the enemy with counterattacks.
The game separate the robots into two categories. There are real robots and super robots. Real robots are the more evasive type. Super robots are the bigger and bulkier models who can take a hit and dish out the major damage. Every robot also has weapons that you can pay to upgrade. Upgrading is very costly so don't expect to max out all of your units by the end of the game. Every robot has slots for equipping spare parts. Some robots have more slots available then others and some robots are better piloted by specific pilots. Basically you can assign almost anyone to any mech. It allows for tons of micromanaging during the intermission stages of the game.
The first game is the introduction, while the second game is the more polished of the two. The second game introduces even more characters for you to play around with plus all of the pilots from the first game as well. There is also tons of new robots in the second game as well. The second game also improves on the battle sequences and makes them more pretty and a lot more flashy. I would just like to point out that while Gilliam gets no special treatment in either game, the dude is sick nasty and is my favorite pilot from the two games.
The second game tells a more complete story, but even at the end it seems as though there is more story left to be told. Sadly, a third OG game has yet to be announced. The two games that we did receive were blessings in disguise. I was not expecting these games to be so enthralling. After beating these games, I searched online for more of the series. There are only a handful of games that have been translated, but I have played through most of them and enjoyed every moment of them all. In fact, I just found out that one more has been translated, so it looks like I should be signing off...
Super Robot Taisen: Original Generation 1 and 2 (Originally released in 2006 on the GBA.)
I had always seen the chibi robot games as kind of silly and never looked that much into them. The main reason I never did was because I never had the chance. The Super Robot Wars series had been a japan release only series due to all the legal issues with the anime characters that were found within the game. Well, when Super Robot Taisen: Original Generation was created it did not have the limitations that the other games in the series possessed. Within its contents were new characters not tied to anime TV shows so the company could actually distribute to the US without any problems. The SRW franchise finally came over to the states in GBA form in the OG series, and I started to pay attention.
Original Generation 1 was my first attempt at this series. It was a pretty ugly game for its time, or so I thought. The map graphics were nothing to write home about, but the in battle graphics were not all that bad. They resembled the sort of anime look you would find in most 90s Japanimation. It gave it a real old school appeal to the game. The game is a SRPG and the rpg market was running dry on SRPGs and was starving even more for good and great ones. After the first couple of maps I knew this game was going to be special.
SWT:OG deals with giant mech-like battles so you deal with not only characters, but an assortment of robots the characters can pilot.
At the start of the game you have the option of picking from two characters. You can pick from Kyosuke, the more serious of the two, or Ryusei the younger of the two who loves Robots. When I say Ryusei loves robots I mean its to the point of obsession and sometimes creeps out the other pilots. Both pilots are hot blooded and love the heat of the moment-type situations, but Kyosuke is the better leader by far. In the second game he is the hands down main character and for the most part is commanding everyone else. Kyosuke is also very lucky in battles, having survived numerous near death situations. He loves to gamble and also has a fiery girlfriend named Excellen. The two make quite the team, both as a couple and in combat.
In this game everyone who has a picture is either a pilot who possibly joins you at some point, or a villain who you will have to defeat eventually. Sometimes both situations can occur. There are certain stipulations for each map that award you with a medal. These medals are extremely important to the story because you generate different paths by the amount of medals you have collected. It changes the overall story ever so slightly, but you maps or characters that join you are affected. If you are a completion monger, you really have to go out of your way in some maps to collect each medal. It is not needed, but for those that enjoy the extra challenge.
Each pilot is unique in the fact that they all get skills and different strengths and weaknesses like being more proficient in space, air, ground, or water battles. They all have all the normal stats you would find in almost every rpg and of course some pilots are just more talented and have better skills then others. Some pilots are obvious support units who aren't meant for battle up in the front lines. Others are good at pure attack, while others enjoy superior evasions skills and can pick apart the enemy with counterattacks.
The game separate the robots into two categories. There are real robots and super robots. Real robots are the more evasive type. Super robots are the bigger and bulkier models who can take a hit and dish out the major damage. Every robot also has weapons that you can pay to upgrade. Upgrading is very costly so don't expect to max out all of your units by the end of the game. Every robot has slots for equipping spare parts. Some robots have more slots available then others and some robots are better piloted by specific pilots. Basically you can assign almost anyone to any mech. It allows for tons of micromanaging during the intermission stages of the game.
The first game is the introduction, while the second game is the more polished of the two. The second game introduces even more characters for you to play around with plus all of the pilots from the first game as well. There is also tons of new robots in the second game as well. The second game also improves on the battle sequences and makes them more pretty and a lot more flashy. I would just like to point out that while Gilliam gets no special treatment in either game, the dude is sick nasty and is my favorite pilot from the two games.
The second game tells a more complete story, but even at the end it seems as though there is more story left to be told. Sadly, a third OG game has yet to be announced. The two games that we did receive were blessings in disguise. I was not expecting these games to be so enthralling. After beating these games, I searched online for more of the series. There are only a handful of games that have been translated, but I have played through most of them and enjoyed every moment of them all. In fact, I just found out that one more has been translated, so it looks like I should be signing off...
Saturday, January 22, 2011
#22
Tales of the Abyss (Originally released in 2006 on the PS2.)
The Tales series usually boasts some of the best fighting you will find in a rpg. Tales of the Abyss follows this tradition and adds a 3D element to the action style combat. In a Tales game, you enter combat like any other rpg, but these games give you the ability to roam freely on the combat map with a character of your liking. In older games you could only move left and right on the map, but in Abyss they made it north and south to make it much more open and spacious.
Tales games provide you with unique characters, all of which have skills they can learn through combat experience. These skills are often powerful and very gorgeous when performed. Abyss does no shy away from this as most of the top end skills are like a small cut scene of action.
Abyss has a character I can't help to feel for. The main character Luke is such a deep and interesting character to me. I feel like in some ways me and him are so very much alike. The game starts out with Luke being this overly obnoxious, selfish, and supremely ignorant to much of the world and its activities. In short, Luke is a character the game wants you to despise. He is the son of some noble and acts like a spoiled child most of the time. He thinks he is entitled to everything and does not feel the need to put any effort to get anything he wants. His naivety is taken advantage of and he causes a horrible massacre to befall helpless people because of it. During the game, his friends leave him because they feel he is too much of a burden for them to deal with. He betrays their trust and Luke is stuck dealing with the burden of what his actions did. Eventually Luke grows up and tries his hardest to re-earn the trust of his friends. Luke is one of the best examples of character development I have seen in a rpg. You start hating this character, then you sympathise him because he is a naive fool, then you feel happy for him when he goes out of his way to better himself. Tales hit that part of the game right on the head.
The Tales series staples are all found in this game. You can cook, watch skits, find costumes, and collect titles. Fighting is the real strong point of the game, though. I can fight for hours and its always something different because everyone has different skills, so you can find who you are most comfortable fighting with and play around with all the abilities they can use. Moves are assigned by buttons and you have plenty of moves to assign. You get four slots for your moves, so the space is limited, but you can pick and choose what goes where and with so many abilities to choose from, you can create something all to yourself and your play style.
Tales of the Abyss is one of the better Tales games I have played. It brings everything you enjoy from the series and personifies it. Every part of the game is fun and enjoyable and before you know it you are reaching the end of the game. The atmosphere in the game ranges from funny moments to very somber situations. It handles all of the very well and its a favorite of mine. I throw it up there along with all of those old SNES classics. A classic in the middle ages of RPGs. It's that good.
The Tales series usually boasts some of the best fighting you will find in a rpg. Tales of the Abyss follows this tradition and adds a 3D element to the action style combat. In a Tales game, you enter combat like any other rpg, but these games give you the ability to roam freely on the combat map with a character of your liking. In older games you could only move left and right on the map, but in Abyss they made it north and south to make it much more open and spacious.
Tales games provide you with unique characters, all of which have skills they can learn through combat experience. These skills are often powerful and very gorgeous when performed. Abyss does no shy away from this as most of the top end skills are like a small cut scene of action.
Abyss has a character I can't help to feel for. The main character Luke is such a deep and interesting character to me. I feel like in some ways me and him are so very much alike. The game starts out with Luke being this overly obnoxious, selfish, and supremely ignorant to much of the world and its activities. In short, Luke is a character the game wants you to despise. He is the son of some noble and acts like a spoiled child most of the time. He thinks he is entitled to everything and does not feel the need to put any effort to get anything he wants. His naivety is taken advantage of and he causes a horrible massacre to befall helpless people because of it. During the game, his friends leave him because they feel he is too much of a burden for them to deal with. He betrays their trust and Luke is stuck dealing with the burden of what his actions did. Eventually Luke grows up and tries his hardest to re-earn the trust of his friends. Luke is one of the best examples of character development I have seen in a rpg. You start hating this character, then you sympathise him because he is a naive fool, then you feel happy for him when he goes out of his way to better himself. Tales hit that part of the game right on the head.
The Tales series staples are all found in this game. You can cook, watch skits, find costumes, and collect titles. Fighting is the real strong point of the game, though. I can fight for hours and its always something different because everyone has different skills, so you can find who you are most comfortable fighting with and play around with all the abilities they can use. Moves are assigned by buttons and you have plenty of moves to assign. You get four slots for your moves, so the space is limited, but you can pick and choose what goes where and with so many abilities to choose from, you can create something all to yourself and your play style.
Tales of the Abyss is one of the better Tales games I have played. It brings everything you enjoy from the series and personifies it. Every part of the game is fun and enjoyable and before you know it you are reaching the end of the game. The atmosphere in the game ranges from funny moments to very somber situations. It handles all of the very well and its a favorite of mine. I throw it up there along with all of those old SNES classics. A classic in the middle ages of RPGs. It's that good.
#21
Final Fantasy Tactics (Originally released in 1998 on the PS1.)
This game copies much of what made Tactics Ogre successful and then slapped the Final Fantasy name on it. It worked. It made so much more money then TO could have dreamed to make, when TO is probably the better product, just less polished. But I digress.
FFT is a great game regardless and it has something TO does not have, Delita Hyral. there is something about manipulative characters that I enjoy to witness. Delita was one of the more entertaining characters to watch evolve as the game progressed. Delita starts the game as a peasant boy, significant to the story only because he was adopted by the Beoulve family. He is Ramza's best friend and Delita is granted to attend a military academy because of his ties with the Beoulve family. The Beoulve's are a wealthy family who serves the crown. Conflict occurs and it ends with the death of Delita's sister by the command of Ramza's brothers. Ramza was not privy to these actions, but Delita swears to change the world while holding his dead sister in his arms. An explosion separates the two friends, and Ramza doesn't see Delita until much later in his life.
Delita reemerges only to kidnap the current princess, Ovelia. Ramza just so happened to be acting as one of her bodyguards at the time. He thought his friend to be dead, so seeing him stirs up old memories.
At this point forward everyone Delita makes contact with is just a puppet in his eyes. He uses everyone to his advantage and manipulates his supposed masters to bend to his will. It is impressive to watch him at work. He went from peasant nobody all the way to King of Ivalice during the games story. He bloodies his sword many times during this process and even persuades a couple of ladies he loves them. The corrupt see swift retribution by Delita's schemes and he lives happily ever after.
Or not. His end is a bitter one as he gets knifed at the final scene of the game by the princess he played throughout the game.
Still, history has his name as the person who united the land, not Ramza the true hero of the story. It's funny how the history books got that information wrong.
Final Fantasy Tactics has plenty of other interesting characters as well. Its just that Delita is by far my favorite of the bunch. Go out and play the game if you are interested. It's a fun game with great mechanics and an engaging job class system that is full of customization options.
This game copies much of what made Tactics Ogre successful and then slapped the Final Fantasy name on it. It worked. It made so much more money then TO could have dreamed to make, when TO is probably the better product, just less polished. But I digress.
FFT is a great game regardless and it has something TO does not have, Delita Hyral. there is something about manipulative characters that I enjoy to witness. Delita was one of the more entertaining characters to watch evolve as the game progressed. Delita starts the game as a peasant boy, significant to the story only because he was adopted by the Beoulve family. He is Ramza's best friend and Delita is granted to attend a military academy because of his ties with the Beoulve family. The Beoulve's are a wealthy family who serves the crown. Conflict occurs and it ends with the death of Delita's sister by the command of Ramza's brothers. Ramza was not privy to these actions, but Delita swears to change the world while holding his dead sister in his arms. An explosion separates the two friends, and Ramza doesn't see Delita until much later in his life.
Delita reemerges only to kidnap the current princess, Ovelia. Ramza just so happened to be acting as one of her bodyguards at the time. He thought his friend to be dead, so seeing him stirs up old memories.
