Tune down to E flat- April 29nd, 2000 - Andrew
Kaufmann
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this column are those of
the participants and the moderator, and do not necessarily reflect
those of the GIA. Don't you hate it when you forget to turn the page
on your page a day calendar? There is coarse language and potentially
offensive material afoot. Don't say we didn't warn you.
It's really against policy, but I'm going to break the rules just
because. I'm like, looking into getting an mp3 player, and someone
emailed me a link to a pretty cool place for reviews on gadgets. It's
kinda fledgling, but cool nonetheless. http://www.gadgetsquad.com
is the place, it's cool. (Aside to the folks at Gadget Squad:
I'd appreciate a kickback.)
| The hills are alive with
the sound of music |
|
Today Ian P. said he makes a point of avoiding a game's soundtrack
until after he's played the game. My approach is pretty much
the opposite, because game music has actually convinced me to
pick up a game I wouldn't have played otherwise. And in some
cases, I actually like the music better than the game.
I played a friend's copy of FF VII for a few hours around
the time it came out. I was pretty turned off by it, partly
because it was so different from the FF's I was used to and
partly because my friend said so many bad things about it. I
didn't think about the game much for a few months, but then
one of my friends got a hold of the soundtrack and I listened
to it. That soundtrack (especially songs like Anxious Heart
and the Main Theme) really grabbed me, and I ended up buying
a Playstation, the soundtrack, and FF VII itself. Best of all,
I loved the game. A big part of my enjoyment of the game was
knowing the music, and completely loving it. If I hadn't heard
the soundtrack, I probably would never have given the game another
try. So now I never worry about listening to the music before
I've played the game. (And the Chrono Cross soundtrack has definitely
convinced me to buy that game).
- Kaxon
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While you make good points, I'm with the big Ian P. on this one.
Mainly because I'm not sure that most video game music songs were
meant to stand alone -- rather, they were made to set the tone of
a certain scene. Remove the scene that accompanies the music, and
the music loses something.
That being said, I don't believe for a second that video game music
isn't something you can just sit around and listen to. I own a ton
of soundtracks myself. But I feel that the emotional moment of first
hearing the song, accompanied with the scene in which it was meant
to be heard, is stronger than hearing the song by itself.
| Obsessions |
|
...well, not really. That's just a line from the song Obsession
by Animotion...
My real obsession is Lucia, the heroine of Lunar: Eternal Blue.
As of late, I've been reading up on the original version of
Lunar: Eternal Blue in anticipation of the upcoming remake.
I'm an addict now... from her simple phrases such as "Why
are the flowers so soft... and the snakes so deadly?" to her
song, Eternal Blue (ftp://ftp.vgmusic.com/temp/Lucia.mp3), it's
grown to such an obsession that I've named an IRC Bot after
her and listen to an MP3 of her song at least 5 times a day.
Is it normal to have an obsession for a video game character?
If so, what if she is in a game you've never played?
PS: Will you be listening to REM in 20 years? :P
Ross Bemrose(Powerlord)
|
Hmm. Well, "normal" is such a restrictive word. I mean,
what is normal behavior, if everyone is truly unique?
But, the more I think about it, even if you can't come up with a
definition for normal, I'd have to say obsession with a video game
character is abnormal. At least slightly so. I'm not sure if I'd call
it unhealthy, though... but only because I'm not a trained doctor.
You worry me, Ross. I think you need to downgrade your obsession to
an infatuation. For your own good. But only you know what's good for
you, so I won't try to tell you what to do. Just what I'd do.
Come to think of it, I think I might have been infatuated with a
video game character once... the memory is hazy, but I think I went
outside and hit my head against a tree until it went away.
And of course I'll still be listening to R.E.M. in 20 years. What
a silly question.
| One man's fantasy, another's
nightmare |
|
I dunno about you Mr. Andy, but I'm sick and tired of people
calling Pokemon the "best RPG ever". Mr. Andy, there's one thing
that makes an RPG; story-telling. Pokemon's story is easily
understood by six year olds, and is constantly called original.
Let's take a closer look at this epic plot, shall we?
You're a kid. You want to become the world's best "Pokemon
trainer". A professor helps you complete your dream which was
once his. You have a rival that has the same goal. You get a
buncha "badges" by defeating "gym leaders". After you collect
all of the "badges", you're able to fight the "Elite Four",
aka the toughest "Pokemon trainers" of the world, and accomplish
your goal.
Let's go over John Madden Football's plot:
You're a football team. You want to become the "Super Bowl
Champions". The coach, aka you, controls the team to accomplish
their goal. You have over 30 other rivals with the same goal.
You get "wins" for having more points than each team after 60
minutes, and if you gather enough "wins", you make the playoffs.
If you win all of your "playoff games", you're the "Super Bowl
Champions".
There are certainly more aspects to it than Pokemon's if you
go over each game peice by peice. There were people who hunt
and collect animals long before Pokemon, and there were people
who played football long before John Madden Football, but thousands
and maybe millions of years less. Doesn't that mean that John
Madden Football has a better plot than Pokemon? Don't go telling
me that Final Fantasy 7's plot is stupid because there were
mercenaries before it; if you want me to go over it in the same
detail I did Pokemon's, the list would be a bit longer.
