I know this because AK knows this - June 19, 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. Okay, you are now firing a
gun at your imaginary friend NEAR 400 GALLONS OF NITROGLYCERINE! Don't say we didn't warn
you.
I return to the column, only to find AK has dumped a battle royale over Nintendo in my
lap. I swear, I can't leave you kids alone for five minutes... But then, I've probably
done the same thing to him, so it's only fair.
Also, to reiterate what AK said yesterday for those who might not have been reading - I
am not Andrew Kaufmann (AKA AK... wait, that's confusing, I mean, also known as AK) and
Andrew "Andy" Kaufmann is not me. We have subtly different views on games (he
likes SNES RPGs more than PSX, I disagree) and music (he loves REM, I think they're merely
a good band.) It's actually somewhat flattering to be mistaken for AK, but I ain't him.
Also, in a vain attempt to emulate as many previous DA hosts as possible, I've
participated in an interview
along with my RPGamer counterpart, Googleshng. Though it's
but a pale shadow of the infamous Allan
Millagan vs. Thor Antrim interview, I still think it came out pretty well. Either way,
head on over to TotalRPG and be the judges
yourselves.
Onward.
| Yep, I hate people correcting me, that's why I
print 'em all |
| Hello Chris, I know you are not too fond of my letters, but I want to
point out a very important mistake. You will probably get about 50 letters pointing it
out, but heck, I'll make the effort anyhow.
Another reader, Jennifer Diane Reitz, said that Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are
all based on the theory that there are two deities, one of darkness, one of light. In
reality, none of the religions listed above believe this, or anything like it.
What they really say is that there is one God, and before the Earth was created, this
one God had many Angels and his favorite and most important one, Lucifer, turned against
Him and led a rebellion. God became angry, created Hell, and cast Lucifer (now renamed
Satan) and a third of the Heavenly host there.
So in actuality Satan is a subordinate of God and subject to God's wrath, forever
suffering damnation in the pits of Hell.
Just thought you'd like to know.
---Anthony James Larrea |
I'm not sure that the above is any more or less correct than what Jennifer sent - I did
indeed get lots of letters trying to make a correction, but few of them agreed with each
other. So it goes when religion is involved.
Either way, I thought it appropriate to note that there was some disagreement on the
matter, and declare the topic closed. Now for the good stuff.
| A REAL Nintendo fan |
| I missed out on a Nintendo conversation. Darn! Anyway, I just have a few
comments on the whole issue. I think those people who grew up on Nintendo and supported
the NES/SNES and so forth, and then made a turn-around and now dislike the system because
it doesn't offer any, say, RPGs, does it really seem like those people were fans of
Nintendo back then? Or did they just like the games on those systems? That's what it seems
like to me. A real Nintendo fan (like Ed McGlothin) appreciates what Nintendo has done
for the industry, and also continues to support Nintendo's games. It would take only an
extreme fan to continue supporting a company if they started churning out crap, and
considering Nintendo's loyal following, I think this isn't the case. On the other hand, a
company like Sierra has lost ALL of its original fans from the 80s and early 90s, because
Sierra has stopped its adventure games lines in favor of Half-Life, which has brung in
millions of new fans for that company.
So I guess what i'm trying to say is that the N64 is a good system if you're a Nintendo
fan (or if you're a casual gamer and like multiplayer games, but even then the Dreamcast
is going to usurp that position as system of choice by next year). I am highly looking
forward to Paper Mario, mainly because it brings back memories of Super Mario World and
the Super Mario Bros games. Paper Mario is, for the most part, as old-school as Nintendo
can get. (And I don't understand why people say SMRPG is superior to Paper Mario, when #1,
they haven't played Paper Mario and #2, SMRPG was an 8 hour long piece of kiddie shlock
with gameplay on the level of Final Fantasy Mystic Quest, so what makes you think Paper
Mario will be the same?) And well most gamers have outgrown Nintendo and that's fine, but
I'm like the 40 year old businessman who still collects GI-Joe and Transformers. Only my
fixation is Mario (as well as anything else Nintendo).
The key is not to limit oneself. I would say most Nintendo fans also own other video
game systems since they're also gamers. And obviously any Nintendo fan reading TheGIA has
a Playstation or is going to get one.
