Double Agent
Double Jeopardy - March 31st, 2000 - Chris Jones

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this column are those of the participants and the moderator, and do not necessarily reflect those of the GIA. There is coarse language and potentially offensive material afoot. My first time away from you all... I don't know if I can do it! Don't say we didn't warn you.


Little disappointed about the Tokyo Game Show this year. No real knockout games that I've seen so far, but then, it's not like I'm actually there or anything. If there's anything of real interest it's Square's Play Online plans, and for once I'm worried instead of pleased about the direction Square wants to go with Final Fantasy. While I might, might plop down money to play FFXI if it upholds the Final Fantasy name, I can't see paying for Play Online plus FFXI. Unless, of course, they brought other prime Square franchises under the PO umbrella... hmm. If you added Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy Tactics online games, you might really have something.

Another thought, if we're going to pay for PO and to play a specific game, perhaps Square should look at changing the economic model a bit. If it's charging, say, $20 a month for PO and another $10 a month on top of that for FF, then it's overkill to make us pay $50 for the game itself, right? CDs are dirt cheap to manufacture, what if they gave away FFXI? More users, more money for them, and it's a chance to overcome people's fears about moving FF online - if you like it, you keep playing and paying, if not, then you're just out the trial fee. Hmm. I like this idea.

At any rate, I'm not the only one pontificating about the future of Final Fantasy today, so let's get this show on the road.

You're wrong! Wrong, Wrong, Wrong! Maybe.
Regarding this:

.....As for Square and Nintendo breaking up, I don't know the exact details, but the release of Super Mario RPG, Square's last game for the SNES, seems as good a milestone as any. And that date was (drumroll please...) May, 1996! Thank you, thank you very much!.....

I could be wrong, but wasn't Treasure Hunter G the last game that Square made for Nintendo?

Chad

The research I've been able to do suggests your answer is correct, as Square's own Japanese website lists Super Mario RPG released for the Super Famicom on 3/9/96, and Treasure Hunter G released on 5/24/96. Ironically enough, this doesn't change my original answer of 5/96, but thanks for playing! We have some lovely parting gifts for you.

Also, all those of you who read Japanese, or are at least smart enough to use a hiragana/katakana translation table might be interested in this. It lists the exact Japanese publication date of just about every game Square's ever published, straight from the source. You'll have to have your browser configured for Japanese text though, and please don't ask us how to do that. Of course, there's no sane reason why anybody should need this info, but hey, we're all about pointless obsessions here at DA.

Actually, DA is all about total ambiguity
I was going to write out a lot of long and interesting expositions about why Xenogears is nowhere near the caliber of great art, and why that guy is right about people liking FF4, and all sorts of other crap. But you know what? Screw it. You're already going to get 500 million letters on these damn things. Drew did this too, it's annoying to me, and it's a well-established scientific fact that I am more important than anyone else. It just doesn't seem like a good idea to post letters encouraging heated debate on a letters column...but if you do, it'd be best if you could only put up one thing capable of spawning intelligent discussion per day, and the rest could be nonsensical things by IanP and stuff about hamsters. That way people only have one thing to think about at any given time, and can focus their thoughts more effectively on the particular topic, without having to pick and choose which are more appropriate. We need sweeping change in letters columns today. Well, okay, this letters column. I don't actually read any others.

See, the great thing about this letter is that depending on what you consider to be sarcastic and what not, it could be interpereted as a defense of or attack on any aspect of DA.

Hey, you're right, your letter is open to interpretation! Wide open! You can pull almost anything out of that mess, and you'd be right! Because it's art! Your letter is the Citizen Kane of video game letters column submissions, unnamed artist! Congratulations! I salute you!

Your daily recommended dose of intelligent commentary
Hello, my name is Jeremy and I like to beat topics into the ground.

ALL: Hi, Jeremy! (The Topic Beaters Anonymous meeting continues...)

If I may, I'd like to interject an (absolutely subjective, possibly unfounded, totally personal) opinion into this Xenogears vs. Citizen Kane thing. Besides the fact that people are comparing Xenogears to the wrong work of cinema (think cruel angel's thesis here), I think it's a bit silly to compare games to movies by judging the same aspects. Games aren't movies, and you'll never find a game that tries to be a movie (or a book, or a play) which succeeds in capturing as wide an audience as it would were it simply a movie (or a book, or a play).

"Perhaps the same could be said of all media," sneers Dracula. And in this case, his words AREN'T as empty as his soul. A radio play that transpires like a book - a lot of words with no inflection, leaving all verbal expression up to the audience's imagination - would suck. A movie that unfolds on-screen like a theatrical production would be terribly dull, because theatrical plays are created to be performed live with the audience sitting in a fixed position. Movies can incorporate dynamic camera tricks, special effects, location changes and post-production fixes that simply cannot be done with a live performance (no matter how Andrew Lloyd Webber may try). As noted before, that's why Citizen Kane has been so enduring; it was the first movie to really demonstrate the potential of film as something other than a recording of people performing a play. And it influenced almost everything in its wake.

