N. E. S. -
April 25, 2001 - 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.
Namco. Enix. Square.
Don't say we didn't warn you.
There's been a lot of letters asking how I can possibly doubt that people can survive for long periods on pizza. The fact is, I'm not doubting it, but even good pizza gets old fast. If I was forced to survive off of one type of fast food on a permanent basis, I'd have to go with sandwiches - a man could go a long time bouncing between a veggie on wheat with honey mustard, and a cold cut with extra pickles and mayo.
And before you criticize my food tastes, just be glad I haven't told you about some of the more creative ways I've used blue cheese dressing.
Mmm, pop tarts...
Onward.
| Cross-pollination |
| Yo Chris,
I'd first like to commend Konami on their media blackout with MGS 2. I have
to admit that the hype for Chrono Cross killed the title for me, since it
just couldn't live up to them. And I don't want to know everything about the
game months ahead of time, like what happened to Episode One. Or maybe their
just not as far into developement as we'd like to think...it IS a bit odd
that we haven't seen anything but the transport ship yet...
Anyway, Xenosaga was the first thing I thought about when I read about the
stock exchange. However, it's been at least in the planning stages for
something like two years now, so I really don't think it's connected. At the
very least, this could've been Namco's way of avoiding a lawsuit that may
have arisen.
But each company is known for such different types of games, would we want to
mess with that? I mean, isn't it true that the Apocalypse is set to occur if
Enix ever releases a game with cutting edge graphics? Better keep them
Squaresoft artists far away...
--The Steve
|
I think Kojima's pretty far along in game development at this point - the whole engine might not be done yet (which includes that temperature stuff that's supposed to be integrated into the game) but the meat of it's clearly good to go, as the demo showed. And once the core engine's in place, adding on new levels is relatively easy.
That being the case, it's probably more the case that Kojima's just being very savvy and very confident that the strength of the game and word of mouth will sell the title when it comes out... I know I'm already sold from the demo.
That's a good point about the companies involved - some experimentation aside, each pushes different kinds of games, often in different arenas. After the Japanese success of DQ7, Enix might have been a position to really go after Square, but now that they're linked together like this we may not see more head-to-head competition like DQ7 vs. FF9.
| Geronimo! |
| I don't see how Enix, Namco and Square doing a 5% share swap affects the
likelihood of joint projects. It seems more like everyone has decided to
hold hands before they jump off the cliff.
Actually, it's probably not that bad either. Most "giant" corporations hold
stock in other "giant" corporations as a way to make even more money.
Presumably, the three new amigos have determined that they're all going to
continue to make money hand over fist, and they can make more by splitting
some of it amongst themselves and cranking up their respective stock values
(that's what it's all about, right).
In either case, there's nothing that indicates any type of "project", be it
cooperative, licensed or otherwise.
Buying a Soul Calibur RPG in a heartbeat. With no other information? Kind of
negates some otherwise high-quality discussion on the genre. The most
obvious development choice for an SC RPG would seem to include most of the
traditional RPG plot and presentation short-cuts that have been steadily
reviled by the writers and editors in this column over the last couple of
months. Random encounters? Simplistic plot? Leveling up? Buying new weapons
and armor in every new city? It would all be there.
For my two cents, I want more people as enemies in RPGs. I'm sick of
fighting "slimes" and "rats" and other "monsters" - except dragons, dragons
are cool. I want to fight bandits and thieves and evil clerics and the
minions of darkness, not random mutated animals that stumble out of the
wilderness. Think about D&D - the most dangerous enemies are evil
player-character types, not a bunch of slimy, tentacled, sharp-fanged plants
(yeah, you know who I'm talking about).
Orin the Lawyer (one more week!) - thinks Soul Calibur would work great
melded with the Vagrant Story engine
|
It's true that there's no info that indicates any definite cross development, but at the very least, now that each has a financial stake in the others' success, we might begin to see less direct confrontation. We might also see some indirect cooperation - not joint development as such, but each company needs to build complex, high-res 3D worlds for the PS2, something that's apparently not that easy. Perhaps they'll put together some kind of shared middleware library to speed up development time and shrink the costs. Only problem is, shared software might give the games a similar feel, and I'd just as soon see fully unique offerings and styles from each of those companies.
I agree about the Soul Calibur/Vagrant story merger - there'd be no point in a menu-driven Soul Calibur RPG, since that would get rid of the game's best point: combat. But having characters that moved as smoothly as SC's in a world as beautiful as Final Fantasy would be well worth checking out.
| "I thought they only let cool people in the Borderlands." |
| Well, for starters... considering that Namco's Tales of Phantasia was
originally produced by Enix's tri-Ace (formerly known as Wolf Team), and
that both the Tales and Star Ocean series resulted from this, wouldn't it
be cool to see Namco and tri-Ace team up again to make one kick-ass Tales
of Star Ocean? Wow. O_o
Or, perhaps, a Dragon Warrior game in which you can summon Odin. Sweet. 8-)
And I personally think that the urban fantasy is a far underdone genre for
use in games. I always find urban fantasies (set in real-life settings, but
with an astonishing undercurrent of fantasy, witchcraft, visitors from
other planes, etc.) was by far the most riveting of any novels I'd ever
read. Trying to juxtapose the normal with the paranormal (or supernormal)
is one of the most delicate and rewarding tasks an author can do, and it
evokes an amazing sense of "Damn that was cool!" I'm just waiting for more
of those. 8-)
And as for games already set in realistic situations... anyone ever heard
of Earthbound? If not for the annoying battles and menu system, that game
would have been ultra-cool... and kudos to whoever translated it, 'cause
it's hilarious. Rant over.
