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. ...can't stop the earth from turning, can't stop death from calling, can't stop time from burning. Don't say we didn't warn you.

The good news is that I got FF9 today, and I hope y'all did too. I played through the initial title sequence, and I like what I've seen so far, although it's not nearly enough to get a sense of the game.

The bad news is that a few minutes is likely all I'll be able to play for some time. In the off chance that I actually get some time to play games, I'll probably feel obliged to finish Zelda and beyond that I won't be playing any games at all next week. Fortunately we should have someone you can talk FF9 with in the column soon.

As for today, not much of a turnout, but I suppose that's to be expected when a new FF's just been released.

Onward.

To say that this opinion is representative of the masses would be an understatement - I didn't get one single letter wholeheartedly defending Zelda today, which I suppose means I'll have to do it myself.

The first thing I think has to be said is that MM is a same-system Zelda sequel, and while I initially thought this was something of a rare thing, it's actually not. To me, Zelda II didn't feel much like the original to a far greater extent than OoT, and Link's Awakening is odd for a few reasons. On the one hand, it's very similar to Link to the Past in many ways while expanding on the gameplay found on the SNES version, and at the same time it looks to be the control variable for the upcoming GBC Zelda games, which look to diverge even further from the baseline. In light of all that, MM feels like one of the least major changes in the series' history.

I can't talk much about the scenario, since Groundhog Day is one of my favorite movies of all time and I can't really have an unbiased opinion about it or its clones. But I will say that I found the doomsday scenario extremely compelling - far more so than any other game where the world's about to end but for the heroes' actions, MM really did feel like everyone was about to die. I felt strongly for many of the characters at the end of the third day, whether it was the mailman wanting to flee but trapped by his own schedule, or Romani excited that she was going to get to try the house brand, but not clear on why. Making me really care about the world ending at all puts it a step above many RPGs, so I've got to give it props for that as well.

Looking back on it, I think you're half right. Link to the Past was, in many ways, the apotheosis of the original LoZ experience; basically the same, but much, much better. I distinctly remember fighting my way up a mountain path going to Zora's Domain for the first time in LttP, and thinking, "This is what the original was going for, but couldn't quite achieve." Frankly that scene is, in my mind, the complete distillation of adventure games and what I'm looking for out of them.

OoT has equally strong thrills to deliver, but they're not nearly as simple or direct. In a way, OoT is the first step on the road to total realism. Standing on top of the gate across from Hyrule Castle at sunset, looking at it in first person perspective, I knew I wasn't really there, but I was closer than I'd ever been before. I couldn't feel the bricks beneath my feet, smell the breeze or even see the dirt and grime I knew must be around, but still... part of it felt real. That alone makes it a towering success in my book.

And frankly, I'm not sure where you're coming from when you say everything's been toned down. The puzzles in MM are at least as tricky as anything I've seen in any other Zelda game, and in a way they're far better. Winning the second quest in the original Zelda was basically a matter of blowing up every conceivable rock, burning every tree and pushing against every wall in the game. There was no rhyme or reason to it, just brute reduction of possibilities. In contrast even the hardest of MM's puzzles make sense, at least when you've solved them. Combat in MM and OoT isn't as numerous as it is in the earlier Zelda games, but what there is is deeper and more challenging. No random enemy in LttP ever gave me the hassles that the buzzard in MM did... but no random enemy in LttP ever gave me 200 rupees as a reward either.

Reality check, amigo - I never argued that FF8 was lacking in character development. I tend to not equate backstory with interesting characters; it can help, but it's not always needed. Not everybody has to have their own little problem to overcome to be useful in a game. But we can argue that out another day.

Perhaps it's a function of the game having fewer levels to hack through, but the dungeons (and boss battles) in MM are some of my favorite parts of the game. It's a bit strange when you consider that in previous Zelda games I never enjoyed beating a dungeon as much as finding one on the overworld, but MM's are intricate enough to make things worthwhile, at least for me.

And I'm not sure which to find more disturbing - the fact that you bought Turok 2, or the fact that you paid $60 for it. Hasn't it been out for a few years by now?

Didn't read through this in any great detail, because I haven't finished the game myself yet. As such I've got nothing to say, except that I hope I find the ending more interesting than you did - being left without a decent climax would prove very irritating at this point.

Do you ever get the desire to go beat the living crap out of something, anything, just for the hell of it? Not so much physically as the general mental attitude... games like Double Dragon used to satisfy that need of mine quite well, but since I started doing this column, people like RRFB have made excellent stand-ins for automated sprites. In other words, don't take this personally, RRFB, I'm just venting my frustrations in general.

I think it's fair to say that while you're not alone in feeling that way about FF (gosh, I must get 5 letters a day saying the same thing) you're not nearly as right as you think you are, either. FF8 is arguably the biggest change ever in the series' gameplay, and most of the complaints about FF in the modern era haven't been about the series' lack of change, they've been that the series isn't like it was in the good old days. With the exception of the PSX jump, FFs have nearly always come out at a rate of one every two or so years, and I defy you to suggest that there's not a world of difference between 7, 8, and 9 - even the design styles have changed significantly.

The reason FF gets the kind of criticism it does is because it's number one, no doubt about it. I see it all the time - people are willing to put up with all kinds of crap from other games ("well, the music, gameplay, and plot aren't that great, but this one character design makes up for it") but FF must be bulletproof. ("Everything was great except the GFs took too long, so I hate it.") And I'm not complaining, because that's simply the price you pay for being the best. But debate and all, any given FF has many vocal admirers who are willing to argue that that particular game alone is the crowning glory of the series. Regardless of if you agree with them or not, it says a lot about the games that they can inspire such feelings after so many incarnations.

And as for "the lack of gameplay", go level up for 5 straight hours in DQ7, if that's what you desire. Me, I'm more than happy to have just a few battles between cinemas and exploratory parts of the game... and I expect I'll be just as happy to go back to playing those few battles months or years from now. No replay problems here, with the series as a whole or with having this argument every month or so.

Closing Comments:

Sorry, just had to get that little rant off my chest. We've got one more non-FF topic for tomorrow, and then you can rant your little hearts out about FF9 on Friday. Or better yet, Skies of Arcadia, which looks like it might be putting up some serious competition for Zidane and co. Until then, adios.

-Chris Jones, wakes up to "I Got You Babe" every morning