Double Agent
Can't stop the sky from falling... - November 15, 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. ...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.

That's right, woodchuck-chuckers, it's GROUNDHOG DAY!
An opinion from the busy-developer side of the fence:

To "half-assedly" quote John K., "No sir, I didn't like it."

I'll be the first to mention my annoyance at time constraints in games. The idea of a game that vaguely plays like the timed delivery quest in Ocarina of Time was not high on my to-do list. But where Zelda: Majora's Mask (Zelda 6) failed me, was that it just didn't *feel* like a Zelda Game.

Link is no longer in hyrule. Instead of the multitude of weapons and tactics I would normally expect, he gets a set of masks. That feeling of suspicion I had from the first bunch of games is gone - that blurry wall is never hiding something. Combine that with uninspiring graphics, a complete lack of familiar characters or themes (for the duration I played, Zelda: MM felt more like Donkey Kong 64), and the sky high price for a cartridge with snazzy sticker..

...and suddenly I felt it would be a better idea to wait for its cheap, classic status version. I mean, the list of unplayed titles on my shelf includes the likes of the Suikoden series, Vandal Hearts Series, Shenmue, Vagrant Story, Threads of Fate, Legend of Mana...and a desperate thirst for a fourth playthrough of Front Mission 3.

Somehow, the Groundhog Day scenario of Majora's Mask seems about as appealing as actually using that Punching Puppet Ghaleon.

Richard "KZ" Knight

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.

Jack of all trades, master of none
This is undoubtedly going to get some sort of negative response from someone, but I don't see the Zelda games as being interesting as they used to be. Oh sure, it's visually more attractive. Those dimensional upgrades really help, especially that one from 2 to 3. But, well, I prefered the old days, when pixels and sprites absolutely dominated, as far as Zelda is concerned. It was more puzzle/adventure oriented. Plot wasn't exactly novel quality. Who's to say it should have? But now Zelda's beginning to spread itself a bit thin, trying to have all the action of the first few, the puzzles of all of them, and trying to make a plot to die for, all at the same time. In trying to make it a game enjoyable for all genre-specific gamers, it became a jack of all trades, master of none. The concept is admirable, as are the efforts, but they should have tried using a different character, more likely even make a new one. Link to the Past was Zelda's popularity peak, in my opinion, and it's ever-so-slowly drifting down into obscurity, however unfortunate that may be. Mixing genres is as precarious as mixing drinks: if you don't know what you're doing, don't do it at all.

Criticized for nicknaming lacrosse "football with a stick",
Aleksandrs Bomis

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.

Misattributions R Us
Chris--

I agree wholeheartedly with your view that FFVIII had less and less character development. Especially in relation to FFVII. I found a huge motivation in playing the game to be - what's up with Cloud?? Why can't he figure out his past? What's the deal with his flashbacks? What's the connection between him and Sephiroth? And when you found out, it was a great way to tie it all up. On the other hand you have Squall...who doesn't really care to talk to anyone or bond with anyone, only because he was abandoned as a kid. Not a big deal. I didn't even really care that they grew up together. If FFIX is going to succeed, we will have to love the characters, remember them, and want to know more.

Jackson - (who's waiting to buy FFIX until AFTER this semester so I can pass my classes)

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.

No staying power
Yo Chris,

I got the new Zelda the day it came out and had a good amount of fun with it. The first 72 hours were AWESOME. The time limit made it really exciting. Then, you're left to visit dungeons, but I just didn't want to. So I didn't touch the game for a few days. Then I got the new Monkey Island game. Many giggles later, I got my PS2. While drooling over the graphics in Madden 2001, Zelda sat untouched. Now, with FFIX coming out tomorrow I've got no reason to return to Zelda just yet. The first game was a revolution. Even though Majora's Mask is just as good as the first game, there's no sense of new stuff, and therefore no reason to play. After FFIX I guess I'll pick it up, if not, then I wasted 60 bucks.

--The Steve

P.S. Actually, wasted 120 bucks. I bought Turok 2 the day I bought Ocarina of Time and played Turok a total of 25 minutes. Luckily I've since stopped taking drugs.

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?