In conclusion, everyone who hails Pokemon as the world's greatest
RPG is less than twelve years old, and if not, little of an
RPGer. Hey, I like Pokemon a bit, myself. But everyone who puts
it on the same level as games like Final Fantasy VI and Xenogears
needs a kick in the ass.
- SirDamned.
|
I think Pokemon games aim for one audience, John Madden Football another,
and Final Fantasy another. And while the audiences overlap, I think
the creators have a different objective in mind as they develop the
games.
To call one a worse game than another is kinda unfair to each, as
they're so different. But to call Pokemon as epic as Final Fantasy
is unfair to Final Fantasy, I believe, because of the styles of the
games.
| A letter from a Breath of
Firer |
|
A while ago, it was asked which secondary RPG series should
be put into the big leagues. In actuallity, there is a large
and thriving fan community devoted to the Breath of Fire series.
This series, while not exactly well known and no doubt unplayed
by the majority of your staff, has a following and devotion
for the following reasons:
1) The idea of recurring characters appears for one of the
first if not the first time in this series. While Xenogears
explains, somehow, in Disc 2 that Fei and Elly are reincarnations,
Ryu and Nina are reincarnated for the third time in BoF2.
2) Blue and blonde-haired couples. We see that in Star Ocean,
we see that in other games. It started here.
3) Killing God. The recurring theme of every single 32-bit
RPG. Breath of Fire 1 had a God as the final enemy.
4) Open-ended plots and endings. This game series is practically
tailor made for fanfic writers. The vagueness of the endings
gives us fanfic writers huge amounts of fodder for our stories.
Don't like how the characters ended up together? Hey, you've
got leeway. And on that note...
5) Romantic couplings of characters. In every single Breath
of Fire game, it's implied that Ryu and Nina end up together.
Except for maybe Breath of Fire 2, where there was among the
earliest RPG love triangles, and that caused a whole damn flame
war in the community. But the coupling is subtle. Not overly
in your face like the horribly inept writing of Final Fantasy
8.
Breath of Fire 4 is shaping up to be a damned good RPG. It
is changing its play controls to adapt, updating its graphics
and relies enough on its story, not fancy CGI and horrible FMV,
so it can fit all on one disc. It does not need to craft entirely
new characters out of the blue to help the story limp on. The
series can and has used older, developed characters for its
storylines in future games. Breath of Fire 3 used the villain
of the first game and made her sympathetic. Breath of fire 2
started the idea of religion being used as a tool of evil. As
little as the series is mentioned, it deserves respect. It shows
that Capcom can do more than fighting games and Megaman games.
If only for the fact that the BoF series does not need all their
characters to be eighteen years old(hey, Garr from BoF3 was
400), this series should be someday upgraded to first-rate status.
|
Your letter brings up a lot of points that will likely spark plenty
of debate. Without commenting on every point in your letter, I will
say that the general GIA consensus is that it's a solid if unspectacular
series. Fritz agrees with you, however, and is really excited about
Breath of Fire 4. Me, I find the series to be above average but not
spectacular. I played through the first one, and about half of the
third.
If the fourth installment improves on the previous ones, I'd be willing
to consider it an upper-eschelon game. If it's more of the same, I'd
have to keep it second-rate in my mind.
| Taking strides |
|
Yo AK,
To answer someone's question from yesterday's column, the Strider
1 & @ Collection is planned for a May 2000 release here...but
that could change. There should be definite info at E3 this
month...
Anyway, I know that Drew hates Xenogears, Chris likes it, so
you're the deciding Agent vote. Are you for or against it? (Although
since this is working out so conveniently, I'm betting you've
never played it...)
--The Steve
|
Hey Steve, thanks for the info. As for Xenogears... *drumroll please*...
I like it. I'm not a huge fan, in fact, I haven't finished it, but
it was pretty fun. It got a bit too slow, and I ran out of time to
finish it up, but it was pretty entertaining. The plot was a lot deeper
than most games, which I appreciated. The game's biggest drawback,
in my mind, was that it did tend to get boring. But overall, I'd say
I like it.
| Hating R.E.M. isn't allowed
around here! |
|
i just saw the smashing pumpkins and it was the best thing
ever the only thing that will ever beat it is nine inch nails
on tuesday the pumpkins played drown!
death to REM!
-Zack
|
Well, to start with, the Smashing Pumpkins rock live. I went to a
show they did at a club here back in February in front of 1000 people,
and it was simply awesome. I was front row of the pit, about 3 feet
in front of James. It was exhausting, and I was bruised all over,
but it was well worth it. They truly rocked in a serious way. They're
coming back to Dallas May 12th, and I can't wait.
Nine Inch Nails I can't agree with you on. Vestal loves NiN, but
I think they're come closer to "noise" than "music."
But again, that's just my opinion. And I will admit that Trent has
done some pretty innovative things. Just things that aren't my style.
I'll ignore you last comment. I refuse to believe it was made.
| This column should be
on milk cartons |
|
AK
Its 12:52 (mountain time), do you know where your column is?
Justin Freeman
|
It's coming, it's coming! Just a little late tonight. Busy night,
you know, stuff happening, and stuff needing to get done, and stress
and all that jazz. You know the drill.
Closing Comments
Tomorrow is another day, and another day means more letters. Bring
it on!
-Andrew Kaufmann
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