Oh and as for Andrew Kaufmann's comments on not liking Nintendo's N64 games as opposed
to their SNES games. Well take this to ponder: I don't know about you, but even on the
Playstation, I haven't played any video game that equals the enjoyment I received from
playing Super Mario World, Zelda: Link to the Past, Super Metroid, the Fire Emblem games,
etc. So basically the best video games ever produced, in my opinion, were a few Super
Nintendo games by Nintendo. So what if Nintendo hasn't been able to reproduce that on the
N64? Neither can any developer making software for the Playstation or Dreamcast. Now of
course if you hated Nintendo's SNES games, you'd disagree... |
I think something that's really, really key to keep in mind during all of this is that
the pleasure you might derive from playing a game and the actual quality of that game are
not necessarily related. Or, to put it another way, what you like may not be what's
actually good, and vice versa.
Case in point: my reactions to FF4 and FF8. Don't get me wrong, I loved them both. But
FF8 was merely one of the most enjoyable games I've ever played, whereas FF4 was THE most
enjoyable game I've ever played. It's not even a contest - I stayed up late to play 8, but
I faked being sick to stay home play 4. To this day, when I think of great final dungeons
I think of the Lunar Core, visible in the distance as I paced through those final crystal
terraces. The game just totally blew me away, much the same way I think a lot of people
feel about FF6 or Crono Trigger.
However, there's no way I'm going to try and claim FF4 was the superior game. It had a
mediocre translation, relatively generic plot, and the game was actually cut significantly
for the US release. In comparison FF8 had a fairly original plot (insofar as it still had
to conform to the FF standard "ragtag band of heroes come together to save the
world") a great translation, and some truly innovative gameplay ideas. Even if you
compare how relatively good they were at the time of their respective releases, FF8 is
still the clear winner from an objective standpoint.
The letters I've seen remembering old issues of Nintendo Power or the Nintendo Fun Club
also lead me to believe there's a strong element of nostalgia involved for the days when
"color palette" and "number of on-screen sprites" were actually
something to care about. So were the SNES games really the best games ever produced? Of
course not, no more than the "Golden Age" of comics or sf produced the greatest
comics or novels ever written. It just seemed that way at the time.
That said, I still think Nintendo's really slipped in the past few years. Their first
party games are as great as ever - I think Zelda 64's superior to Link to the Past both
technically and as a gameplay experience. However, Nintendo has seriously dropped the ball
when it comes to 3rd party developers, and their lack of participation has turned the N64
into a relative wasteland. I respect the casual and multiplayer games N64 has, and I still
respect the company's potential. Paper Mario could be a great game, and if the previews
are good I will get it. But it's hard for me, as a lover of RPGs and other deep games, to
see the N64 as anything but a debacle.
| Greed: The Mario Story |
| I think the crux of the Nintendo complaints is the N64, which is to many
gamers a disappointment. The cartridge format is usually the first thing singled out by
most people... but while the format has indeed crippled the machine, the issue hasn't
really been one of memory. Yeah, there's less storage space on a cart than on CDs, but
that really only affects a few developers (like Square) who are determined to make back
the most on their investment in 3D rendering tools. The real problem with the cartridge
format is that it alienates developers - not necessarily for creative reasons, but for
economic factors. Carts are expensive (far more so than CDs), but the expense is made even
greater by Nintendo's licensing model. While far less rapine than in the 8 and 16-bit
eras, Nintendo's licensing requirements are unacceptable to a lot of licensees. The
terms of most contracts (I believe there are a few exceptions) require publishers to
manufacture games through Nintendo's facilities, paid fully in advance. Nintendo also
tacks on a healthy fee above and beyond the cost of cart fabrication, likewise paid fully
in advance. At least, this is how it worked in the 8 and 16-bit eras, and from what I've
read not too much has changed. After manufacturing, it's the publisher's responsibility to
promote the game and purchase shelf space to sell the goods (although I believe Nintendo
distributes). Can you see the problem? A 3rd-party publisher is required to make a massive
capital outlay before the game ever ships, and if a game sells poorly, the publisher is
out a ton of money. Nintendo, on the other hand, makes a healthy sum no matter how well or
poorly a game performs. Oh, and Nintendo doesn't have to pay its own licensing fees -
which is why its games tend to be $10 cheaper than 3rd-party games, and therefore more
attractive to the casual shopper.
However, it's been Sony who has made gaming a true mass-market medium: I have an
upcoming major PSX game on preorder for a total cost of $25... the price of an
average DVD, and a price completely impossible with Nintendo's cartridge format.
But you can't really blame Nintendo - its first goal is to make money. Nintendo's a
business, and that's its job. But at the same time you can't blame publishers for taking a
look at the cartridge licensing model being resurrected from its musty tomb for the N64
and ducking for cover.
To be fair, Sony seems to be going down Nintendo's old path - they're garnering a
reputation for being as arrogant as Nintendo during the height of the NES hegemony.