Wouldn't giving Zelda a negative spin leave you with Adlez?
*Majora's Mask spoilers*
Chris,

Well, I really hate to do this, after hyping up the game so much pre-release, but this letter's going to have a negative spin on Zelda: Majora's Mask. While the gameplay and graphics were simply incredible, my gripe lies in the fact that the storyline that's been notably prevalent in the last few installments was lacking in this game.

Here come the spoilers: The initial premise of the game was pretty good: Free the guardian spirits, save the world. The fact that fifteen things had to be done to gain access to each of the temples more than made up for the lack of temples. However, once you confront Skull Kid and see the guardian cinema, the story just falls apart. What relationship did Majora's Mask have with the moon, anyway? What the hell was going on with the field with the guardian kids? Why did the game touch on some existential philosophy points? (Is that.. your real face?) However, I dealt with all of that with a grain of salt. (Even the three hours it took to clear the Goht dungeon.) The point where the game lost all credibility with me is when Majora's Mask was defeated and it sprouted legs! The girlish noises it made as Majora's Incarnation and the fruity dancing didn't help.The ending was very anti-climactic, and above everything else the whole point of the story was left unresolved! Link originally set out on his journey to find Navi. They must've forgotten about that in the end. Even the nice little Saria's Song flute on the "The End" screen couldn't make up for all the questions that were left unasnwered.

I realize that I probably expected too much from this game, but it really left me unfulfilled. Am I wrong to think these things? Should we have expected more from this game that was two or three years in the making?

------
Ed Ruane

P.S. You compared the election to Schrodinger's cat? Nah. I'd like to think more along the lines of Heisenberg: One cannot determine both the time it will take to elect a president and the winner at the same time.

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.

Time to open up a can of whup-ass... economy size!
I know im a heretic, but hasn't anybody elese gotten tired of the final fantasy series yet? These games just aren't getting better as the years progress, and the game play is always the same. Just putting in new characters, a new story , and "innovations" like the limit sytem of GFs, isn't acceptable. How much effort can square be putting into these games now that they come out yearly (or two a year these days). Final Fantasy is starting to seem more like tomb raider or a sports game with the yearly upgrades without many improvements.

Remember when all the reviews for ff7 and ff8 came pouring out and the general consensus was that they are both fantasic feats of game design. However, given a couple of months, people started to decide that these games sucked. If they were actually good games, you would still look at them with fond feeling after you were done playing it, even months or years later, instead of analyzing all of there faults and deciding they suck. RPGamers bitch so much because they know that deep down most of these games they are playing suck...why elese would they bitch, about translations, music, characters yadda yadaa yadda. Your looking at things wrong.What the main problem is, is none of the above.The real problem is the gameplay (or in the majority of cases, the lack thereof). We need to demand more gameplay based Rpgs, that are actually fun to play, not just stories about some angsty teenager saving the world/time/whatever, that three months from now will have lost there novelty.

just had to get that little rant off my chest...

really really fat bastard

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

Topic for Thursday, 11/16/2000
Does anyone remember the commercial for the original Zelda on NES? It was just this guy in a black turtleneck acting kooky, jerking his head left and right, and yelling "Zelda!!" He was illustrating, literally, that the game was about a search for someone named Zelda. I think the commercial showed about 2 seconds of the actual gameplay, at most. And yet, I remember going to school and talking to my friends about this new game Zelda, and we would sit there and try to figure out what the hell it was about. The point of all this? That simple, strange commercial had us pondering for weeks about this game, which means that it was a very successful commercial indeed.

And now for the question: Why aren't there any good game commercials anymore? There was the commercial for FFVII, which just showed some FMV and seemed like your average movie trailer, and the somewhat similar commercial for Legend of Dragoon, which had a humerous bit at the end but didn't make the game seem all that impressive. There are, of course, numerous commercials for Pokemon and sports games, but none of these infect people with much curiosity about the games the way I remember the Zelda commercial doing (and the way that some movies commercials and trailers will). Am I just being nostalgic about my school yard days, or have game companies still not figured out the correct way to market games on TV? Does the fact that huge amounts information about a game is available months in advance via the Internet and magazines (even Nintendo Power didn't exist back when Zelda came out) mean that there is little need to advertise on Television?

Chris Wright
"Octorocks! Tektites!! Leevers!!!"

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