At this point forward everyone Delita makes contact with is just a puppet in his eyes. He uses everyone to his advantage and manipulates his supposed masters to bend to his will. It is impressive to watch him at work. He went from peasant nobody all the way to King of Ivalice during the games story. He bloodies his sword many times during this process and even persuades a couple of ladies he loves them. The corrupt see swift retribution by Delita's schemes and he lives happily ever after.
Or not. His end is a bitter one as he gets knifed at the final scene of the game by the princess he played throughout the game.
Still, history has his name as the person who united the land, not Ramza the true hero of the story. It's funny how the history books got that information wrong.
Final Fantasy Tactics has plenty of other interesting characters as well. Its just that Delita is by far my favorite of the bunch. Go out and play the game if you are interested. It's a fun game with great mechanics and an engaging job class system that is full of customization options.
#20
Suikoden 3 (Originally released in 2002 on the PS2.)
Suikoden 3 is the last Suikoden game to continue the story of the series, time wise. Every game in the main series has always been within the same world, so there are always people, places, and things that you see recycled and reused in each game. It brings a sense of familiarity when you play these games, and it also builds a connection because you know so much about the game even before you play them.
Suikoden 3 takes place 15 years after the events of Suikoden 2, and even though the geological area is different, you can still get that same familiar feeling when playing through the new areas because you have heard of them in reference before. Suikoden 3 also has one of the better 108 stars of destiny to be assembled in any of the Suikoden games. You get to know so much about these characters due to being able to recruit a private eye and investigate everyone in your army.
The battle system, while the music can get annoying, is also the best I have seen in the series. Everyone has stats and parameters that they can level up, but certain people are more proficient in certain stats then others. So you will see some people clearly outshine others in combat. There are tons of these skills to level and sort through, so it makes for a fun time to discover who has the most potential while in a fight. Obviously, the main characters are some of the best fighters in the game, but there are some characters that are less obvious then others. So that means, you have to try them all out if you want to see everyone's true potential.
This was also the first game, that let you use a lot of True Runes. In the previous two games, you had the main characters True Rune and usually that was it. In this game the MC gets a True Rune obviously, but this game deals with the elemental True Runes and you get to play with them all, which is fun.
This game also let you finally play as Nash. I guess you wouldn't know this, but before the game came out, there were side story games only released in Japan that featured Nash. The games were during the events of Suikoden 2, and Nash was a 21 year old Harmonian spy. The games center around his adventures in the Jowston area and in some cases, he is a cog that affects the main storyline of Suikoden 2, even though he is never mentioned in the game. He even makes a semi-cameo in Suikoden 2, but again, most people wouldn't have seen it unless they played those Japan only games. I just so happened to read about Nash on Suikosource and instantly fell in love with his character.
Nash is just a fun character to read about. He has absolutely no luck, and the women he meets in his travel usually flirt with him, but pick on him at the same time. He is beastly in combat, and even has some good ole fashion possessed snake swords (That just so happened to be missing in S3, sadly.). He is a spy, so naturally he blends in pretty well.He is like a Swiss army knife. He looks normal, but secretly he has numerous talents hidden within his clever smile.
So in S3, Nash would be around the age of 36. He doesn't look much older then he did 15 years ago, and it was speculated that he was married now and perhaps to a vampire, but who knows. He is still acting as a spy in this game, and you know this right away if you know anything about his story, but the characters in the game are oblivious to that fact. He meets with Chris Lightfellow and accompanies her for the majority of the game. His help during certain events proves invaluable. He is an awesome character.
I can go on and on about the characters in Suikoden 3. There's Geddoe, the one-eyed mercenary, Fred the Maximilian Knight with his pet..er servant, Rico. You have the Zexen Knights, the Duck Clan, Lizard Tribe, and the Karayans all fighting amongst each other in a racial type of war. The St. Loa Knights act as children guardians of their home. There's even a random aerobics instructor that joins you and attacks enemies by doing jumping jacks.
Its sad to see that eight years have gone by and Suikoden 3 is the last Suikoden title to move the story forward. Hopefully Konami wakes up and gets back into the swing of things with this series. I need Suikoden in my life.
Suikoden 3 is the last Suikoden game to continue the story of the series, time wise. Every game in the main series has always been within the same world, so there are always people, places, and things that you see recycled and reused in each game. It brings a sense of familiarity when you play these games, and it also builds a connection because you know so much about the game even before you play them.
Suikoden 3 takes place 15 years after the events of Suikoden 2, and even though the geological area is different, you can still get that same familiar feeling when playing through the new areas because you have heard of them in reference before. Suikoden 3 also has one of the better 108 stars of destiny to be assembled in any of the Suikoden games. You get to know so much about these characters due to being able to recruit a private eye and investigate everyone in your army.
The battle system, while the music can get annoying, is also the best I have seen in the series. Everyone has stats and parameters that they can level up, but certain people are more proficient in certain stats then others. So you will see some people clearly outshine others in combat. There are tons of these skills to level and sort through, so it makes for a fun time to discover who has the most potential while in a fight. Obviously, the main characters are some of the best fighters in the game, but there are some characters that are less obvious then others. So that means, you have to try them all out if you want to see everyone's true potential.
This was also the first game, that let you use a lot of True Runes. In the previous two games, you had the main characters True Rune and usually that was it. In this game the MC gets a True Rune obviously, but this game deals with the elemental True Runes and you get to play with them all, which is fun.
This game also let you finally play as Nash. I guess you wouldn't know this, but before the game came out, there were side story games only released in Japan that featured Nash. The games were during the events of Suikoden 2, and Nash was a 21 year old Harmonian spy. The games center around his adventures in the Jowston area and in some cases, he is a cog that affects the main storyline of Suikoden 2, even though he is never mentioned in the game. He even makes a semi-cameo in Suikoden 2, but again, most people wouldn't have seen it unless they played those Japan only games. I just so happened to read about Nash on Suikosource and instantly fell in love with his character.
Nash is just a fun character to read about. He has absolutely no luck, and the women he meets in his travel usually flirt with him, but pick on him at the same time. He is beastly in combat, and even has some good ole fashion possessed snake swords (That just so happened to be missing in S3, sadly.). He is a spy, so naturally he blends in pretty well.He is like a Swiss army knife. He looks normal, but secretly he has numerous talents hidden within his clever smile.
So in S3, Nash would be around the age of 36. He doesn't look much older then he did 15 years ago, and it was speculated that he was married now and perhaps to a vampire, but who knows. He is still acting as a spy in this game, and you know this right away if you know anything about his story, but the characters in the game are oblivious to that fact. He meets with Chris Lightfellow and accompanies her for the majority of the game. His help during certain events proves invaluable. He is an awesome character.
I can go on and on about the characters in Suikoden 3. There's Geddoe, the one-eyed mercenary, Fred the Maximilian Knight with his pet..er servant, Rico. You have the Zexen Knights, the Duck Clan, Lizard Tribe, and the Karayans all fighting amongst each other in a racial type of war. The St. Loa Knights act as children guardians of their home. There's even a random aerobics instructor that joins you and attacks enemies by doing jumping jacks.
Its sad to see that eight years have gone by and Suikoden 3 is the last Suikoden title to move the story forward. Hopefully Konami wakes up and gets back into the swing of things with this series. I need Suikoden in my life.
#19
Suikoden (Originally released in 1996 on the PS1)
Yeah, so let me tell you a story of how one chance encounter led me to discover my favorite rpg series of all time.
High school was a strange time for me. I wanted to get out more and become more outgoing. I was in sports and I wanted to get in shape to impress the local girls at my school. Still, I had as much passion for rpgs as I did when I was younger and fatter. I had to find a center to fill both needs.
So, for some strange reason I have another fetish when it comes to rpgs. I love to collect their strategy guides. I don't know why. Now, I can find all the same material and then some online, but there is something about them that draws me in. Well this could be the main reason why I am attracted to them.
One day, while I was at the local Borders, I was in the strategy guide section section just browsing the same books I usually sift through when I go to those types of stores. It's usually the same books that are in stock. Mainstream games and tons of DnD and Pokemon crap. Well maybe the Pokemon stuff isn't crap, I kinda do own some of those games and guides. But it still floods the market.
Then something caught my eye. I don't know why, because the cover was pretty bland. I grab the jet black book and see some gibberish on the cover, but above it reads, "Suikoden" in red writing. Hmmm I think to myself. I had never heard of this game. I first wondered if the book was out of place, because I was pretty into the rpg scene and I had never heard of the game. So I take a peak inside.
The book was plain all the way through. It was not in color, but it was full of story. Immediately I was hooked. The game spoke of magic and love and war and betrayal and of 108 characters that join your party. One hundred and eight people! The book did a very good job of presenting the game even if it looked less then impressive to the naked eye. I bought that guide that day, like I usually do. I sometimes buy strategy guide to games I do not own...
Yeah, I don't know either.
So now the hunt was on. I'm not sure when I found this book and learned about Suikoden, but I could not find it in stores. It had to be before Suikoden 2 came out because I bought that game on its release date. I finally found the game at one of the less-then-local blockbusters in Tampa. I raced over there as fast as I could and picked up the only copy of the game I could find in my city.
The game was all scratched up, but dammit it worked so who was I to complain. Now, I don't remember why, but I didn't have a memory card at this point in time. At one point I had a PlayStation. Then I sold it to buy a Nintendo 64, which I kept, and then just bought another PlayStation at a later time. I don't remember if this was before or after those events, but I did not have a memory card yet.
So....
I had to play the game from start to finish in one sitting. That game took over my life for that one weekend. I beat the game, but not to perfection because even though I owned the strategy guide I do not look through them for help until I complete the game at least once. It makes for the replay value to be more appealing that way. All that mattered was that the game was amazing.
From that point on, I was a Suikofreak.
Yeah, so let me tell you a story of how one chance encounter led me to discover my favorite rpg series of all time.
High school was a strange time for me. I wanted to get out more and become more outgoing. I was in sports and I wanted to get in shape to impress the local girls at my school. Still, I had as much passion for rpgs as I did when I was younger and fatter. I had to find a center to fill both needs.
So, for some strange reason I have another fetish when it comes to rpgs. I love to collect their strategy guides. I don't know why. Now, I can find all the same material and then some online, but there is something about them that draws me in. Well this could be the main reason why I am attracted to them.
One day, while I was at the local Borders, I was in the strategy guide section section just browsing the same books I usually sift through when I go to those types of stores. It's usually the same books that are in stock. Mainstream games and tons of DnD and Pokemon crap. Well maybe the Pokemon stuff isn't crap, I kinda do own some of those games and guides. But it still floods the market.
Then something caught my eye. I don't know why, because the cover was pretty bland. I grab the jet black book and see some gibberish on the cover, but above it reads, "Suikoden" in red writing. Hmmm I think to myself. I had never heard of this game. I first wondered if the book was out of place, because I was pretty into the rpg scene and I had never heard of the game. So I take a peak inside.
The book was plain all the way through. It was not in color, but it was full of story. Immediately I was hooked. The game spoke of magic and love and war and betrayal and of 108 characters that join your party. One hundred and eight people! The book did a very good job of presenting the game even if it looked less then impressive to the naked eye. I bought that guide that day, like I usually do. I sometimes buy strategy guide to games I do not own...
Yeah, I don't know either.
So now the hunt was on. I'm not sure when I found this book and learned about Suikoden, but I could not find it in stores. It had to be before Suikoden 2 came out because I bought that game on its release date. I finally found the game at one of the less-then-local blockbusters in Tampa. I raced over there as fast as I could and picked up the only copy of the game I could find in my city.
The game was all scratched up, but dammit it worked so who was I to complain. Now, I don't remember why, but I didn't have a memory card at this point in time. At one point I had a PlayStation. Then I sold it to buy a Nintendo 64, which I kept, and then just bought another PlayStation at a later time. I don't remember if this was before or after those events, but I did not have a memory card yet.
So....
I had to play the game from start to finish in one sitting. That game took over my life for that one weekend. I beat the game, but not to perfection because even though I owned the strategy guide I do not look through them for help until I complete the game at least once. It makes for the replay value to be more appealing that way. All that mattered was that the game was amazing.
From that point on, I was a Suikofreak.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
#18
World of Warcraft (Originally released in 2004 on the PC.)
Yeah, I play this too. This is a Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game or more commonly called a MMO. World of Warcraft is huge. It is the most subscribed MMO for a reason. It is a very polished game. You don't just play this game alone. Well, I guess you could, but this is a game that millions of people are playing right at this very second. You have to pay a monthly subscription, but its worth it. You can join with almost anyone who is playing at the time and play together to make the journey more fun and entertaining. If you prefer, you can play alone. The choice is yours. That's the key with WoW, the options are nearly limitless.