They've released a new system that is less powerful than they promised (shades of Ultra 64
and the "real-time Jurassic Park" hoopla). Their new system is reportedly
unpopular among programmers. So who knows what will happen with the next generation of
hardware; if Nintendo can come down from its pedestal and meet the expectations of gamers
and developers, it may be able to serve up Sony's butt on a silver platter. A bit more
focus on developing quality games (yes, I realize that term is subjective, but c'est la
vie) instead of building merchandising empires would probably restore a lot of credibility
as well...
J. Parish
PS, despite the complaints other people are registering about Paper Mario, it looks to
me like it could be the first truly enjoyable and imaginative N64 game since Mario 64. |
And here we have the real heart of the matter: money. As hard as it is for most of us
to imagine, it's really not about the games in Nintendo's eyes. Miyamoto undoubtedly cares
how good the next Mario game's gonna be, but if Nintendo could make an equivalent amount
of money selling 20 different mutations of Street Fighter, they'd do so and not look back.
It all comes down to Nintendo wanting to maintain the kind of market position they had
in the late 80's and early 90's, and being unable to do so when Sony offered developers a
more attractive model. And the true tragedy is that Nintendo may have not learned its
lesson even now, if what I've heard about Dolphin license agreements being equivalent to
N64 agreements, despite the move to DVD format, is true.
Mark my words, someday someone (one of our generation, most likely, who grew up with
Nintendo) will make a great drama out of this fight, much like "The Insider".
Nintendo will be the tragic hero, who gained the world and lost it out of selfishness, and
Sony will be the quick-witted adversary who takes it all away. I'd like to see Sega as
something other than the cautionary "Red Shirt", but the outlook is grim.
| Hidden trailers and other mysteries |
| Hey Chris, Whether or not this gets printed in the column, I'd really
like a reply...
Where exactly does Ashley say "I am the reinforcements."?
I've beaten the game, and I haven't seen him say it yet. From the way people talk about
it though, it seems like it's in the intro, but after just beating the game and loading my
clear game file, I didn't see it there either. A
This is really starting to frustrate me...
Thanks in advance,
~ Jason |
I've gotten this question more than a few times by now, so it's past time it gets
answered. Vagrant Story, like Final Fantasy Tactics and several other games before it, has
something called an attract mode. (Actually the term "attract mode" is somewhat
fuzzy here, since it originally referred to the automated game play segments found in
arcade games to "attract" people, who would then spend money to play the games.
Since you've already bought a console game, an attract mode is unnecessary, but many games
have them anyway as a cool bonus.)
When you start the game up, the CD loads and plays the opening FMV with the dancer
(most likely Mullenkamp) and Ashley assembling his weapons. You are then taken to the menu
screen, where you have the option of starting a new game, adjusting the sound, etc. If
left alone for a few minutes (or less, can't remember) the PSX will then begin to play an
introductory sequence not seen in the game proper wherein Ashley receives his assignment,
meets Callo for the first time, and says the infamous line. This is well worth seeing if
you haven't yet. After this sequence ends the FMV plays again, followed by the menu,
followed by a movie-style trailer remix of the beginning of the game, complete with
ominous captions and actual credits. This trailer also has what I believe to be the most
overlooked line in the game: "Good luck and Godspeed," which comes up right
after a shot of the portcullis closing behind Ashley. It rocks.
| The hip topic, but not the groovy topic |
| Hey Chris, I dunno if it's still the hip topic, but I'm gonna continue
on the Nintendo thread. I believe I fit into the catagory of "Former S/NES Maniac,
current N64 disliker (if that's a word)". I'm one of the guys that had one of the
original NES' (I had the one that came with R.O.B., Duck Hunt and Gyroscope). I had a
subscription to the Nintendo Fun Club (I still have several of those issues, in fact). I
had the main big games of the NES (SMB, Metroid, Zelda, Kid Icarus (I HATED THAT
GAME!!!)), and I was instantly hooked when the SNES was announced. I had tons of SNES
games too. I LOVED Nintendo. That being said, I was a strong anti-Sega person. I mean,
they did have some good games (Phantasy Star was AWESOME) but I didn't like them as a
whole. I was pretty much against anyone else but the "Big 2" back then.
Turbografix-16? Maybe. 3DO? Who cares. Jaguar? Neo Geo? Not worth it. So many systems came
and went.
Then came the Next Gen systems (or they were then). Playstation, N64 and Saturn. Of
course, I didn't know much about PSX, being a Nintendo Power reader, and I didn't like
Sega of course, so I naturally got an N64. Big mistake. I got several games in the
beginning (Mario 64, of course...Shadows of the Empire, my fav N64 game....Killer Instinct
Gold) but none really made me like the system. Like Andrew, I sold my system because the
games cost too much, they just weren't that great, and they had no RPGs. I still feel the
N64 isn't worth getting because of those factors. Zelda 64? Too little, too late.
