*Column title censored* - May 16, 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. Rachel, I've become a priest,
and I've shot Nazis, and I've chased sheep in Australia, and I've traced my family roots,
so tell me, whose baby are you carrying? Don't say we didn't warn you.
The day prior to a big game release is always tough - I end up calling all the stores to
see if they've got it in yet, but they rarely do. And today is no exception, so I'll be
playing Wild Arms 2 tonight and Vagrant Story tomorrow.
I also hurt my foot in some strange manner while rowing on the machine last night, so
I'm limping around everywhere. But I look on the bright side - if there's karmic balance
to the world, then tomorrow will make up for today by having VS be unbelievably,
jaw-droppingly, mind-numbingly cool.
It's the last day of the Arch Nemesis contest! Voting
stops at 6pm CDT tomorrow! In addition to the winner getting a shiny new GIA t-shirt, I've
also arranged for the winner, runner up, and editor's choice winners to receive incredibly
valuable specially commissioned Drew Cosner Awards™! So vote and make somebody
exceedingly happy!
Onward.
| You dare to question the genius of Sony?
Blasphemer! |
| Chris Sony is going to have to do some SERIOUS ass kissing in the
months leading up to the launch of the PS2. With talk of Tecmo bringing DoA2, the next
Tecmo Bowl, and the next Ninja Gaiden to the X-Box, the PS2 looks like its launch may not
be as stellar as some might hope. Sony also needs to start making more tools for the PS2
to make developing for it easier and to keep some complaining companies happy
(*cough*Oddworld*cough*). Also, the PS2 hype machine has started to slow down due Sony's
lackluster showing at E3 (where are you 989 studios?), so they really need to pull out all
the stops come 10/26.
It may seem that I'm a Sony enthusiast, but I'm not. I want to buy the DC, but there is
one thing holding me back: the controller. I know it might seem superficial, but after an
hour of playing Crazy Taxi (damn you trigger buttons!), my hands feel like sh*t! I
personally think that the Dual Shock is the greatest controller ever made, and with the
added bonus of awesome graphics and a DVD player, the PS2 is a sure buy in my book. Oh,
and maybe it also has do to with a certain game that has a certain Snake that is made by a
certain game maker. ;P
Anyways, a good new topic of discussion could be the new Bleemcast. IMHOP I think that
this is a below the belt move by bleem! just to piss Sony off. Even if I had a DC, I
wouldn't buy it...OK maybe I would, but you may feel differently. Just something to think
about.
-Gamer X "I HATE people that put comments beside their name!" |
Golly, I love next generation console wars! As it happens I read an interesting fact
today - seems Dreamcast is actually outselling PS2 in JAPAN, because they can't fill the
PS2 orders fast enough and people are getting tired of waiting. Actually, that sounds
highly dubious, but it's interesting if true.
Anyway, Sony looks to be acutely aware of the lack of good middleware, and you've got
to remember the really really good games have yet to come. Once games that make use of
both subprocessors start rolling out, both consumer and developer support will strengthen,
and the Dreamcast will begin its long slow spiral downward. I really hope Dreamcast
manages to stay solvent for a good while, but I think that's the most likely course of
action.
Speaking of Dreamcast, I personally find it to be a great controller, at least as far
as using the analog stick is concerned, though I've heard the D-pad can get uncomfortable.
It may also have something to do with how big your hands are - people with small hands
could have issues. And I do plan to buy Bleemcast! since I don't want to mess with mod
chips and there's one game that'll make it all worthwhile for me: Vib Ribbon, in English,
from SCEE.
| Blame Canada! |
| Hey Chris, I just wanted to chip in my 2.96 cents (I live in Canada)
on the whole censorship thing. I think that removal of the cigarettes from the GBC MGS is
justified, since kids are very impressionable. If they see how cool Snake is (and we all
know how cool he is. I mean come on, *bleep* Gilgamesh, Snake`s the man), and that he
smokes, then they might just try it out for themselves. A little censorship in place of an
army of smoking kids is well worth it.
But, on the other hand, if parents were aware of the smoking Snake, perhaps they could
speak to their kids about it. It seems that a lot of parents are trying to blame various
forms of entertainment when the finger should be pointed straight at them. It`s time that
parents start looking after their own children to that I can see my smoking Snake (*insert
girly giggle here*).
Mark me down for Nay They Should Not Censor The Snake.
Alex |
You inadvertently make yet another point for why MGS on the GBC should be censored:
what parent is going to be even remotely aware of what's going on in that tiny screen? A
concerned parent might walk by MGS on their TV, see Snake lighting up, and sit little
Billy down to talk about the evils of tobacco. Most people past 40 probably can't even see
the GBC's display, it's so small. Handhelds lend themselves well to concealment, thus an
extra measure of caution might be worthwhile.
| I just love proving you guys wrong |
| For yet another letter you probably won't post: "But it's
instructive to see what's been going on since the two respective games were released:
Kojima has gone and built what looks to be a stunning new engine on cutting edge hardware,
while Miyamoto has created a sequel on a dying system with a modified engine, seemingly
just to milk a few more bucks out of the market. This wouldn't be so bad, except that it
took them a year and a half to make some relatively minor changes to existing code. As a
developer, I can state that this is not a good track record. The new Zelda may surprise
me, but at the moment I don't think Miyamoto's living up to his potential."