When you first start the game you get to choose from a number of different races and job class combinations. Each race is different and you can choose from the likes of two different sides. The Alliance and Horde fight against each other and do so in the game as well. You can select to be on a player versus player server and fight the opposition whenever you see them, or if you do not want to deal with people trying to kill you all the time, you can play on a normal server where that option is removed. You also get to pick a profession like Blacksmithing or Leatherworking and that list is large as well. WoW doesn't do anything small. You get to create whatever you want and then the journey begins. I just made a human Paladin by the name of Deewade, a homage to my favorite basketball player right now, Dwayne Wade.
WoW has tons of collectibles. You get pets and mounts to ride on top of. They even added flying as a part of the game and you can now fly around the globe and see the world like never before. The game is beautiful and the amount of lore in the game would certainly fill up a section of some library if they ever wanted to do that. It is not for everyone, but I am having fun with it right now.
It sure does eat up a lot of my time though!
Yeah, I play this too. This is a Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game or more commonly called a MMO. World of Warcraft is huge. It is the most subscribed MMO for a reason. It is a very polished game. You don't just play this game alone. Well, I guess you could, but this is a game that millions of people are playing right at this very second. You have to pay a monthly subscription, but its worth it. You can join with almost anyone who is playing at the time and play together to make the journey more fun and entertaining. If you prefer, you can play alone. The choice is yours. That's the key with WoW, the options are nearly limitless.
When you first start the game you get to choose from a number of different races and job class combinations. Each race is different and you can choose from the likes of two different sides. The Alliance and Horde fight against each other and do so in the game as well. You can select to be on a player versus player server and fight the opposition whenever you see them, or if you do not want to deal with people trying to kill you all the time, you can play on a normal server where that option is removed. You also get to pick a profession like Blacksmithing or Leatherworking and that list is large as well. WoW doesn't do anything small. You get to create whatever you want and then the journey begins. I just made a human Paladin by the name of Deewade, a homage to my favorite basketball player right now, Dwayne Wade.
WoW has tons of collectibles. You get pets and mounts to ride on top of. They even added flying as a part of the game and you can now fly around the globe and see the world like never before. The game is beautiful and the amount of lore in the game would certainly fill up a section of some library if they ever wanted to do that. It is not for everyone, but I am having fun with it right now.
It sure does eat up a lot of my time though!
#17
Pokemon (Originally released in 1998 on the Game Boy.)
Gotta Catch 'em all!
I tell you what. Try as I could, back in the day I could not stop hearing abut this Pokemon phenomenon. I was not one of the first people to play Pokemon. As soon as I started hearing about this game, I instantly hated it. I don't know why, but I did. Me and my brother would constantly bash the game openly. On the Internet, (which was just introduced to us around that time.) we would find chat rooms and talk smack to the people that were talking about all the Pokemon they caught or how awesome of a game it was. I was not buying into the hype. The game seemed intended for little kids. The show was horrible. (Though it did have a catchy song.) I was a teenager. I liked mature games. Pokemon was beneath me.
It was my freshmen year at Leto High School when my life was changed forever. I was in my American History class and this kid was playing on his Game Boy. Ah, high school. We could get away with playing video games while the teacher was lecturing about whatever. The kid was playing Pokemon. I was instantly turned off. He was a Pokemaniac, and I wanted no part of him. Thing was, he sat right in front of me so I had a front seat to this game.
Truth be told I was hating on pure blind passion. I had never seen much about the game. All I knew was the game was like a cancer from Japan and it was starting to spread like wildfire over in the states. So I take a look at the game for the first time, and what do I find....a role playing game! Pokemon was a RPG.
That did not bode well for me. I had no idea Pokemon, the game I hated without knowing anything about it was my kryptonite. I was, and still am, a sucker for any kind of rpg. This was a first for me. You didn't have people fight for you, you collected monsters around the world and had them fight other monsters. The first game had 151 Pokemon. Each was a little different then the other in either appearance or affinity. Each had moves and strengths and weaknesses. Some were cute, other looked pretty cool. This was Pokemon.
I was about to be hooked forever....
I did collect them all not soon after. I bought Pokemon Red because Charizard is the shit!
I've been collecting them all since.
(Also, if anyone is reading this you MUST listen to Power Gloves rendition of the Pokemon song. It is awesome.)
Gotta Catch 'em all!
I tell you what. Try as I could, back in the day I could not stop hearing abut this Pokemon phenomenon. I was not one of the first people to play Pokemon. As soon as I started hearing about this game, I instantly hated it. I don't know why, but I did. Me and my brother would constantly bash the game openly. On the Internet, (which was just introduced to us around that time.) we would find chat rooms and talk smack to the people that were talking about all the Pokemon they caught or how awesome of a game it was. I was not buying into the hype. The game seemed intended for little kids. The show was horrible. (Though it did have a catchy song.) I was a teenager. I liked mature games. Pokemon was beneath me.
It was my freshmen year at Leto High School when my life was changed forever. I was in my American History class and this kid was playing on his Game Boy. Ah, high school. We could get away with playing video games while the teacher was lecturing about whatever. The kid was playing Pokemon. I was instantly turned off. He was a Pokemaniac, and I wanted no part of him. Thing was, he sat right in front of me so I had a front seat to this game.
Truth be told I was hating on pure blind passion. I had never seen much about the game. All I knew was the game was like a cancer from Japan and it was starting to spread like wildfire over in the states. So I take a look at the game for the first time, and what do I find....a role playing game! Pokemon was a RPG.
That did not bode well for me. I had no idea Pokemon, the game I hated without knowing anything about it was my kryptonite. I was, and still am, a sucker for any kind of rpg. This was a first for me. You didn't have people fight for you, you collected monsters around the world and had them fight other monsters. The first game had 151 Pokemon. Each was a little different then the other in either appearance or affinity. Each had moves and strengths and weaknesses. Some were cute, other looked pretty cool. This was Pokemon.
I was about to be hooked forever....
I did collect them all not soon after. I bought Pokemon Red because Charizard is the shit!
I've been collecting them all since.
(Also, if anyone is reading this you MUST listen to Power Gloves rendition of the Pokemon song. It is awesome.)
Sunday, January 16, 2011
#16
Final Fantasy VI (Originally released in 1994 on the SNES)
A game that took so long to get to my hands, I could not wait to play this game when I was a kid. the anticipation was killing me. I could not my hands on enough magazines to just get a sneak peak at the screen shots.
I can remember them well.
There is a picture of Sabin at the Empires base camp right outside of Doma. A simple picture to be sure, but just seeing these made my die on the inside because I was not playing the game. Pictures would not suffice, but they were all I had for the longest time.
Then the game was finally released after an eternity and I didn't even get it on its release date. Still I had to wait, and what was worse was the fact that my step bother at the time had the game. I had to settle with calling him to get tidbits about the game here and there. The one part of the game I remember him telling me about was the twin crane attack on board the Falcon. That is a good deal into the game, so either he was playing fast or I was waiting an eternity to get a chance to play this masterpiece.
(That reminds me. Is it me or do people speed through games a lot faster nowadays. I remember taking a couple weeks to beat most of these old school rpgs. Now? I can see myself doing a speed run and beating games in a day or two. No lie. Crazy change of times and what not.)
So finally my mom took my out and bought me this game. FINALLY! After much delay, I was the proud owner of Final Fantasy III. (Squaresoft, for some reason decided to release FF6 and FF4 as FF3 and FF2 respectively. Don't ask me why. Then again Nintendo did the same thing with the Fire Emblem franchise.) And I will tell you this, it was worth the wait.
Final Fantasy VI was a big leap from the last game I played in the series (FF4) and that's saying something considering how much I love FF4. It introduced the largest group of characters I had ever seen at the time. It even had secret characters thrown in the mix.
It also introduced Kefka. The laugh is iconic. Kefka was one of Square's best adaptations of a pure villain. Actually Kefka enjoys being part of a list that most bad guys only dream to be a part of. Kefka destroyed the world. He succeeded in killing off almost all of the world's population and enjoyed a good year or being a world leader. The world was changed forever, and Kefka was to thank. Not a lot of evil doers get to add that on their resume.
He wasn't even that bad of a guy to start out with either. What many people do not know is Kefka's back story. How he became twisted was not by his own fault. All the blame goes to the Empires chief scientist, Cid. You see the Emporer wanted to harness the power of the Esper's magical abilities. He wanted his soldiers to be able to use the Espers magic without any help by the Espers themselves. So Cid started making Magitek warriors. Kefka was the Emperors most noble and bravest knight, right alongside General Leo. The process was unproven and required a subject to test the fusion. Kefka stepped up to the challenge and was the first solider to have magic infused into himself. The project was falty, however and Kefka's mind was lost to insanity thanks to the Cid's efforts. Cid did not plan this intentionally, but it was still interesting to note that Kefka's crazy ass does indeed have backings.
FF6 is a fantastic game. Its sad to see Square unable to produce the same greatness I was used to as a youth. To this day only one of their later creations even comes close to these amazing treasures. (That game being FF Tactics.) It doesn't bother me too much though. I can always just go back and replay these gems and remember the good ole days.
A game that took so long to get to my hands, I could not wait to play this game when I was a kid. the anticipation was killing me. I could not my hands on enough magazines to just get a sneak peak at the screen shots.
I can remember them well.
There is a picture of Sabin at the Empires base camp right outside of Doma. A simple picture to be sure, but just seeing these made my die on the inside because I was not playing the game. Pictures would not suffice, but they were all I had for the longest time.
Then the game was finally released after an eternity and I didn't even get it on its release date. Still I had to wait, and what was worse was the fact that my step bother at the time had the game. I had to settle with calling him to get tidbits about the game here and there. The one part of the game I remember him telling me about was the twin crane attack on board the Falcon. That is a good deal into the game, so either he was playing fast or I was waiting an eternity to get a chance to play this masterpiece.
(That reminds me. Is it me or do people speed through games a lot faster nowadays. I remember taking a couple weeks to beat most of these old school rpgs. Now? I can see myself doing a speed run and beating games in a day or two. No lie. Crazy change of times and what not.)
So finally my mom took my out and bought me this game. FINALLY! After much delay, I was the proud owner of Final Fantasy III. (Squaresoft, for some reason decided to release FF6 and FF4 as FF3 and FF2 respectively. Don't ask me why. Then again Nintendo did the same thing with the Fire Emblem franchise.) And I will tell you this, it was worth the wait.
Final Fantasy VI was a big leap from the last game I played in the series (FF4) and that's saying something considering how much I love FF4. It introduced the largest group of characters I had ever seen at the time. It even had secret characters thrown in the mix.
It also introduced Kefka. The laugh is iconic. Kefka was one of Square's best adaptations of a pure villain. Actually Kefka enjoys being part of a list that most bad guys only dream to be a part of. Kefka destroyed the world. He succeeded in killing off almost all of the world's population and enjoyed a good year or being a world leader. The world was changed forever, and Kefka was to thank. Not a lot of evil doers get to add that on their resume.
He wasn't even that bad of a guy to start out with either. What many people do not know is Kefka's back story. How he became twisted was not by his own fault. All the blame goes to the Empires chief scientist, Cid. You see the Emporer wanted to harness the power of the Esper's magical abilities. He wanted his soldiers to be able to use the Espers magic without any help by the Espers themselves. So Cid started making Magitek warriors. Kefka was the Emperors most noble and bravest knight, right alongside General Leo. The process was unproven and required a subject to test the fusion. Kefka stepped up to the challenge and was the first solider to have magic infused into himself. The project was falty, however and Kefka's mind was lost to insanity thanks to the Cid's efforts. Cid did not plan this intentionally, but it was still interesting to note that Kefka's crazy ass does indeed have backings.
FF6 is a fantastic game. Its sad to see Square unable to produce the same greatness I was used to as a youth. To this day only one of their later creations even comes close to these amazing treasures. (That game being FF Tactics.) It doesn't bother me too much though. I can always just go back and replay these gems and remember the good ole days.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
#15
Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete (Originally released on the PS1 in 1999.)
Love stories aren't my cup of tea. I don't like sappy love dramas filled with love triangles or other romantic plot devices. It is just not my thing, but with Lunar: SSSC I was given an entire new perspective on the genre. At its core, Lunar is a rpg about the relationship between its main characters. You are introduced to Alex and Luna early on. Both are young and naive about their feelings for each other. Alex is an aspiring adventurer who wants to one day become a Dragonmaster. Luna is his childhood best friend with a golden voice.