Then when I started seeing FF7 commercials, of course I was in love. So I finally got a
PSX, and the rest is history. Gotta say though, I'm kinda pumped about the Dolphin. I'm
gonna give it a shot at least, like I did the N64, and if it doesn't at least get better
than the 64, I'll never forgive Nintendo. So please, for your sake Nintendo, don't make
the same mistakes you have in the past. Peace out.
FLee |
This is so near me it's not funny. I was a Nintendo addict right up until the moment I
bought home my Playstation, which was the week Final Fantasy 7 was released. I knew I'd be
getting a PSX to play FF7 eventually, but chose to get an N64 and a copy of "Shadows
of the Empire" because, hey, it was Nintendo, the system I'd been playing for the
past 10 years.
That was Spring, 1997. All that summer I played Turok, Shadows, Mario 64 and Mario
Kart, and liked them all. Then I cashed my first paycheck from my new co-op tour, drove up
to Software Etc, spent $250 on a console and a copy of Square's masterpiece, hooked the
system up to my crappy 13-inch tv, and the rest is history. I don't think I've touched my
N64 more than 25 hours total since.
Nintendo knows far more about economics, about buying patterns and market share than I
do, I'm sure. But the only two systems I've ever had such great results with right out of
the box were the SNES and PSX. The Dreamcast was good, but not great, and it doesn't look
like the PS2's even gonna come close. Help me Dolphin, you're my last hope.
| A cautionary tale |
| Chris, I haven't slept in 46 hours. Im dying here. I need to sleep,
don't you see that? It burns Chris, it burns.
Kandrin on ice. |
And here we see what happens to a normally lucid writer like Kandrin when he OD's on
Square.
Not a pretty sight, is it folks? Remember, always enjoy Square in moderation, and have
a designated sleeper if the whole party is playing.
| Give it up, people, it ain't gonna happen *CT
remake spoilers* |
| Heya Chris, Have any of you guys played an imported Chrono Trigger
remake? If so, what were your impressions? Is there any chance of this game getting
released in the US? If so, is it worth it?
I waited for with anticipation and quickly purchased the Final Fantasy Anthology with
the music disc and all. I wanted to show one of my friends the greatest SNES rpg ever made
(FF6) and also see what the hub-ub was with FF5.
Final Fantasy 5 was a great game and its port, though slightly slow in battle, still
was well worth the money I spent on the whole package. Thank goodness, because other than
that it would have been a waste of money. However, the slowdown in FF6 was so tremendous
that it started subtracting from the gameplay. Specially during one of those timed events,
I thought, "Oh good grief. There goes another minute off the clock." Of course
FF6 was still great...it was just its greatness was marred by a sick port to the
playstation. The beginning and ending movies simply weren't enough. Of course, the music
disc was a huge disappointment of the cheesiest songs from both games.
All this to wonder how does the Chrono Trigger port fare up? Are the battles slowed
down to near absolute zero? I saw some of the videos which seem to be well done, but are
those just a bright spark in just another sorry port?
Of course, all of this is moot if it isnt released over here in the US. And by the
way...does anybody know if it will be released at all?
Take care,
SGT PROTON |
This is another one of those questions that gets asked and asked and asked again, so
I'm gonna shut it down now: the Chrono Trigger remake will not be coming to the US. Some
people have been saying that if Chrono Cross sells well enough it might happen, but I'm
pretty damn sure it won't with all the other things Square has on the table.
As for the game itself, I don't think it plays much worse than the original, but I
could be mistaken. I am pretty sure that the only reason one might wish to play it,
assuming they had the original, is the new opening and closing animated movies,
which do little but assure the reader that, yes, Crono did end up with Marle (Boo!) and
set up a few hooks for Chrono Cross.
Oh, and they reissued the soundtrack in Japan, so it was relatively easier to find, for
a while at least.
Closing Comments:
For tomorrow, I'd like to know: if you could be a tree, what kind of tree would you be?
Or if you don't want to do that pathetic touchy-feely excuse for a topic, let me know
what your feelings are about Microsoft
swallowing Bungie whole. I know this isn't really RPG related, but I think it segues
well from what we've been discussing. If Nintendo was the domineering hegemon of console
makers, and Sony was the savvy businessman of console makers, then Microsoft looks to be
the rampaging carnivore of console makers, with their rumored attempts to buy Sega,
Square, and now Bungie. Catch you tomorrow.
-Chris Jones, saying "AK's not here" |
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