First of, Zelda: Mask of Mujula isn't the only video game that Shigeru Miyamoto is
working on. It isn't even a game that he is working on. Miyamoto is only the producer, and
has very little involvement in the game. If you want to blame someone for reusing the
Zelda engine to churn out another N64 Zelda game, blame Nintendo. Miyamoto has, instead,
been busy primarily with Dolphin and Gameboy Advance projects, and he promises to have
some highly innovative and original titles ready for these systems. On the other hand,
Metal Gear Solid 2 is the only thing Kojima's been dedicating himself to, at least for the
last few months or so.
If you ask me, I think Miyamoto has been doing way too much over the last few years. He
has been given credit when he didn't deserve it (most of NCL's games were NOT done by
Miyamoto, contrary to popular belief), but for the games that he did oversee (Mario 64,
Starfox 64, Zelda 64), haven't they been the ones that garnered the most universal praise?
I'm sure his next true games (games that were his to design) that come out will certainly
be as highly praised if not more than Kojima's Metal Gear Solid 2.
If anything, I'd say Miyamoto has surpassed his potential. For Hideo Kojima to do the
same, Metal Gear Solid 2 would either have to be the greatest video game of all time
(unlikely) or he'd be working on several spectacular projects at once. But he's not at
that level yet, give him 10 more years why don't you.
Besides, Konami has other brilliant game designers that don't get much credit. |
First off, let me eat some crow and admit that yes, MM does not seem to be under
Miyamoto's direct control to the degree that OoT was. That's all, no excuses. I still
think the new Zelda should have been done much sooner than this, but as you say it's not
Miyamoto's doing.
So what is Miyamoto's doing? Games on upcoming systems that we have yet to see because
of Nintendo's desire to milk every drop out of their existing systems before showing off
GBA and Dolphin at Spaceworld. Will these games be up to the quality of MGS2? I don't have
any data on this, so I'm not gonna speculate. However, I do feel at least as excited about
MGS2 as I did about Zelda 3, OoT, any of the Final Fantasies or even Mario 64. There's
just one game and one game alone that Miyamoto could do that might approach the coolness
of Kojima's product: Metroid 4. We shall see.
As you point out, Kojima's just starting out. At this point in console evolution it may
be impossible for anyone to make the same kind of impact on games that Miyamoto did with
Mario and Zelda, but the first MGS was a very promising start, and as far as meeting my
expectations, Kojima's doing quite well.
| Snake's not himself without his morning coffin
nail |
| Personally? I think censorship's okay, if it has no effect on the game
whatsoever. Unfortunately, that basically limits censorship to being something I hate.
Take MGS for the Game Boy for instance. Changing the cigarettes to foggers changes the
game. Cigarettes are what make Snake who he is. Not because they make him cool, but
because they make him look more like the chronically depressed alienated mental patient he
is. In games like Mortal Kombat and Duke Nukem 3D, editing the "gratuitous"
violence and sex out destroys the games, because that's really all they consist of. But
what's a game that's been censored so it hasn't changed the game? Um...no company has done
that right, yet. But that's how they should do it! |
I actually don't follow the logic of cigs being central to Snake's character. Sure,
sneaking them in the first time did give him a maverick sheen, but being addicted to
something is a human weakness and part of Snake's charm is that he's above and beyond
such human things. It's like finding out Batman has to stop fighting crime every night to
watch "Friends", it ultimately doesn't work with the character.
Successfully censored games? Hard to tell, since any minor change seems like the end of
the world to obsessed gamers. (Yes, I do feel your pain about "the Island"). But
I don't play MGS to watch Snake smoke, and I didn't play Xenogears to see Elly naked. (I
thought she looked hotter in her uniform anyway.) You've got to figure out what's
essential and what's not, and let the rest go take a flying leap. For me, smoking does not
fall in the essential category.
| That's right, come crawling back when you need
my help! |
| I haven't been able to read up on your column lately (for shame, I
know...), so I don't know if this has been answered yet. But anyhoo... A couple weeks
ago when it was announced we'd be finally seeing RPG Maker in the US, someone asked how
you input text for the game. Well, I took it upon myself to investigate this while at E3.
The guy I spoke with at the Agetec booth said you use the controller. HOWEVER... After I
gave out a little moan, he told me how they were originally going to package it with a
keyboard, but Sony wouldn't approve it. He also said he refused to have players shell out
additional bucks if he designed a keyboard to be sold separately (Which oddly enough WOULD
be OK with Sony...).