Lunar is a very old rpg. It predates the PlayStation by quite a bit. Since I never owned a Saturn or played the original, I finally had the chance to play this masterpiece when Working Designs decided to re release it. The newer game came with more cut scenes more voice acting and a bunch of bonus content outside of the game. All that way nice, but I was much more entertained by what was inside the game itself. Lunar has he feels of a very polished old school game, because at its core it is an old school game. The game is mostly 2D sprites who look deformed, but still retain that charm that I love so very much. Fighting is very tedious in this game and randoms can beat you to a bloody pulp. You will often run out of resources and have to back track to a town or a save spot to replenish your characters stats.
This was the start of the voice acting boom and after games like this were released, voice acting became the norm in almost all rpgs henceforth. Lunar does display some of the better voice acting in rpgs though, and for the most part I fell in love with Luna's voice actress. There are a couple of scenes where she sings and her voice fills the room with a poetic grace that is very soothing and calming. It always sends a chill down my back when I hear those pieces. I suggest you take some time and listen to them if you enjoy sweet, relaxing sounds.
The game centers around Alex's journey to grow into a hero like his idol, Dyne. In order to do that he must venture out and pass the four dragon trials. At his side for the entire game is an annoying little white dragon whelp by the name of Nall who acts as the comic relief, along with the narcissistic magician Nash. The game has a very light hearted feel to it. The supporting cast is very well done, and the game is littered with colorful cut scenes to let you know when a major story arc is approaching. Hidden around the world are Bromides (which are pictures), of all the characters. These bromides don't add anything to the game, but act as trophies to an extent.
As you wrap up the game, you notice similarities between Alex and Dyne's stories. Both fought for love and both gave up something extremely valuable in the name of love. That's the main focus of this game. It acts as one of the last games of the old school era and it focuses on the power of the human emotion. It has a charm that is one of a kind. A true classic.
Oh, and be sure to check out the bath scenes too. You won't want to miss those!
Love stories aren't my cup of tea. I don't like sappy love dramas filled with love triangles or other romantic plot devices. It is just not my thing, but with Lunar: SSSC I was given an entire new perspective on the genre. At its core, Lunar is a rpg about the relationship between its main characters. You are introduced to Alex and Luna early on. Both are young and naive about their feelings for each other. Alex is an aspiring adventurer who wants to one day become a Dragonmaster. Luna is his childhood best friend with a golden voice.
Lunar is a very old rpg. It predates the PlayStation by quite a bit. Since I never owned a Saturn or played the original, I finally had the chance to play this masterpiece when Working Designs decided to re release it. The newer game came with more cut scenes more voice acting and a bunch of bonus content outside of the game. All that way nice, but I was much more entertained by what was inside the game itself. Lunar has he feels of a very polished old school game, because at its core it is an old school game. The game is mostly 2D sprites who look deformed, but still retain that charm that I love so very much. Fighting is very tedious in this game and randoms can beat you to a bloody pulp. You will often run out of resources and have to back track to a town or a save spot to replenish your characters stats.
This was the start of the voice acting boom and after games like this were released, voice acting became the norm in almost all rpgs henceforth. Lunar does display some of the better voice acting in rpgs though, and for the most part I fell in love with Luna's voice actress. There are a couple of scenes where she sings and her voice fills the room with a poetic grace that is very soothing and calming. It always sends a chill down my back when I hear those pieces. I suggest you take some time and listen to them if you enjoy sweet, relaxing sounds.
The game centers around Alex's journey to grow into a hero like his idol, Dyne. In order to do that he must venture out and pass the four dragon trials. At his side for the entire game is an annoying little white dragon whelp by the name of Nall who acts as the comic relief, along with the narcissistic magician Nash. The game has a very light hearted feel to it. The supporting cast is very well done, and the game is littered with colorful cut scenes to let you know when a major story arc is approaching. Hidden around the world are Bromides (which are pictures), of all the characters. These bromides don't add anything to the game, but act as trophies to an extent.
As you wrap up the game, you notice similarities between Alex and Dyne's stories. Both fought for love and both gave up something extremely valuable in the name of love. That's the main focus of this game. It acts as one of the last games of the old school era and it focuses on the power of the human emotion. It has a charm that is one of a kind. A true classic.
Oh, and be sure to check out the bath scenes too. You won't want to miss those!
Friday, January 14, 2011
#14
Skies of Arcadia: Legends (Originally released on the Gamecube in 2002)
The skies the limit in this swashbuckling adventure! Takes control of Vyse, a young, brash, sky pirate as he sails into the unknown looking for grand adventure and of course, treasure. Skies of Arcadia Legends is a port of the Dreamcast game with the same name, just with extra content within. For some reason I left Skies slip by when it was on the Dreamcast, so I was extra excited about it getting a re-release. Skies is a light hearted rpg that lets you take to the skies of this fantasy world and sail the clouds as if you were on the open seas.
This game focuses on world exploration. Vyse and his crew are mostly pirate-esque individuals, all of them vastly different then each other. The cast gels very well together and they all make the story move so smooth. This game is by no means short, but since the story was so engaging I beat this game in almost no time at all. The game mixes comical villains with the more maniacal version of bad guys together very well also. The overall cast of this game is impressive. I caught myself smiling a lot during the conversations between the characters.
There are two types of battles in this game. Normal combat and ship versus ship fights. Both are unique and offer different ways to use strategy to succeed in either. I found the ship battles to be a tad bit harder then the normal combat, but that could be just me.
Exploration sets the tone for when you are not dealing the the main story lines. You can sail around the globe and discover new islands, treasures and even go on bounty hunts for rewards. The game offers you almost limitless possibilities. It really does give you the impression that you are like a Christopher Columbus type explorer and you are traveling through uncharted skies and uncovering areas no one else has ever seen. It makes exploring the world that much more fun.
In the end, Skies is a fantastic rpg with pretty environments for you to explore and a wonderful cast of heroes and villains. It is one of the best rpgs experiences I have ever had the privilege to enjoy and I hope if you have yet to play it, this small exert has you leaning to check it out.
The skies the limit in this swashbuckling adventure! Takes control of Vyse, a young, brash, sky pirate as he sails into the unknown looking for grand adventure and of course, treasure. Skies of Arcadia Legends is a port of the Dreamcast game with the same name, just with extra content within. For some reason I left Skies slip by when it was on the Dreamcast, so I was extra excited about it getting a re-release. Skies is a light hearted rpg that lets you take to the skies of this fantasy world and sail the clouds as if you were on the open seas.
This game focuses on world exploration. Vyse and his crew are mostly pirate-esque individuals, all of them vastly different then each other. The cast gels very well together and they all make the story move so smooth. This game is by no means short, but since the story was so engaging I beat this game in almost no time at all. The game mixes comical villains with the more maniacal version of bad guys together very well also. The overall cast of this game is impressive. I caught myself smiling a lot during the conversations between the characters.
There are two types of battles in this game. Normal combat and ship versus ship fights. Both are unique and offer different ways to use strategy to succeed in either. I found the ship battles to be a tad bit harder then the normal combat, but that could be just me.
Exploration sets the tone for when you are not dealing the the main story lines. You can sail around the globe and discover new islands, treasures and even go on bounty hunts for rewards. The game offers you almost limitless possibilities. It really does give you the impression that you are like a Christopher Columbus type explorer and you are traveling through uncharted skies and uncovering areas no one else has ever seen. It makes exploring the world that much more fun.
In the end, Skies is a fantastic rpg with pretty environments for you to explore and a wonderful cast of heroes and villains. It is one of the best rpgs experiences I have ever had the privilege to enjoy and I hope if you have yet to play it, this small exert has you leaning to check it out.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
#13
Illusions of Gaia (Originally released in 1994 on the SNES.)
Playing RPGs and learning about history, who would have thought it was possible! Well it is, to an extent in Illusions of Gaia. IoG is a pretty low key game that I picked up due to its hype in Nintendo Power the magazine. It acts as a Zelda clone for the most part, but has its own flare and design that makes it one of a kind. You start the game as a teenager named Will who attends a small school in a small city outside the outskirts of a castle.
When Will was very young, his father took him along on a trip to visit the Tower of Babel. Something went very wrong during this expedition and Will was the only survivor to come back home. He still believes his father is alive somewhere and one day he wants to go out and find him.
Will walk, talks, and acts like all the other kids in his class, and he is best friends with each of them, but Will is very different then everyone else. Will is able to hop into another dimension almost at will and is able to talk to Gaia, who acts as a seer and a spiritual guide to Will. He also possesses physic powers and can move objects with his mind. Much to his friends delight he is a card shark and can find any card asked of him on the spot.
Eventually the local princess runs away to Will's grandparents house and Will is accused of kidnapping her which starts his journey more or less. there in the prison cells he finds out he has the ability to shape shift into more powerful biengs. He gets two alternate forms, the first looks like a knight based off of Lancelot lore and goes by the name of Freedan. The second and more powerful form is that of a faceless shadowy figure that goes by Shadow. Will can fight as well and does so by using his flute as a weapon. He may be the weakest of the three forms, but even he is needed to complete certain dungeons that require some of his special abilities or songs that are only avaialble in his boy form.
Like I said earlier, this game has real life areas that you can explore. Some of the sights you can vist include Machu Pichu (Of Inca ruins fame), the Great wall of China, Angkor Wat, the Nazca lines, and even some good old fashion Egyptian Pyramids. The Tower of Bable is also in the game, but who knows if that is an actual historical landmark! It's ncie to see a game use some real life geographical sights as part of your adventure. It adds a real twist to the experience.
IoG is a fun game. You get stronger by stomping out all of the enemies in the dungeons. It is very linear, but is has some puzzles that will keep you guessing and perplexed. It was fu when I was younger and fun still to this day. What can I say, old games never lose their charm for me.
Playing RPGs and learning about history, who would have thought it was possible! Well it is, to an extent in Illusions of Gaia. IoG is a pretty low key game that I picked up due to its hype in Nintendo Power the magazine. It acts as a Zelda clone for the most part, but has its own flare and design that makes it one of a kind. You start the game as a teenager named Will who attends a small school in a small city outside the outskirts of a castle.
When Will was very young, his father took him along on a trip to visit the Tower of Babel. Something went very wrong during this expedition and Will was the only survivor to come back home. He still believes his father is alive somewhere and one day he wants to go out and find him.
Will walk, talks, and acts like all the other kids in his class, and he is best friends with each of them, but Will is very different then everyone else. Will is able to hop into another dimension almost at will and is able to talk to Gaia, who acts as a seer and a spiritual guide to Will. He also possesses physic powers and can move objects with his mind. Much to his friends delight he is a card shark and can find any card asked of him on the spot.
Eventually the local princess runs away to Will's grandparents house and Will is accused of kidnapping her which starts his journey more or less. there in the prison cells he finds out he has the ability to shape shift into more powerful biengs. He gets two alternate forms, the first looks like a knight based off of Lancelot lore and goes by the name of Freedan. The second and more powerful form is that of a faceless shadowy figure that goes by Shadow. Will can fight as well and does so by using his flute as a weapon. He may be the weakest of the three forms, but even he is needed to complete certain dungeons that require some of his special abilities or songs that are only avaialble in his boy form.
Like I said earlier, this game has real life areas that you can explore. Some of the sights you can vist include Machu Pichu (Of Inca ruins fame), the Great wall of China, Angkor Wat, the Nazca lines, and even some good old fashion Egyptian Pyramids. The Tower of Bable is also in the game, but who knows if that is an actual historical landmark! It's ncie to see a game use some real life geographical sights as part of your adventure. It adds a real twist to the experience.
IoG is a fun game. You get stronger by stomping out all of the enemies in the dungeons. It is very linear, but is has some puzzles that will keep you guessing and perplexed. It was fu when I was younger and fun still to this day. What can I say, old games never lose their charm for me.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
#12
Secret of Evermore (Originally released in 1995 on the SNES)
The spiritual successor to the more popular Secret of Mana was highly looked over and many people considered to be a garbage game because it was one of the first games developed by am American team. That is not that case, however. SoE is a great game, that could have been better had they changed the limitations around a bit.
You are given this teenage boy, who you name, who is a crazy movie buff. His is living in a modern day suburbia when his pet dog decides to chase down a cat all the way to an abandoned mansion. Inside he find his dog and also finds a huge contraption that he accidentally triggers and send him to the world of Evermore. Once inside, he is trapped in this fantasy world until he can find a way out.
Evermore, in the game, is a real world that was thought up by the imaginations of the people who first stumbled across it. Earlier on, in that same mansion a scientist was making a breakthrough discovery when he sent he and his colleagues in the world of Evermore before he had all the kinks worked out on it. Each member of that experiment was granted their own world, so to speak. One side of the world is all prehistoric and cave men and dinosaurs run wild. Another area is all about archaeology and uncovering the secrets of the pyramids and is a waste sand wasteland. You go even further and you find a medieval area full of knights and dragons. There is even a futuristic area inhabited robots. The professor that started this whole mess stays there.