--Cidolfas
http://www.ffcompendium.com/ |
Earthbound... yeesh. Great potential, lousy execution. A mainstream RPG that manages to make the real world seem stranger and more bizarre than any fantasy realm. Obviously that's the attraction for some people, but I'd have liked to see a kid balance homework, a girlfriend, and slaying a dragon all before dinner.
Sega seems to have latched on to a trend, in having multiple, independent, high-profile teams all working on different projects, on different platforms. Square too, seems to have a touch of this, in the way they've been developing FFs in parallel for the past few years. That being the case, it does seem possible that, as the above letter suggests, we could see more teams working in cooperation with external developers to make cool games. Not likely maybe, but not impossible either.
| Crash and burn |
| Crono Crash
The Dreamteam returns to end the trilogy by tying Crono Trigger and Crono Cross together in a way that actually makes sense. Serge and Chrono meet for the first time. Surprising, neither has much to say.
El Cactuar
|
....
| Welcome back to the stage of chaperones |
| There is a disconnect between having a meaningful discussion about
homosexuality being depicted in games and then everyone becoming a
complete prude about Aki from the Final Fantasy Movie in a bikini.
Is maturity really about covering women from head to toe with clothes
while at the same time playing up a type of sexual behavior that at most
20 percent of people are actually interested in seeing?
I wouldn't call that descrimination, I would call it disinterest. As much
as I have absolutely no problem with homosexuals, I have absolutely no
interest in stories about them.
But, I am very interested in seeing beautiful, smart, nice, and/or funny
women doing interesting, fun, dangerous, and/or heroic things. Am I
immature and sexist for enjoying seeing a picture of Aki in a bikini? No,
I'm a human male, its how I'm supposed to react. My only complaint about
the picture is that its not as attractive as it could be (all the images
from the FF movie seem to be a little too realistic).
Is it really wrong that we go to the movies to see and watch beautiful
people do impossible things? Its not like there are not any movies that
explore deeper themes, and are not pure escapism. But, who really
expected the Final Fantasy Movie to be more than a lot of fun to watch?
Does anyone even notice that Aki's face is no where near as attractive as
it could be? That Square could have made her absolutely beautiful yet
opted to make her look somewhat normal? Of course, her body is better
than 90 percent of women could hope to have, and that makes me wonder if
it even existed before someone got the bright idea to put her in Maxim
magazine.
If I had a point, its that people need to stop pretending like they
actually want to see homosexual relationships and start accepting that
they are indeed sexual creatures who like to see attractive
representations of the opposite sex. Its like some sort of politically
correct conspiracy.
Phoenix
|
I'm no prude - I dearly love to see a good looking woman in a good looking outfit. But there are times it's appropriate in a story, and there's times it's inappropriate. Rinoa wore a party dress to the dance, and the rest of the time wore street clothes. That makes sense. Meryl in MGS wore combat fatigues, and I doubt we'll see Olga in MGS2 wear anything different. I don't even have a problem with some of the more, er, unusual outfits in Soul Calibur, because a moderate amount of cheesecake's to be expected in a game where a character can walk away from getting two swords ripped through their abdomen. But although Callo Merlose is a complete goddess, it didn't make any sense for her to be wearing what she was wearing, and as much as I might have enjoyed seeing her in high heels and a short skirt, it grated on my nerves that she (or Ashley, or any number of VS characters) would have been wearing something that outlandish on a field mission.
You ask if the FF Movie was ever supposed to be more than merely fun to watch. I say that everything we've seen up to this point, from the trailers to the descriptions of the film's odd flavor of metaphysics to the pretentious subtitle, suggests that Square's trying to make a serious (perhaps overly serious) film here. Sigorney Weaver didn't stop to prance around in her underwear at the end of Alien... well, ok, she did, but that was a totally different situation. There's nothing morally wrong with T&A, but out of context it's just... weird.
Then we've got the picture itself, which was also weird. Even by the already unrealistic standards of, say, Victoria's Secret, Aki's body looked odd, and it's certainly a far cry from what a real woman looks like, just from an anatomical standpoint. The movie aside, that picture did nothing for me.