However, here's the great part. The guy said he was working on another possibility. He
might be able to create an adapter that would allow you to hook a PC keyboard up to your
Playstation. He said it would only work for Basic characters... Stuff like the little text
heart would have to be done via the controller still. His plan is to have people send in
the registration card or something similar and he would send them the adapter.
Just thought people might be interested in this. I'm also personally glad to see
developers looking out for us like that. -IRCGEEK |
Hooking up a PC keyboard to a PSX seems technically difficult, but it could go a long
way to making RPG Maker into a truly interesting title. If true, let's hear it for this
nameless developer, whoever he is.
| And he means Wild Arms 1, folks |
| Wild Arms' battle system had proper shadows with moving light sources and
crap. It was good. |
WA 1 did have proper shadows, now that you mention it. Good call.
| Maybe those guards need to adjust their
contact lenses |
| 80s action movies, 90s action movies... not much has really changed. Just
a bunch of fancy explosions and catch phrases designed to impress little kids and idiots.
People who play Adventure and RPG games are generally a bit more sophisticated than that.
With games with plots like Xenogears being released, I can't help but wonder why we're
subjected to what's in MGS. The AI is a step forward in some aspects, and a step
backwards in others. The whole premice of the game is stupid -- the gameplay is completely
based upon Snake's ability to "sneak" around out in the open while a guard is
looking right at him, but is unable to see him for some reason. (that reason being that
the guards can't see 3 feet in front of them, because otherwise the gameplay wouldn't
work)
And when the player screws up royally and one of those blind guards actually discovers
Snake, what happens? Snake simply hides for a couple of seconds and they stop looking.
Hardly how I'd expect an all-star team of genetically enhanced terrorists to handle the
discovery of an intruder. The whole thing is completely screwey. It may be good AI, but
it's so impaired by the game design that it can't do anything.
Kojima may make pretty good games, but he doesn't deserve to be ranked up there with
names like Sakaguchi and Miyamoto, at least not yet. |
Cool-at-the-time '80's action movie: Red Dawn. Cool-at-the-time '90's action movie:
Face/Off.
Enough said.
People keep exaggerating the short sightedness of the guards in MGS - in reality their
field of vision was more like 20 feet. An unalert guard in a large, dim area might not see
someone wearing drab clothing at that distance if he was trying to sneak by. The
genetically altered soldiers idea might not have been necessary, and I'm not claiming the
AI was 100% perfect. But it's still pretty damn good for a game and it really was
revolutionary at the time. I have faith in Kojima-san, despite his lousy timing.
| Ok, I'm a soft touch when it comes to
long-shot releases |
| Chris, I implore you: Please post this letter in your column. You will be
doing the gaming world a lot of good! (hopefully) As most, if not all, of you know;
Atlus has decided to bring Persona 2: Eternal Punishment to the United States. This game
recieved large success in Japan, and it's really no wonder why it's coming to the U.S.;
Persona was the first and only Megami Tensei game to hit shores, and epitomizes the term
"sleeper hit". The true wonder is the fate of the game's predecessor, Persona 2:
Innocent Sin.
It has been stated that Persona: Eternal Punishment can be played as a stand-alone
game, with very few references to Innocent Sin's plot; but that's a cop out. Innocent Sin
was the first of the two-part game, and without the other part the game is essentially not
complete.This, in my honest opinion, is a throwback to the mid 1990's when the U.S. were
tossed the RPG tablescraps and left to fend for themselves.
Only this time, we do have a choice. Atlus, as well as the creator of the Megami Tensei
series, have stated that if fans send enough positive feedback concerning the release of
Innocent Sin in the U.S. that they will change the release to a 2-disc release containing
BOTH GAMES. This is the original way that this chapter in the story is meant to be played,
and it is a time to prove that consumers do have power in the RPG market.
Send your requests for Persona 2: Innocent Sin to these addresses:
Snail mail-
Atlus U.S.A. Inc.
15255 Alton Parkway, Suite 100
Irvine, CA 92618
E-mail- rantsnraves@atlus.com
Time for the fans to make a difference!
Thanks much,
-Pisces |
We already ran a story on this, but it can't hurt to spread the news around a bit more.
Having never played the original Persona I can't offer any opinion on the series, but I
wouldn't mind having a chance to play a good Megami Tensei port, which this has the
potential to be. So write an email, it's quick and easy and fun.
Closing Comments:
I am tired, and I want Vagrant Story. Tomorrow can't come fast enough.
Censorship's getting a bit old, but if you want, bring it on. I liked the idea of
talking about Bleemcast!, or any general E3 impressions. Or even something on Vagrant
Story, although it seems a bit early for that. Whatever, catch you tomorrow.
-Chris Jones, listening in horror as Rachel responds: "The Shogun's!" |
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