Now look at the games people have touted as being true examples of demonstrating gaming's merit - Xenogears, Metal Gear Solid, Final Fantasy VIII, Silent Hill, etc. Personally, I feel all of those fall desperately short, because ultimately, those try simply to ape movies with some concessions given to the idea of interactivity. Yes, it's very interesting to watch them, but there's little about them that's going to compel a casual audience to jump into the medium and stay. They might be attracted by some of the cinemas, but when they get bogged down by 30 minutes of scrolling text or 3-minute spell animations they're going to realize "This isn't worth the effort - I'd rather be watching a movie instead of getting to see little movie bits doled out as a reward for playing some stupid video game."

If you ask me (and you didn't, but I'm sure you would have if email were more interactive), the games which can best be compared to benchmark films like Citizen Kane are the games that enable people to do something they can't in any other medium - because these are the games which truly pull people in. Games that people who don't normally like video games will play. Things like Bust-A-Move/Puzzle Bobble, Tetris, Parappa the Rapper - these are titles which I have seen non-gamers pick up and refuse to hand over the controller. On the other hand, these same people would simply prefer to *watch* me play titles like MGS and FFVIII - "Let me know when you get to the good part." Well, if someone would rather watch a game than play it, it's a better movie than a game, and certainly doesn't do much to show the true potential of gaming as a medium... merely the potential of games to mimic film.

Movie-like games are fun for me as a long-time gamer, because it's great to see this added element of sophistication in what used to be scorned as a kid's hobby. But they've got a long way to go before they're something other than B-grade sci-fi/fantasy/action movie plots shoehorned into sometimes-questionable gameplay. When a game as simple and addictive as Bust-A-Move 3 manages to get inside my brain like The Shawshank Redemption, then we'll have our Citizen Kane of gaming.

Verbosely yours,
J. Parish

What he said, yeah. Regardless of whether we're talking objective or subjective, art or crap, good or bad, that reasoning just plain makes sense, and leaves me at a loss for words for once. Moving on...

Death of a Pomeranian
Ruff ruf ruffruff ruffff! Ruff ruff ruf ruf rrrrruff!! Grrrrrrrrr!

-Fluffy

"Helen paused. With an audible 'wumph,' Fluffy's familiar yipping had ended, and only the sounds of Chris' Front Mission 3 game now emanated from the living room."

-slight paraphrase of Gary Larson from "The Far Side", wisdom from the master 

Square is the devil, but you already knew that
Ever since Square announced that FFXI was going to be a totally online game, I've had a wait-and-see type of attitude. Up till now, there hadn't been much information released about the game and so even though I didn't like the idea, I knew I could not judge how it might be like. It might be different, perhaps? Maybe Square would try to revalutionize the online rpg? But today the GIA provided some very disturbing news, and a very bad sign. Here's pretty much what we know so far about FFXI.

As the GIA officially reported today, "Square stated that 'PlayOnline is not the Internet,' but a more Compuserve-like separate network which will require a monthly fee. Final Fantasy XI will require another monthly fee on top of that, and there is no single-player component planned at all. The stated aim of the network is to 'create more enjoyable games with the use of advanced technology.'" We also know that the whole idea of FFXI and Play Online were inspired by Everquest as said so in an interview with Sakaguchi. An inspiring new advancement in online rpgs? I'm afraid not. A huge disaster? I'm afraid so. Again, I can't judge from this point in time how FFXI will play or how well it pulls off a FF online rpg. Actually, a open forum for me to assume any character of my choosing from the Final Fantasy's of old sounds like it could be a blast for a while. O, if it were only that simple, though.

Whether or not the game is fun is not the point here. People who play console rpgs do so because that's the type of formula they like. Story and linearity being the strongest point of their game. People who like online rpgs (and PC-rpgs in the majority) tend to favor the formula of gameplay and non-linearity as the strongest points in their games. The two arguably are two different genres.

Doesn't Square realize that most gamers bought Final Fantasy VIII not only because of the name but also because that name promised to deliver the type of console rpg style that the FF games are known by? If the audience Square is trying to attract is that of PC rpg-ers then that's all fine and good. But don't they realize that they're turning off all console rpg-ers at the same time? Uninformed gamers who buy FFXI will be quickly turned off by the changed style as they expected something entirely different. And if it doesn't, the monthly fees for both Play Online and FFXI certainly will. If you're into online rpgs and don't mind the fees, by all means go ahead and buy FFXI when it's released. You might have a lot of fun with it. But I think us console rpg-ers need to send square a message. The only message Square will ever listen to. Don't buy FFXI. Don't let the Final Fantasy name sway you into a purchase. Leave it be, untouched on the shelf. Maybe then when we hit the pocket books of Square will they finally realize the errors of their ways.

-Nate

I have to admire someone who takes a stand against what they see as change for the worse in something they love. Despite that, I also have to pity someone who thinks they're going to make a damn bit of difference in not buying a Final Fantasy title, and asking others to do the same. I clearly remember similar claims being made about Final Fantasy VII and VIII, and I also remember tons of each game being sold, even more firmly moving the series away from the 2D style the protesters wanted to preserve.