Appearance wise, you look the same no matter where you go, but your dog, who came along for the ride is affected every time he moves to one of these new areas. In Prehistoria, he looks like a savage wolf, in the desert area, he takes the form of greyhound that everyone seems to worship, in the medieval area he takes the form of a...pink poodle, and in the robotic world he is a robot canine who can shoot lasers.
The game plays out exactly like SoM does. It's a free roaming, action rpg, but the only fault this game has is it is not two players. For some reason, the creators didn't allow two people to play this game together and limited this games fun factor.But besides all that, this game is a masterpiece with a bunch of Easter eggs for fans of Squaresoft.
I wish I could create my own Evermore. The possibilities are endless with a world that you create from your deepest darkest fantasies.
The spiritual successor to the more popular Secret of Mana was highly looked over and many people considered to be a garbage game because it was one of the first games developed by am American team. That is not that case, however. SoE is a great game, that could have been better had they changed the limitations around a bit.
You are given this teenage boy, who you name, who is a crazy movie buff. His is living in a modern day suburbia when his pet dog decides to chase down a cat all the way to an abandoned mansion. Inside he find his dog and also finds a huge contraption that he accidentally triggers and send him to the world of Evermore. Once inside, he is trapped in this fantasy world until he can find a way out.
Evermore, in the game, is a real world that was thought up by the imaginations of the people who first stumbled across it. Earlier on, in that same mansion a scientist was making a breakthrough discovery when he sent he and his colleagues in the world of Evermore before he had all the kinks worked out on it. Each member of that experiment was granted their own world, so to speak. One side of the world is all prehistoric and cave men and dinosaurs run wild. Another area is all about archaeology and uncovering the secrets of the pyramids and is a waste sand wasteland. You go even further and you find a medieval area full of knights and dragons. There is even a futuristic area inhabited robots. The professor that started this whole mess stays there.
Appearance wise, you look the same no matter where you go, but your dog, who came along for the ride is affected every time he moves to one of these new areas. In Prehistoria, he looks like a savage wolf, in the desert area, he takes the form of greyhound that everyone seems to worship, in the medieval area he takes the form of a...pink poodle, and in the robotic world he is a robot canine who can shoot lasers.
The game plays out exactly like SoM does. It's a free roaming, action rpg, but the only fault this game has is it is not two players. For some reason, the creators didn't allow two people to play this game together and limited this games fun factor.But besides all that, this game is a masterpiece with a bunch of Easter eggs for fans of Squaresoft.
I wish I could create my own Evermore. The possibilities are endless with a world that you create from your deepest darkest fantasies.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
#11
Xenogears (Originally released in 1998 on the PS1)
Science fiction and rpgs clash into a superb masterpiece in Xenogears. You fight with your bare hands at one point and then jump into a super sized robot or mech and fight that way as well. Xenogears tells one of the better stories ever in a rpg. You main character, Fei is one of the best MCs I have ever seen in a rpg. He is a conflicted soul. He doesn't know his role in life or much about himself either and sets out to answer both of those questions.
The setting of Xenogears is that of a basic post apocalyptic world. The world seems fine, but your planet is more sand then anything else. Warships navigate the dunes and fortresses fly hidden in the sky. It's up to Fei and his new-found mech to go around and find out the secrets of the world. Fei will meet a number of interesting people along his travels. One of his closest friends is the doctor Citan Uzuki, who acts as Fei's best and most trusted friend, but there is more to the good Doc then what he shows. You also meet a humorous captain who always seem to find the camera when he is boasting about being a man of the sea. There is the champion of the underground fighting arena Big Joe, who seems to be a big cheese and all talk. The one eyed prince, Bart who loves his whips so much he added those weapons to his mech. Billy is a gun toting holy man who is on a mission to purge the world of beings known as reapers. You even meet this creature known as Emeralda who seems to know Fei from a long.... long time ago.
Xenogears deals with the idea of reincarnation as one of its main story lines. People who meet each other and have had interactions with one another in a past life still have that connection to that person, even if they don't know why. This game also has a bunch of biblical references as well. One scene in particular that sticks out is when your team is kidnapped the enemy hoists all of there mechs up on crosses, even Chu Chu which is a pink bunny type of creature, which might supposed to be dramatic, but when you see a pink fur ball hanging on a cross in Jesus mode, it really doesn't fit the scene.
Fighting in this game is fun. You get to unload combos against your enemies and if you do the combo correctly you get a special attack at the end of the chain. Each move requires you spend a certain amount of ability points so you need to fight smart. Mech battles are not as fun, but thankfully they are few and far between.
We can pretend that Xenogears is a stand alone game, because the Saga games were just a waste of my time. Xenogears tells a beautiful story. One with every element seen in a good book, Xenogears even has its moments where they depict the story unfolding in a storybook mode. As great as it is I think a lot of people missed this title because it came around the end of the PS1s cycle. If you enjoy a great story and love rpgs, this is the game for you.
Science fiction and rpgs clash into a superb masterpiece in Xenogears. You fight with your bare hands at one point and then jump into a super sized robot or mech and fight that way as well. Xenogears tells one of the better stories ever in a rpg. You main character, Fei is one of the best MCs I have ever seen in a rpg. He is a conflicted soul. He doesn't know his role in life or much about himself either and sets out to answer both of those questions.
The setting of Xenogears is that of a basic post apocalyptic world. The world seems fine, but your planet is more sand then anything else. Warships navigate the dunes and fortresses fly hidden in the sky. It's up to Fei and his new-found mech to go around and find out the secrets of the world. Fei will meet a number of interesting people along his travels. One of his closest friends is the doctor Citan Uzuki, who acts as Fei's best and most trusted friend, but there is more to the good Doc then what he shows. You also meet a humorous captain who always seem to find the camera when he is boasting about being a man of the sea. There is the champion of the underground fighting arena Big Joe, who seems to be a big cheese and all talk. The one eyed prince, Bart who loves his whips so much he added those weapons to his mech. Billy is a gun toting holy man who is on a mission to purge the world of beings known as reapers. You even meet this creature known as Emeralda who seems to know Fei from a long.... long time ago.
Xenogears deals with the idea of reincarnation as one of its main story lines. People who meet each other and have had interactions with one another in a past life still have that connection to that person, even if they don't know why. This game also has a bunch of biblical references as well. One scene in particular that sticks out is when your team is kidnapped the enemy hoists all of there mechs up on crosses, even Chu Chu which is a pink bunny type of creature, which might supposed to be dramatic, but when you see a pink fur ball hanging on a cross in Jesus mode, it really doesn't fit the scene.
Fighting in this game is fun. You get to unload combos against your enemies and if you do the combo correctly you get a special attack at the end of the chain. Each move requires you spend a certain amount of ability points so you need to fight smart. Mech battles are not as fun, but thankfully they are few and far between.
We can pretend that Xenogears is a stand alone game, because the Saga games were just a waste of my time. Xenogears tells a beautiful story. One with every element seen in a good book, Xenogears even has its moments where they depict the story unfolding in a storybook mode. As great as it is I think a lot of people missed this title because it came around the end of the PS1s cycle. If you enjoy a great story and love rpgs, this is the game for you.
#10
Late again. Blame the BCS National Title game. I mean, I figured Auburn would win, but it was still a great game.
Earthbound (Originally released in 1995 on the SNES)
When it comes to one of a kind rpgs, Earthbound takes the prize. Gone is the normal trend of cliche characters and scenarios you would see in most rpgs, and add a sense of humor and peculiarity that adds a charm not seen since and you have Earthbound. Your main character doesn't wear armor and use swords, no, instead he is a little boy with a baseball cap and a bat, named Ness.
In Earthbound you are given a modern day suburbia. Ness wakes up to find his normal everyday life as a young boy changed forever when a meteorite falls down near his house and an alien from the future by the name of buzz buzz, who takes the form of a fly so he won't scare anyone, shows up to warn Ness about the end of his world as he knows it. Now buzz buzz meets an untimely fate because...well he is a fly and gets swatted, but he leaves you with the information you need to know. Save the world and you will meet three others that will help you along the way.
Earthbound adds modern day elements into this game and makes them fit into a rpg mold. In one scene you are sent into a mall that has been taken over by possessed coffee mugs and pictures and have to scale to the top to save your friend Paula. You have to fight a full police force before they will let you pass their road block. You get taught how to teleport by a hyperactive monkey. You get to ride on top of the Loch ness monster. You get to travel to the east to traverse pyramids and fight mummies. You save a blues band from an eternal contract and get to watch their shows every now and then. You even get to uncover the secrets underneath stone henge.
When I say modern, Earthbound is as modern as it comes. You see cars on the roads, there is an area which is a beach and people are sunbathing, there are hospitals and restaurants that deliver you food as well. Earthbound took everything from rpgs and put a twist on it. It makes for a very fun and enjoyable ride. It quirky and cute, and a must play for those who missed it.
Now, smile and say fuzzy pickles. V_(^_^)
Earthbound (Originally released in 1995 on the SNES)
When it comes to one of a kind rpgs, Earthbound takes the prize. Gone is the normal trend of cliche characters and scenarios you would see in most rpgs, and add a sense of humor and peculiarity that adds a charm not seen since and you have Earthbound. Your main character doesn't wear armor and use swords, no, instead he is a little boy with a baseball cap and a bat, named Ness.
In Earthbound you are given a modern day suburbia. Ness wakes up to find his normal everyday life as a young boy changed forever when a meteorite falls down near his house and an alien from the future by the name of buzz buzz, who takes the form of a fly so he won't scare anyone, shows up to warn Ness about the end of his world as he knows it. Now buzz buzz meets an untimely fate because...well he is a fly and gets swatted, but he leaves you with the information you need to know. Save the world and you will meet three others that will help you along the way.
Earthbound adds modern day elements into this game and makes them fit into a rpg mold. In one scene you are sent into a mall that has been taken over by possessed coffee mugs and pictures and have to scale to the top to save your friend Paula. You have to fight a full police force before they will let you pass their road block. You get taught how to teleport by a hyperactive monkey. You get to ride on top of the Loch ness monster. You get to travel to the east to traverse pyramids and fight mummies. You save a blues band from an eternal contract and get to watch their shows every now and then. You even get to uncover the secrets underneath stone henge.
When I say modern, Earthbound is as modern as it comes. You see cars on the roads, there is an area which is a beach and people are sunbathing, there are hospitals and restaurants that deliver you food as well. Earthbound took everything from rpgs and put a twist on it. It makes for a very fun and enjoyable ride. It quirky and cute, and a must play for those who missed it.
Now, smile and say fuzzy pickles. V_(^_^)
Sunday, January 9, 2011
#9
Ogre Battle: March of the Black Queen (Originally released in 1993 on the SNES)
Before there was Tactics Ogre, there was Ogre Battle. It followed the same storyline that TO had, but it was set in the past because, well...it was the older game! OB was more of an all out war based SRPG then most the others of its genre. I guess it would fall under the category of a simulated all out war. The premise was that the kingdom of Zenobia, which was once a lovely and rich area somehow became corrupted by the Black Queen, Endora. Through witchcraft and trickery she corrupted the once proud kingdom into a heap of broken down subsections which were all slums. She killed the king and queen and made Zenobia a pawn of her kingdom, Highland. No one could stand up to her might and most who did ended up dead or missing. Enter the protagonist. A youth by the name of Destin, who takes a small unit of rag tag nobodies and forms the liberation army. It was foretold by the prophetic seer, Warren that Destin would be able to rise up, unite the lands, and reclaim Zenobia.But first, Warren had to test you.
Like I said, this game is unique because you don't do any actual fighting. The game does it all for you or rather, you are given a grid and you can place units on that grid and depending where they are assigned their abilities and number of attacks change. You are allowed only a select amount of units per grid or battle party and when you have those arranged you can have them venture out and conquer the land. Every map is large, but most of the early stages are relatively small so you can grow accustomed to the game mechanics. There are towns and temples, all of which are enemy controlled. It is up to you to send out multiple units and to reclaim those areas for the liberation army. Now there is a catch. If you leave a liberated area open, the enemy can reclaim that area which causes you to lose reputation. Oh yeah, there is a reputation meter and the higher it gets the more loved you are by the people. The lower it gets and the game makes you out to be a tyrant which alters the endings. To make your reputation go you up must liberate cities with units that have high alignment and charisma. To raise those stats you must fight enemies that are stringer then you and become stronger yourself. Its a simple, yet tricky system to work. If you allow one of your units to get too powerful, when they crush an enemy unit, their alignment and charisma will start to drop and if you constantly slaughter weak or helpless units you will reach a zero rating relatively shortly. This game demands supreme balance.