And as for homosexual relationships, I think it's pretty clear that a lot of readers, especially a lot of male readers, don't particularly care for bishounen characters, and aren't exactly salivating over seeing guy/guy pairings in a game, but they're willing to consider the possibility, as long as it's not blatantly out of context. Whether developers have the subtlety to make it so at this point is where the debate comes in.
| Dreamcast's revenge |
| The situation between Enix, Namco and Square isn't a rarity in the business
world; I see it more as three companies spreading their combined risk in
order to combat the much larger third parties in Konami and Sega. While
this collaboration does open the door for possible joint ventures, I see
more traditional uses for this partnership. Enix could utlize Square's
strong group of CG animators , Square definitely would want to use Namco
strong distribution power if they ever want to venture into the arcades
again (but please, let's try to make a better game than Ehrgeiz, alright
guys?), and Namco could always benefit from using either Square or Enix's
strong RPG brand name if they release RPGs other than the Tales series, as
well as being able to use the Xenogears name for Xenosaga.
Honestly, I don't see many collaborations when it comes down to it. While I
can see the potential for more co-developed games rise, I can't see a rise
in these games that will actually see a console, mainly because numerous
games have been released that were the product of two companies with no
stake in the other; Capcom vs SNK, Legacy of Kain: Blood Omen (which was
co-developed by Crystal Dynamics and Silicon Knights), Vampire Night (Namco
and Sega) and of course, Chrono Trigger were the result of such team ups in
the past.
To conclude, I find this entire situation very amusing to say the least. In
the statement released a few days ago regarding the mini-partnership, the
article said rising development costs was a reason for all three companies
to pool their resources. Isn't it funny that all three companies had
contributed in their own way to the demise of a system that was not only
rather powerful, but extremely easy (and cheap) to develop for? Both Square
and Enix totally ignored this system, and Namco released a mere two games
for it; while one of them is arguably the greatest fighting game of all
time, the other was a cheap multiplatform title. Sorry Namco, but platform
support doesn't mean "release two games and leave ASAP". While I'm sure you
know what system I'm talking about, all I have to say to Square, Enix and
Namco is that when you receive your 2001 year end reports, you'll know a
whole new meaning to the phrase "Payback's a bitch".
Andrew Alfonso, Editor
http://www.fighters.net
|
Heh heh. I like that idea... the small white box may yet have the last laugh. Good call.
| At least Squall could take Cait Shih... maybe |
| Chris,
A Soul Calibur RPG? Surely you mean a Namco-developed FF fighting game.
I mean, why not? It would be the perfect chance to see who could kick
whose ass -- Squall vs. Cloud (Cloud), Terra vs. Squall (Terra), Cain vs.
Squall (Cain), or even the ultimate match, Cecil vs. Squall (Cecil).
Hell, I'd pay anything to see even Bartz vs. Squall. Kefka could figure
in there somewhere. Golbez, too.
The story for the game could uncannily resemble that of Marvel vs. Capcom
-- in which, for whatever the reason, Marvel characters battle against or
with Capcom characters, seemingly for the fun of fighting. I would be
very much disconcerted if Namco tried to put a Tekken-caliber "story" into
the game (did anyone get ANYTHING out of ANY of the endings? Really?). I
think now is the time to STOP trying to put "stories" into fighting games.
And as for a link between Square and Namco where Xenosaga is concerned: Am
I the only person who remembers Ehrgeiz? That was a collaboration between
Square and Namco, for better or for worse. It's a shame that the only way
they could sell the game in the States was by prominently featuring Cloud,
a HIDDEN character, on the package. Me? Oh, I didn't play the game. I
could tell it wasn't my thing.
Anyway, that's all I have to say for today.
--tim rogers, who hopes Namco doesn't try to inject some "go
anywhere, pick up anything" in the hypothetical FF fighter, because, while
they may sound good on paper, those games always SUCK
|
Good point - cross-developer fusions sound good on paper, but rarely work out in the real world. Ehrgeiz's individual components were each well done, but the resulting game simply made no sense. Likewise, while it's possible (but unlikely) we could see a DQ game use FMV rendered by Square, it just wouldn't feel right. FF games as of late have been about big cinematic moments, and many DQ fans trumpet the series' uninterrupted gameplay as a major selling point. A mixture of any of the three companies' major properties would be a rough beast indeed.
| Only slightly less disturbing than the Aki picture |
| Thank you Chris. I've now got the imagine of the heads of Square, Enix, and Namco engaged in a gigantic menage a trois. I hope you're happy with yourself.
All it needs now is a fully nude Yamauchi to be totally complete.
Negative Creep |
Maybe Phoenix was right, and there is an unholy homosexual bent to this column... but hey, could have been worse, she could have put Yamauchi in there...
*shudder*
Closing Comments:
I think it's time we get out of software and get into hardware for a bit. Specifically, controllers. Sony seems to have settled on the Dual Shock, and Nintendo's new system boasts something somewhat similar. I personally like the Dreamcast's controller, but I'm pretty unique in that. What controllers do you prefer, and what would you like to see in future generations of hardware? Let me know. Later.
-Chris Jones, would have bought Maxim if Callo were on the cover
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