There are some points to what Nate is saying. I play FF for story, not the interaction of UO. And if FFXI is merely a franchise version of Ultima Online, we're gonna have words, Mr. Sakaguchi and I. But as the GIA also reported today, Phantasy Star Online, a potential test case for online console RPGs, will have a more mission-based outcome with a definite direction for the quest to go in. If Phantasy Star Online does well (and, for the record as a Dreamcast owner, I think it's shaping up quite nicely) then perhaps we can all have a little more faith in the future.

Information wants to be free, or so they say
hello,

just wondering regarding the sony ps2 utility disc recall, what would happen if i do not return the disc?

will ps2 also play region 3 dvds? anybody tried that yet?

pls do respond to my questions, okay?

thanks very much.

The word is that the recall is not mandatory, and that there's nothing they can do if you don't return the disk. Also, the regional override code is supposed to be global, meaning that you can play any DVD. Of course, the fact that you don't know about the recall already and that you're asking me about Region 3 DVDs (SE Asia) leads me to believe you're not in Japan, in which case you shouldn't have a PS2 yet anyway. Naughty, naughty! 

His last words
His Excellency His Grace the Right Honorable Lord Sir Chris,

You said that for a game to be truly considered a masterpiece it would have to reach out and 'convert the heathens' to appreciating videogames. But I disagree, I believe it is only necessary for a work to be highly acclaimed by those who already appreciate its field, for there are plenty who, when viewing Citizen Kane, or the Mona Lisa, or listening to Bach, would not change their opinion of disliking movies or paintings or classical music. Yet these are all masterpieces or masters of their fields.

And there is no doubt that video games are as honorable a field of artistic creation as cinema or music. Perhaps one day they will be more so ever, for they are interactive, and an ever-improving field. Also, I have a bit of an inclusive definition of art: Anything which has as its purpose to evoke an emotional response (pretty broad, huh?) This can range from Soap Operas to the Vedas to the Eddas, and anything in between, inluding games.

Dragon Barrel

P.S. Have you heard of a game from Enix called E.V.O. the Search for Eden? If so, you have to admit that it was the watermark of videogame creation.

I wouldn't have printed this letter but as a favor for this guy's widow. (Hey, I told him not to call me Lord Chris.) It's a shame, too, because he had some good points. Why should we give a damn about "art"? We like it, there are lots of us, and the game players I know are hardly cretins. Be happy with what you've got. But dammit, that doesn't let me rub the fact that I'M RIGHT in everyone else's face!

Never played EVO, heard it was good.

Greed, duh!
Whaaasuuup Chris?

I just wanted to comment on Konami of America's decision to change the title of 'Metal Gear: Ghost Babel' to 'Metal Gear Solid'. I just think this is a really dumb thing for them to do. Playstation MGS and GameBoy MGS are two completely different games, and I think that they will only end up confusing and angering customers by giving both the same title. People will think they're getting a port of the PSX game, only to discover it's anything but. In the end, they would have sold plenty of copies without changing the title, so a name change wasn't/isn't neccessary. What do you think?

-CTZanderman

I think this is a totally predictable and not all that important move from Konami. They want to increase brand recognition, and I think it's a safe bet that more people will say "Cool, a Game Boy Metal Gear game" than will say "Hey, this isn't a direct translation of Metal Gear Solid!" Capcom did something similar with Mega Man not all that long ago, changing Rockman World, as the GB incarnation was known in Japan, to plain old Mega Man for the States. I kinda liked Metal Gear: Ghost Babel as a title, but seeing as how I'm too busy to buy it anyway, it's not a big loss.

To end on a happy note
Chris,

You've managed to do community service and insult my intelligence at the same time. I salute you.

By the way, I'm really NOT that stupid. I probably have a large amount of DA readers thinking I have the IQ of celery right now, so I'm making a formal apology. Ahem: I'M SORRY FOR BEING A DUMBASS.

No hard feelings, eh?

Jon

I tell you, it's tough being DA. I have numerous people complaining that I never insult anyone, and numerous people claiming that I hurt them deeply. As a statement of policy, I never mean any real insult or disrespect to anybody I print (the real flames will probably never reach you folks) so don't take anything I say too seriously. That is all.

Closing Comments:

In retrospect, saying that I printed good long letters may have been a mistake, beause nearly everything I got today was someone trying to give me their in-depth view on every topic possible. An earlier version of this column was nearly all lenghtly, serious discussion, but it read like a phone book, so I rewrote it with only a few long ones surviving. And perhaps that's for the best - it's hardly a bad thing to have people competeing for the coveted "big serious letter" slot in the column. Survival of the fittest, improvement of the species, all that crap.

Anyway, the great Andrew Kaufmann will be on for the next two days, so send him your letters and be happy. As for me, I'm probably going to just sit in stunned incomprehension over the fact that I have two whole days of free time. Later.

 

-Chris Jones, getting away from here as fast as possible

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