Of course like any SRPG there are tons of classes to choose from and this game lets you promote characters that have reached a certain criteria. A knight with high alignment can become a paladin, or if he has low charisma he can become a beast tamer. It all depends how you want your team to grow. Some units require special items to be allowed to promote. You even get special classes like Dragoons, which rank among the top of your physical damage output units.
The game can be played in a number of different ways and you can get numerous different endings with just a slight change in your progression. This is a truly fun game to replay becau8se its almost never the same. The game super easy if you decide to become evil because you can just have all your units overpowered with almost no repercussions. there are tons of bonus, and even Easter eggs such as the Island of Avalon being a map and a quest to find the Holy Grail.
Ogre Battle (along with the 64 title) is a game that is unlike anything else on the market. Its a fun game of risk with RPG and fantasy elements all bundled up in one package.
Before there was Tactics Ogre, there was Ogre Battle. It followed the same storyline that TO had, but it was set in the past because, well...it was the older game! OB was more of an all out war based SRPG then most the others of its genre. I guess it would fall under the category of a simulated all out war. The premise was that the kingdom of Zenobia, which was once a lovely and rich area somehow became corrupted by the Black Queen, Endora. Through witchcraft and trickery she corrupted the once proud kingdom into a heap of broken down subsections which were all slums. She killed the king and queen and made Zenobia a pawn of her kingdom, Highland. No one could stand up to her might and most who did ended up dead or missing. Enter the protagonist. A youth by the name of Destin, who takes a small unit of rag tag nobodies and forms the liberation army. It was foretold by the prophetic seer, Warren that Destin would be able to rise up, unite the lands, and reclaim Zenobia.But first, Warren had to test you.
Like I said, this game is unique because you don't do any actual fighting. The game does it all for you or rather, you are given a grid and you can place units on that grid and depending where they are assigned their abilities and number of attacks change. You are allowed only a select amount of units per grid or battle party and when you have those arranged you can have them venture out and conquer the land. Every map is large, but most of the early stages are relatively small so you can grow accustomed to the game mechanics. There are towns and temples, all of which are enemy controlled. It is up to you to send out multiple units and to reclaim those areas for the liberation army. Now there is a catch. If you leave a liberated area open, the enemy can reclaim that area which causes you to lose reputation. Oh yeah, there is a reputation meter and the higher it gets the more loved you are by the people. The lower it gets and the game makes you out to be a tyrant which alters the endings. To make your reputation go you up must liberate cities with units that have high alignment and charisma. To raise those stats you must fight enemies that are stringer then you and become stronger yourself. Its a simple, yet tricky system to work. If you allow one of your units to get too powerful, when they crush an enemy unit, their alignment and charisma will start to drop and if you constantly slaughter weak or helpless units you will reach a zero rating relatively shortly. This game demands supreme balance.
Of course like any SRPG there are tons of classes to choose from and this game lets you promote characters that have reached a certain criteria. A knight with high alignment can become a paladin, or if he has low charisma he can become a beast tamer. It all depends how you want your team to grow. Some units require special items to be allowed to promote. You even get special classes like Dragoons, which rank among the top of your physical damage output units.
The game can be played in a number of different ways and you can get numerous different endings with just a slight change in your progression. This is a truly fun game to replay becau8se its almost never the same. The game super easy if you decide to become evil because you can just have all your units overpowered with almost no repercussions. there are tons of bonus, and even Easter eggs such as the Island of Avalon being a map and a quest to find the Holy Grail.
Ogre Battle (along with the 64 title) is a game that is unlike anything else on the market. Its a fun game of risk with RPG and fantasy elements all bundled up in one package.
Saturday, January 8, 2011
#8
Secret of Mana (Originally released in 1993 on the SNES)
What can I say, the SNES was the golden ages for great RPGs!
SoM, like most every other game I am writing about, holds a special place in my heart. RPGs are fun, but usually they are a one person ride. That isn't the case with SoM because this game allowed you to play with one or even two more friends in (what I imagine is) the first multiplayer RPG experience.
The story is pretty basic. Local boy stumbles down a waterfall and finds an ancient sword that has lied dormant in its resting place for centuries. He pulls out the slumbering sword only to find that it has been his town's guardian and when he released it, his town came under attack. He is thrown out of his village and is sent to find out the history of his new found weapon. He will come across a tomboyish girl, and a little kid and together the three embark on a journey through the world of mana.
This game was my first action rpg experience. ARPGs are different then almost any normal rpg in the fact that they don't break away from the normal screen when you go into a battle. Everything is done from the same overhead view and you can roam freely. There is no waiting for turns or anything of the sort. You just run up to an enemy and hack and slash your way to victory. It makes for a very enjoyable combat experience especially when every other RPG you play is so vastly different then this title.
In battle you are given eight different weapon to play with and each has their pros and cons. Swords act as the most reliable weapon, serving as a strong, yet close range method of attack. You also have spears, bows, javelins, boomerangs, whips, axes, and eve bare fists at your disposal. Each has a leveling system and with every level each weapon gets a unique attack move. There is no wrong or bad weapon to choose from, so you can basically pick whatever you are most comfortable with.
The areas in this game are very colorful as well. There is the mushroom kingdom (No, not that mushroom kingdom!), the moogle village in the season inspired forest, there is a desert town that is devoid of water which is express from the very moment you walk into town by the somber music that is playing, and there's even a snow filled wonderland that Santa calls his home. Well Santa has actually gone missing, and Rudolf asks you go to find him!
SoM is fun for everyone. I never did get to play the game with more then me and friend until the game was transferred over to the Wii because as a kid I never had a multiplayer adapter, but even with two people this game is tons of fun. The amount of zany fun you can concoct with your friends while playing this gem is only limited by the games constraints.
What can I say, the SNES was the golden ages for great RPGs!
SoM, like most every other game I am writing about, holds a special place in my heart. RPGs are fun, but usually they are a one person ride. That isn't the case with SoM because this game allowed you to play with one or even two more friends in (what I imagine is) the first multiplayer RPG experience.
The story is pretty basic. Local boy stumbles down a waterfall and finds an ancient sword that has lied dormant in its resting place for centuries. He pulls out the slumbering sword only to find that it has been his town's guardian and when he released it, his town came under attack. He is thrown out of his village and is sent to find out the history of his new found weapon. He will come across a tomboyish girl, and a little kid and together the three embark on a journey through the world of mana.
This game was my first action rpg experience. ARPGs are different then almost any normal rpg in the fact that they don't break away from the normal screen when you go into a battle. Everything is done from the same overhead view and you can roam freely. There is no waiting for turns or anything of the sort. You just run up to an enemy and hack and slash your way to victory. It makes for a very enjoyable combat experience especially when every other RPG you play is so vastly different then this title.
In battle you are given eight different weapon to play with and each has their pros and cons. Swords act as the most reliable weapon, serving as a strong, yet close range method of attack. You also have spears, bows, javelins, boomerangs, whips, axes, and eve bare fists at your disposal. Each has a leveling system and with every level each weapon gets a unique attack move. There is no wrong or bad weapon to choose from, so you can basically pick whatever you are most comfortable with.
The areas in this game are very colorful as well. There is the mushroom kingdom (No, not that mushroom kingdom!), the moogle village in the season inspired forest, there is a desert town that is devoid of water which is express from the very moment you walk into town by the somber music that is playing, and there's even a snow filled wonderland that Santa calls his home. Well Santa has actually gone missing, and Rudolf asks you go to find him!
SoM is fun for everyone. I never did get to play the game with more then me and friend until the game was transferred over to the Wii because as a kid I never had a multiplayer adapter, but even with two people this game is tons of fun. The amount of zany fun you can concoct with your friends while playing this gem is only limited by the games constraints.
Friday, January 7, 2011
#7
Chrono Trigger (Originally released in 1995 on the SNES)
Time travel is a very tricky mechanic to pull off in any type of medium and while Chrono Trigger might have it perfected, it certainly makes it work. CT was the first game I played that dealt with time travel. A youth and his friends stumble open time portals that send them back into the past and sky rockets them to their bleak future. When they see there world in ruins, these brave adventures make it their job to find what causes this outcome and they set out to correct it. This is the basic premise of Chrono Trigger, but there is so much more.
With time travel, you get to see actions you made in the past change the current world. Your team ranges from best friends that you grew up with to princesses to cursed knights and even prehistoric street fighters who are scantily clad. Each has a unique story and each has multiple story arcs that leads you throughout time. You get to witness the birth of magic, the death of the dinosaurs, the end of the world, and even come across a place beyond time itself.
This game also has one of the cooler battle systems out there. This was the first time I was able to do team attacks. Three people join you in any fight, and two or even all three can combine their individual skills into a pretty and powerful display of destruction. these attacks range from a basic elemental sword slash or a simple, yet stronger version of a heal, but some of the later team techs involve giant frogs, laser light shows, and even grenade explosions. Its fun to mix the team around and see what sort of abilities everyone has with each other.
Chrono Trigger is a timeless classic about the power of time. Its sad that after only one sequel, Square Enix never decided to continue with the series. It could have become one of the better franchises ever, but due to unknown circumstances that was not the case. Instead, we are given a masterpiece we can enjoy for all eternity.
Time travel is a very tricky mechanic to pull off in any type of medium and while Chrono Trigger might have it perfected, it certainly makes it work. CT was the first game I played that dealt with time travel. A youth and his friends stumble open time portals that send them back into the past and sky rockets them to their bleak future. When they see there world in ruins, these brave adventures make it their job to find what causes this outcome and they set out to correct it. This is the basic premise of Chrono Trigger, but there is so much more.
With time travel, you get to see actions you made in the past change the current world. Your team ranges from best friends that you grew up with to princesses to cursed knights and even prehistoric street fighters who are scantily clad. Each has a unique story and each has multiple story arcs that leads you throughout time. You get to witness the birth of magic, the death of the dinosaurs, the end of the world, and even come across a place beyond time itself.
This game also has one of the cooler battle systems out there. This was the first time I was able to do team attacks. Three people join you in any fight, and two or even all three can combine their individual skills into a pretty and powerful display of destruction. these attacks range from a basic elemental sword slash or a simple, yet stronger version of a heal, but some of the later team techs involve giant frogs, laser light shows, and even grenade explosions. Its fun to mix the team around and see what sort of abilities everyone has with each other.
Chrono Trigger is a timeless classic about the power of time. Its sad that after only one sequel, Square Enix never decided to continue with the series. It could have become one of the better franchises ever, but due to unknown circumstances that was not the case. Instead, we are given a masterpiece we can enjoy for all eternity.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
#6
Tactics Ogre (Originally released in 1997 on the Playstaion 1)
Strategy.
Most rpgs never deal with this mechanic. TO does, and does so in the most hardcore of fashions. In the rpg world there are numerous sub categories and games such as TO fall under the Strategy Role Playing Game experience or SRPG for short. Those games pit you (usually) on a grid, kind of like a game of chess. You get to place your pieces on a selected area and the battle begins. In these games you can create your army to however you see fit. There are so many job classes to choose from, and the game even gives you special characters that are important to the story which are stronger then your average grunts the game lets you recruit normally.
Some strategies let you control everyone on your party as a group and then the enemy gets their turn to do the same. In this game, turn order is based on speed and weight of each character. If you unequip a character of all their gear, they become more agile and their turns come faster and more frequent. The trade off is they are naked and can easily get exposed by enemies who reach them. Strategy, it is entirely up to you.
As I mentioned earlier, this game is hard. The enemy artificial intelligence (or AI) isn't too stupid and seems to know to pick on units who wander off away from their allies. If anyone in your army dies, they die permanently. At least this is the case for a good 3/4 of the game. there is no resurrection spell, so its one and done for anyone in your army and of course if the main character dies its game over completely. For someone that enjoys a good story this is very crucial. You spend a good amount of time resetting certain battles and making sure no one important dies. If you place someone in harms way they sit there until there next turn. You have to plan carefully and keep your units close, but not too close in case of a magic user who can target a large area and damage multiple units at once. That's where the whole strategy aspect comes in. You have to plan and prepare for every move the enemy makes.
This game also gives you branching paths. At certain parts of the story you are given choices to make. these choices affect the entire story and eventual outcome of the game, so once again the strategy essence of the game comes into full effect. Some of these choices might turn your best friend into an arch nemesis or cause strains in your previously strong relationships to dwindle and turn bitter. Every choice matters and provides you with multiple stories arcs. It makes replaying the game entertaining because it is never the same experience.
TO has a great bend that really touches me. Its hard enough where you can't plow through the game mindlessly, yet it is almost never the same every time you replay it. It has great characters, who show real human emotion and it provides another great story along with all the extra features a SRPG has to offer. This game is a true gem and now it is being re released on the PSP for those who weren't as fortunate as me to play it. Tactics Ogre is a true classic.
Strategy.
Most rpgs never deal with this mechanic. TO does, and does so in the most hardcore of fashions. In the rpg world there are numerous sub categories and games such as TO fall under the Strategy Role Playing Game experience or SRPG for short. Those games pit you (usually) on a grid, kind of like a game of chess. You get to place your pieces on a selected area and the battle begins. In these games you can create your army to however you see fit. There are so many job classes to choose from, and the game even gives you special characters that are important to the story which are stronger then your average grunts the game lets you recruit normally.
Some strategies let you control everyone on your party as a group and then the enemy gets their turn to do the same. In this game, turn order is based on speed and weight of each character. If you unequip a character of all their gear, they become more agile and their turns come faster and more frequent. The trade off is they are naked and can easily get exposed by enemies who reach them. Strategy, it is entirely up to you.
As I mentioned earlier, this game is hard. The enemy artificial intelligence (or AI) isn't too stupid and seems to know to pick on units who wander off away from their allies. If anyone in your army dies, they die permanently. At least this is the case for a good 3/4 of the game. there is no resurrection spell, so its one and done for anyone in your army and of course if the main character dies its game over completely. For someone that enjoys a good story this is very crucial. You spend a good amount of time resetting certain battles and making sure no one important dies. If you place someone in harms way they sit there until there next turn. You have to plan carefully and keep your units close, but not too close in case of a magic user who can target a large area and damage multiple units at once. That's where the whole strategy aspect comes in. You have to plan and prepare for every move the enemy makes.
This game also gives you branching paths. At certain parts of the story you are given choices to make. these choices affect the entire story and eventual outcome of the game, so once again the strategy essence of the game comes into full effect. Some of these choices might turn your best friend into an arch nemesis or cause strains in your previously strong relationships to dwindle and turn bitter. Every choice matters and provides you with multiple stories arcs. It makes replaying the game entertaining because it is never the same experience.
TO has a great bend that really touches me. Its hard enough where you can't plow through the game mindlessly, yet it is almost never the same every time you replay it. It has great characters, who show real human emotion and it provides another great story along with all the extra features a SRPG has to offer. This game is a true gem and now it is being re released on the PSP for those who weren't as fortunate as me to play it. Tactics Ogre is a true classic.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
#5
Persona 4 (originally released in 2008 on the Playstation 2)
I think I'm a butterfly.
The Persona series offers a fresh look for the rpg genre. It started with a pretty generic game. The second game was pretty interesting in the fact that it came out in two halves, each with a similar cast, but alternates stories and of course one of the games dealt with the resurrection of Hitler. Obviously the game that had that small portion in it was banned form the US and we were only blessed with one part of the Persona 2 classic. P3 gave us a game where the characters had to point a gun at their head to unleash their inner persona. Once again, the American company responsible for releasing these games did not feel that we were ready to witness something as graphic as what the game was offering. Still it was a great game.
Now, Persona 4 gave us everything P3 had to offer and then some! Persona 3 introduced a school system to the normal rpg equation most fans of the genre were accustomed to. In these games the main character starts the game as an outsider who enrolls into the local school and befriends some of his classmates. As the game progresses your character meets the local students and you earn social points with a number of the characters in the game. Some join you and fight alongside you throughout the game while others just add interesting side stories that give you powerful Personas in the long run.
Now, what are Personas you ask? I'll tell you! A Persona is basically a demon or a mythical being that resides within your not so average human. Certain humans have these personas lying dormant in their bodies and it takes heavy direst and the most dire of circumstances for these being to come out and help their host.
Every game in the series has this basic setup. You start with weak personas, but as you progress and grow stronger you are able to create more powerful Personas that will fight by your side. What makes P4 different is that the story deals with a murder mystery and the party deals with a murderer that seems to be one step ahead of you at every turn.
Persona 4 is a great game. It made me miss high school. You know, if my high school had as fun and interesting atmosphere as the one portrayed in the game had, that is. This game is a lot like Pokemon in the fact that you have to go out of your way in order to collect some of the more powerful Personas the game has to offer. Some of the social links you can find during the game start off as people with ordinary lives, but as your links with these individuals grow, more about their character and personalities become fleshed out. The game is calender based as well. That means you have only a certain amount of days in order to complete your daily activities. They warn you when events will expire and warn you yet again that you don't get second chances with some of the storyarcs after the semester or week or whatever is completed. It makes you go out of your way to make sure you aren't forgetting any events for every day that passes or you might miss out on an extra scene or something. Oh yeah, this game also randomly gives you a quiz while your are in school. If you answer the question correctly your stats increase, if not nothing happens, so it pays to know general educational course studies.
Join the swim team or the fencing team, it just makes for your experience with the game that more engaging. Persona 4 at heart is a rpg, but it adds a daily schooling system that distracts from the sometimes monotonous drudge that is found in every other rpg. Persona 4 adds a charm not seen in most any other rpg out there. It's a great game and worth every penny spent on it.
I think I'm a butterfly.
The Persona series offers a fresh look for the rpg genre. It started with a pretty generic game. The second game was pretty interesting in the fact that it came out in two halves, each with a similar cast, but alternates stories and of course one of the games dealt with the resurrection of Hitler. Obviously the game that had that small portion in it was banned form the US and we were only blessed with one part of the Persona 2 classic. P3 gave us a game where the characters had to point a gun at their head to unleash their inner persona. Once again, the American company responsible for releasing these games did not feel that we were ready to witness something as graphic as what the game was offering. Still it was a great game.
Now, Persona 4 gave us everything P3 had to offer and then some! Persona 3 introduced a school system to the normal rpg equation most fans of the genre were accustomed to. In these games the main character starts the game as an outsider who enrolls into the local school and befriends some of his classmates. As the game progresses your character meets the local students and you earn social points with a number of the characters in the game. Some join you and fight alongside you throughout the game while others just add interesting side stories that give you powerful Personas in the long run.
Now, what are Personas you ask? I'll tell you! A Persona is basically a demon or a mythical being that resides within your not so average human. Certain humans have these personas lying dormant in their bodies and it takes heavy direst and the most dire of circumstances for these being to come out and help their host.
Every game in the series has this basic setup. You start with weak personas, but as you progress and grow stronger you are able to create more powerful Personas that will fight by your side. What makes P4 different is that the story deals with a murder mystery and the party deals with a murderer that seems to be one step ahead of you at every turn.
Persona 4 is a great game. It made me miss high school. You know, if my high school had as fun and interesting atmosphere as the one portrayed in the game had, that is. This game is a lot like Pokemon in the fact that you have to go out of your way in order to collect some of the more powerful Personas the game has to offer. Some of the social links you can find during the game start off as people with ordinary lives, but as your links with these individuals grow, more about their character and personalities become fleshed out. The game is calender based as well. That means you have only a certain amount of days in order to complete your daily activities. They warn you when events will expire and warn you yet again that you don't get second chances with some of the storyarcs after the semester or week or whatever is completed. It makes you go out of your way to make sure you aren't forgetting any events for every day that passes or you might miss out on an extra scene or something. Oh yeah, this game also randomly gives you a quiz while your are in school. If you answer the question correctly your stats increase, if not nothing happens, so it pays to know general educational course studies.
Join the swim team or the fencing team, it just makes for your experience with the game that more engaging. Persona 4 at heart is a rpg, but it adds a daily schooling system that distracts from the sometimes monotonous drudge that is found in every other rpg. Persona 4 adds a charm not seen in most any other rpg out there. It's a great game and worth every penny spent on it.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
#4
Lufia 2: The Rise of the Sinistrals (Originally released in 1996 on the SNES)
One day I will write about a newer game, I promise!
But for now I write about Lufia. Both Lufia games are amazing, but I enjoyed Lufia 2 more because when I was younger and played the first Lufia I always craved to know more about Maxim. Maxim was the hero of the opening scenes of the first game, but he dies trying to save the world. In Lufia 2 you are given Maxim early in his life before he became a world savior.
Sure, you knew his eventual outcome, but the journey to that point was an amazing one. Maxim a common monster hunter, begins to notice an increase in the aggressive behavior of the local monsters. He decides to try and uncover the meaning of the recent disturbances and finds a group of deity-like beings calling themselves "The Sinistrals" wreaking havoc around the globe. Along the way Maxim meets up with a wonderful group of people who also enjoy the peace their world once knew. Alone, they are unable to stop these Gods, but together they eventually combine the human will to overcome there oppressors.
Now, I've talked about puzzles before, but this was the daddy of all those puzzles in the other rpgs. There are so many puzzles that will either make your brain work double time, or frustrate you to all hell. That is one of the most memorable things this game leaves in me. This was also one of the first games that had a casino available in the game itself that let you spend how ever long you wanted away from the story to waste your hard earned coins in games of luck for valuable treasures. This game also had the Treasure Cave. A cave that had a seemingly bottomless amount of floors. Every time you left the cave you had to start at the top, and every time you left all experience gained was removed. You always started at the top at level 1 with no gear. You had to collect rare treasures in blue chests that you could take with you out of the cave and also back into the cave. It was always a fun detour form the main game.
Lufia 2 provides fans of the first game some insight into the characters you only were given glimpses of and the some. Being a game created much later then the first, Lufia 2 benefits from a better story, better graphics, better interface, better sound, and a better overall feel to the whole experience. They made a remake on the DS of this game, but it's not the same. Its fun, sure, but much of the story is chopped up and mixed in together and it makes the whole game feel much shorter then it was originally. In the end, I prefer the original.
One day I will write about a newer game, I promise!
But for now I write about Lufia. Both Lufia games are amazing, but I enjoyed Lufia 2 more because when I was younger and played the first Lufia I always craved to know more about Maxim. Maxim was the hero of the opening scenes of the first game, but he dies trying to save the world. In Lufia 2 you are given Maxim early in his life before he became a world savior.
Sure, you knew his eventual outcome, but the journey to that point was an amazing one. Maxim a common monster hunter, begins to notice an increase in the aggressive behavior of the local monsters. He decides to try and uncover the meaning of the recent disturbances and finds a group of deity-like beings calling themselves "The Sinistrals" wreaking havoc around the globe. Along the way Maxim meets up with a wonderful group of people who also enjoy the peace their world once knew. Alone, they are unable to stop these Gods, but together they eventually combine the human will to overcome there oppressors.
Now, I've talked about puzzles before, but this was the daddy of all those puzzles in the other rpgs. There are so many puzzles that will either make your brain work double time, or frustrate you to all hell. That is one of the most memorable things this game leaves in me. This was also one of the first games that had a casino available in the game itself that let you spend how ever long you wanted away from the story to waste your hard earned coins in games of luck for valuable treasures. This game also had the Treasure Cave. A cave that had a seemingly bottomless amount of floors. Every time you left the cave you had to start at the top, and every time you left all experience gained was removed. You always started at the top at level 1 with no gear. You had to collect rare treasures in blue chests that you could take with you out of the cave and also back into the cave. It was always a fun detour form the main game.
Lufia 2 provides fans of the first game some insight into the characters you only were given glimpses of and the some. Being a game created much later then the first, Lufia 2 benefits from a better story, better graphics, better interface, better sound, and a better overall feel to the whole experience. They made a remake on the DS of this game, but it's not the same. Its fun, sure, but much of the story is chopped up and mixed in together and it makes the whole game feel much shorter then it was originally. In the end, I prefer the original.
#3
Oops, missed a day. Going to make a double post to make up for that!
Wild ARMs (original y released in 1997 on the PS1)
Okay, so this game has one thing that no other game has for me: the single most beautiful intro I have ever laid eyes and ears on for a game. When the music starts to play and the screen loads to a books pages flipping from a breeze, you get a feeling that this will be a fun ride. Wild ARMs was supposed to be the rpg that was going to quench gamers rpg fix until the mega hit Final Fantasy 7 came out. This was a game that started the series and it had ugly in battle polygons and had no fan base. Most people just overlooked it, because they wanted FF7 and to be honest new games back in the days when rpgs were still an underground genre, a lot of people only bought and rented games that friends pointed out to them or games that had huge fan bases.
Wild ARMs had neither.
Instead, I saw a game that gave me a feel of the old school appeal of those SNES games. It had an overhead view and cute 2D sprites on the map while you were adventuring. Granted, the in battle graphics were some of the worst the Playstation had to offer at the time, I was never much into pretty graphics.
Even after the beautiful opening animations Wild ARMs gives you a glimpse of some of the characters with a flashback. A group of knights are trying to escape from demons while protecting their king in the process. One of the knights is named Ryan (who dies by the way) and is one of the only characters named Ryan I have ever come across in a rpg. One by one the knights begin to fall to the pursuing demons. The king who shows his true colors as a coward tries to bargain with the demons, only to get killed while groveling at the demons feet. Two of the knights make it to the exit, but the lady knight decides to close the gates from the inside in order to allow the last knight to escape. The sole surviving knight tries to open the gates, but can't from the outside and reluctantly removes himself from the overtaken castle.
The the scene fades away and you are given the title screen.
At the start of the game you are given the option of three adventures. One is a drifter, a youth named Rudy who is silent and has a mysterious history. One is an adventurer by the name of Jack who looks remarkably similar to that knight from the previous scene... The last is a princess by the name of Cecilia who is an adept in the magical arts and has a deep love for Hamburgers.
No matter who you choose, all three end up meeting each other and then there amazing journey begins.
I loved Wild ARMs from start to finish. It had puzzles in the dungeons, it had bonus content, it had extra storyline galore, and it had a colorful cast who all were charming in there own way. Truth be told I was one of those people who was looking forward to FF7 and just rented WA in order to pass the time, but after I played both, WA was the game I preferred and still is to this day.
Wild ARMs (original y released in 1997 on the PS1)
Okay, so this game has one thing that no other game has for me: the single most beautiful intro I have ever laid eyes and ears on for a game. When the music starts to play and the screen loads to a books pages flipping from a breeze, you get a feeling that this will be a fun ride. Wild ARMs was supposed to be the rpg that was going to quench gamers rpg fix until the mega hit Final Fantasy 7 came out. This was a game that started the series and it had ugly in battle polygons and had no fan base. Most people just overlooked it, because they wanted FF7 and to be honest new games back in the days when rpgs were still an underground genre, a lot of people only bought and rented games that friends pointed out to them or games that had huge fan bases.
Wild ARMs had neither.
Instead, I saw a game that gave me a feel of the old school appeal of those SNES games. It had an overhead view and cute 2D sprites on the map while you were adventuring. Granted, the in battle graphics were some of the worst the Playstation had to offer at the time, I was never much into pretty graphics.
Even after the beautiful opening animations Wild ARMs gives you a glimpse of some of the characters with a flashback. A group of knights are trying to escape from demons while protecting their king in the process. One of the knights is named Ryan (who dies by the way) and is one of the only characters named Ryan I have ever come across in a rpg. One by one the knights begin to fall to the pursuing demons. The king who shows his true colors as a coward tries to bargain with the demons, only to get killed while groveling at the demons feet. Two of the knights make it to the exit, but the lady knight decides to close the gates from the inside in order to allow the last knight to escape. The sole surviving knight tries to open the gates, but can't from the outside and reluctantly removes himself from the overtaken castle.
The the scene fades away and you are given the title screen.
At the start of the game you are given the option of three adventures. One is a drifter, a youth named Rudy who is silent and has a mysterious history. One is an adventurer by the name of Jack who looks remarkably similar to that knight from the previous scene... The last is a princess by the name of Cecilia who is an adept in the magical arts and has a deep love for Hamburgers.
No matter who you choose, all three end up meeting each other and then there amazing journey begins.
I loved Wild ARMs from start to finish. It had puzzles in the dungeons, it had bonus content, it had extra storyline galore, and it had a colorful cast who all were charming in there own way. Truth be told I was one of those people who was looking forward to FF7 and just rented WA in order to pass the time, but after I played both, WA was the game I preferred and still is to this day.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
#2
Suikoden 2 (Originally released in 1999 on the PS1.)
I do enjoy me some good storytelling, and this game tells a great one. The Suikoden series is one that follows the same storyline with each new game. The first game introduces you to the world and the basic plot. There are 27 true runes, and those runes are given or taken by people which then provides the owners immortality and tremendous powers. Much is caused by who owns the runes, and because of this there is constant war throughout the land.
You actually start out the game as a member of the enemy forces, but a sabotaged massacre of your unit begins a grudge war between Highland and the Jowston alliance. You and your friend Jowy are the sole survivors of the slaughter and are rescued by the resistance. After you earn the trust of some of the members, you work your way to becoming the leader of the rebel army.
These games are great. You also have to build your army which means you go around the world and recruit people that either help you in battles or are able to become vendors at your castle. Oh yeah, you get a castle too. The more people you recruit, the larger your castle and army becomes. You need to recruit people because you end up having army battles and if you don't keep up with your army, you can easily become overpowered. Recruitment drives are pivotal and challenging. Some people are hard to find and harder to convince to join your cause. There are 108 total members that join you and become stars of destiny.
Riou is a silent main, but his character seems to work in this situation. Suikoden 2 tells the tragic tale of how war can turn best friends into opposing counterparts. Nothing is easy when war is part of the equation and the characters from every faction show how desperate times get when their backs are against the wall.
There are mini games, recruitment drives, side quests, and plenty of characters to micro manage your party at any time, Suikoden 2 is one of the best complete RPGs I have ever played. It's also one of the harder games to find nowadays. Its normally on sale on eBay for around d 80 dollars. So here's hoping they re-release it.
Oh yeah, I am not sure where my copy of Suikoden 2 is. I wanted to play it one day, and when I opened up the jeweled case, it was missing.
=(
I do enjoy me some good storytelling, and this game tells a great one. The Suikoden series is one that follows the same storyline with each new game. The first game introduces you to the world and the basic plot. There are 27 true runes, and those runes are given or taken by people which then provides the owners immortality and tremendous powers. Much is caused by who owns the runes, and because of this there is constant war throughout the land.
You actually start out the game as a member of the enemy forces, but a sabotaged massacre of your unit begins a grudge war between Highland and the Jowston alliance. You and your friend Jowy are the sole survivors of the slaughter and are rescued by the resistance. After you earn the trust of some of the members, you work your way to becoming the leader of the rebel army.
These games are great. You also have to build your army which means you go around the world and recruit people that either help you in battles or are able to become vendors at your castle. Oh yeah, you get a castle too. The more people you recruit, the larger your castle and army becomes. You need to recruit people because you end up having army battles and if you don't keep up with your army, you can easily become overpowered. Recruitment drives are pivotal and challenging. Some people are hard to find and harder to convince to join your cause. There are 108 total members that join you and become stars of destiny.
Riou is a silent main, but his character seems to work in this situation. Suikoden 2 tells the tragic tale of how war can turn best friends into opposing counterparts. Nothing is easy when war is part of the equation and the characters from every faction show how desperate times get when their backs are against the wall.
There are mini games, recruitment drives, side quests, and plenty of characters to micro manage your party at any time, Suikoden 2 is one of the best complete RPGs I have ever played. It's also one of the harder games to find nowadays. Its normally on sale on eBay for around d 80 dollars. So here's hoping they re-release it.
Oh yeah, I am not sure where my copy of Suikoden 2 is. I wanted to play it one day, and when I opened up the jeweled case, it was missing.
=(
Saturday, January 1, 2011
31 RPGs of the New Year!
RPG = Role Playing Game
So I've heard that I kinda like these games to the point of an obsession.
Well it's true.
My game library is pretty massive and 90% of those games are RPGs.
It's 2011 and I figure I need to write more often, so why not write about something as easy as some of my all time favorite RPGs. This project is going to be called, "31 RPGs of the New Year" and what I want to do is for each day in this month is to write about a different RPG and why I like it so much.
Shouldn't be too hard, right?
So let's start off with an easy one.
~
Final Fantasy 4 (Originally released on the SNES in 1991)
What a game. To this day FF4 remains my all time favorite RPG. I have played this game so many times its story is something I can recite start to finish. Yes, nostalgia plays a big factor in why I love this game so much, but who cares? This was one of the first breakout RPGs that everyone decided to copy in order to succeed. You start out with a main character in Cecil who is a Dark Knight, someone who goes around and blindly obeys any command his king would give him. He is shown committing genocide to a group of defenseless citizens in order to capture their crystal. Cecil is shown to have a conscious about this because he eventually questions his king which results in his expulsion of his kingdom and command of his fleet or Warships. This proves to be the best thing to happen for the young Knight as it leads him on a journey of self discovery and repentance. His journey reminds me of the book, "The Pilgrims Progress". The funny this is that Cecil is not even my favorite character in this game!
My favorite character is most definitely Kain Highwind, Cecil's best friend and rival. Kain is one of the more conflicted characters in the story. He is often subject to being mind controlled which only fuels the fire underneath his resentment towards his best friend. Kain for a better part of the story is actually opposing Cecil and his company. Under the control of Golbez (who is being controlled himself), Kain acts as the early game antagonist. I am to believe it is because of his lust for Cecil's love, Rosa that gets Kain in these binds. Rosa was something Kain always wanted for himself, but she never had eyes for him. It was Cecil who got the girl, and though Kain proved to be a loyal friend, this fact probably irked him. That fault, that weakness in his spirit made him an easy target to be controlled. The games main villain is hate itself. Kain kidnaps Rosa and acts as her guardian of sorts while under Golbez's control.
He comes to his senses throughout the games biggest moments. In the end he comes back to the good side and helps Cecil and Rosa stop Zeromus and save the world. Cecil and Rosa get married at the end of the game, but Kain does not attend. Instead you see Kain on top of Mount Ordeals, the same mountain where Cecil renounced his dark sword and became a Paladin. There Kain shows signs of trying to atone for his sins, but the game ends before you see any outcome. There is a new game that continues with the story, so when I get a chance to play that I can see what they do with Kain's story.
The game had it all. I love every part of this game, and I have played it basically on every system that it has been ported to. I want to make a child's story out of FF4, but I'm not sure what process I would have to go through. I might just do it on this blog site and see how it turns out.
~
So, that's just a small part of what aims to be 30 more short takes of some of my most cherished RPGs and memories within.
So I've heard that I kinda like these games to the point of an obsession.
Well it's true.
My game library is pretty massive and 90% of those games are RPGs.
It's 2011 and I figure I need to write more often, so why not write about something as easy as some of my all time favorite RPGs. This project is going to be called, "31 RPGs of the New Year" and what I want to do is for each day in this month is to write about a different RPG and why I like it so much.
Shouldn't be too hard, right?
So let's start off with an easy one.
~
Final Fantasy 4 (Originally released on the SNES in 1991)
What a game. To this day FF4 remains my all time favorite RPG. I have played this game so many times its story is something I can recite start to finish. Yes, nostalgia plays a big factor in why I love this game so much, but who cares? This was one of the first breakout RPGs that everyone decided to copy in order to succeed. You start out with a main character in Cecil who is a Dark Knight, someone who goes around and blindly obeys any command his king would give him. He is shown committing genocide to a group of defenseless citizens in order to capture their crystal. Cecil is shown to have a conscious about this because he eventually questions his king which results in his expulsion of his kingdom and command of his fleet or Warships. This proves to be the best thing to happen for the young Knight as it leads him on a journey of self discovery and repentance. His journey reminds me of the book, "The Pilgrims Progress". The funny this is that Cecil is not even my favorite character in this game!
My favorite character is most definitely Kain Highwind, Cecil's best friend and rival. Kain is one of the more conflicted characters in the story. He is often subject to being mind controlled which only fuels the fire underneath his resentment towards his best friend. Kain for a better part of the story is actually opposing Cecil and his company. Under the control of Golbez (who is being controlled himself), Kain acts as the early game antagonist. I am to believe it is because of his lust for Cecil's love, Rosa that gets Kain in these binds. Rosa was something Kain always wanted for himself, but she never had eyes for him. It was Cecil who got the girl, and though Kain proved to be a loyal friend, this fact probably irked him. That fault, that weakness in his spirit made him an easy target to be controlled. The games main villain is hate itself. Kain kidnaps Rosa and acts as her guardian of sorts while under Golbez's control.
He comes to his senses throughout the games biggest moments. In the end he comes back to the good side and helps Cecil and Rosa stop Zeromus and save the world. Cecil and Rosa get married at the end of the game, but Kain does not attend. Instead you see Kain on top of Mount Ordeals, the same mountain where Cecil renounced his dark sword and became a Paladin. There Kain shows signs of trying to atone for his sins, but the game ends before you see any outcome. There is a new game that continues with the story, so when I get a chance to play that I can see what they do with Kain's story.
The game had it all. I love every part of this game, and I have played it basically on every system that it has been ported to. I want to make a child's story out of FF4, but I'm not sure what process I would have to go through. I might just do it on this blog site and see how it turns out.
~
So, that's just a small part of what aims to be 30 more short takes of some of my most cherished RPGs and memories within.
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