Dear Drew, (Who is not the Drew who makes Lego porn, @ http://drew.corrupt.net ...or is he?) [I wish I'd thought of that brilliant idea myself, but no. -Drew]

Princess Jemmy compained that the characters in Xenosaga that we've seen so far all have unrealistically exaggerated figures, that would have to be acheived with surgery in real life. You replied "I prefer women who are hot in games to women who are not hot in games." So, you're saying that women are not hot unless they have breast implants? Did you, perchance, once work for a certain "gaming" publication that starts with "P" and ends with "CXL"? (Or possibly Incite?)

In all seriousness, there's really no reason to think that all female video game characters must have giant breasts unless you think: 1. All fictional women must be attractive.
2. Only women with giant breasts are attractive.

It's not as if the characters even need implants so that fans can make sexual comments about them. The common gaming rabble on the internet releases an inevitable barrage of sexual comments at every female video game character since Lara Croft*, even ones designed like Joanna Dark and Oni's protagonist, who are clearly not flaunted as sex objects. I'd cite examples of comments about those two, but I can't remember any, and I don't think I need to back up this point - it seems that the only game women that don't draw innuendo are the likes of Relm and Eiko, and that's because they're each not ten years old.

Anyway, I'm getting off topic, so I'll cut to the chase: Did you actually mean to say that women aren't attractive unless they have giant breasts? Also, you demand "hot" women in your games, but you sneer at the person who thinks Mario and Peach should "get it on" and call the idea immature? Would you think more highly of the concept if Peach was hotter? Do you "prefer" not to play Mario games, because the Princess doesn't have breasts like the Xenosaga women's?

I realize I'm being rather harsh and critical, but I've always found this column to be a refreshing break from the typical "I want the Tomb Raider nude code!!!!1" attitude of gamers on the web, and after the response to the "Mario and Peach" letter, the "hot women in games" comment struck me as rather hypocritical.

-Paul Segal

*Ok, I'll be fair. Unrealistically proportioned women go back at least to the Dark Queen from Battletoads who, ironically, is a Rare creation along with Joanna Dark.

HAHAHAHAHA.... Xenosaga characters knockers arent big...

-Satan

"People around here would buy toilet paper with little crosses embroidered on it if they sold it."

Hmm. I'd buy that too, but for entirely different reasons.

~Ian P.

Drew,

I have to agree that for the majority, decisions as large as the ones you mentioned (segregation and women's suffrage) should be made on the national level. However, I feel that if one wants true change in the system, local government is the way to go. Our recent presidential election proved that to me. It's almost a chain of command, where you vote for the mayor or city council member whose politics you agree with the most, and if they get elected, they are more likely to help out those higher up on the chain with similar politics, and so forth. I'm not saying don't vote for the president, I'm just saying work for change in your hometown and you're more likely to see results.

Besides, if the system sucks that bad where you live, run for office. Jello Biafra did, and he almost made mayor of San Francisco (and if you don't know who that is, go whip yourself with a wet noodle).

-Banjax. If you were running for mayor, he'd vote for you.

Sir,

I was going to write a witty letter stating my view, but damnit guys, I don't want you to have to code HTML longer than you have to. Plus I'm sleepy.

I just think, screw medieval or futuristic; I want to see some more RPGs set in modern real-life locations like Parasite Eve. That'd be cool. If I'm gonna slay an ogre, and save a world, I think it'd feel a lot cooler if it was my own.

Mike Drucker

Hey Drew,

Yeah, I'm really looking forward to XenoSaga as well. XenoGears was one of the few games I've played, where several times I just had to drop the controller, and yell, "Now what the Hell does THAT mean!?"

I think people were upset about the original because they didn't beat it. I swear, even in the last scene, I was floored. I caught myself saying, "Ahh...so that's what the intro was about."

One thing I did notice about XenoSaga, was it's intricate, futuristic details. One of the sketches for a city looked gorgeous, with it's mesh of technology and steel. Not many games can capture the feeling of the future like Xenogears did...and I'm sure this one will follow suit.

And what's up with that Shion Uzuki? Same last name as the almighty Citan? I think not. I think it IS Citan :) So, he/she's some shape-shifting, genetically created creature...that would explain how he knew so much in Xenogears...he'd been around since the beginning. :P

Terminator

Dear Drew,

Overall, I hope Xenosaga will usher in more futuristic RPGs. I've been a fan of RPGs as long as they can keep a good story (sorry, Final Fantasy VIII), and since Xenogears was such a blockbuster, innovative, and most importantly, FUN, title, I am looking forward to the sequel.

The only problem with things of that nature is the instant something becomes marketable, millions of cut rate clones will follow. One can compare this to the surge of Alternative "Grunge" Music in the early 1990s. Instant hit bands, such as Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, etc., became popular with their flagship albums and made the genre popular. Then, many clones, such as Candlebox, Blind Melon, Stone Temple Pilots, came in, with mixed success, though some thought of them as innovative. Then we had cute rate bands told to "make alternative grunge albums" in order to make money. Bands such as the Chainsaw Kittens and Dig come to mind.

The only thing I am worried about is if Xenosaga becomes popular, and maybe even Sega churns out a few Phantasy Star Games (finger crossed for that one), clone companies will flood the market. After all, every genre of games, from fighting to action to puzzle, has done this, with mixed results.

We'll have to wait to see what happens.

Charlie

P.S. Speaking of great game companies people ignored, Culture Brain comes to mind. Hell, they published "Magic of Scheherazade, a game with an Arabian setting featuring action AND RPG command battles, flying carpets, huge bosses, a robot professor named Gun Mecca, and had casinos when Nintendo was a bit hard about questionable content in games. Not a lot of companies can brag about that.

Drew,

You say that saying censorship is wrong is forcing your ideas on to other people, but isn't making a law for censorship the same thing? Even on a local level? And you say that since we can't have them have access to porn(the parents responsibility, in my opinion) that it is perfectly right for the government to censor violence, again, a parental responsibility. Wrong! Then you say, "Freedom is letting people make their own decisions, and if a particular city wants to outlaw violent games to minors who are we to stop them?", um......no....... Freedom is letting individuals make decisions for themselves and who or what they are responsible for, including children. Democracy isn't founded on freedom, I'm sorry to say. So there!

Noah, too cool and mature for a little message after his name.

To be honest, I always thought it was a little more reasonable that I just killed a dragon with a laser rifle then my a crummy dagger or sword.

-Sean

Dear GIA,

I was watching the Metal Gear Solid 2 Trailer and found something very interesting. One minute and thirty-six seconds into the movie it shows Snake walking down a hallway about to turn a corner. On the wall infront of him is the shadow of what appears Vulcan Raven, with his big gun from Metal Gear Solid. Am I the only one who sees this?

-The Kasier

Surprisingly, it was the futuristic aspects of Final Fantasy VI that first got me into RPGs. That tagline "When technology and magic collide" caught my eye and I decided to buy the game. I have worshiped Square ever since.

Don't get me wrong. I look forward to fantasy settings in games too (Vagrant Story comes to mind), but since I have always been a science geek, I have a special place in my heart for games that have computer networks and spaceships. In fact, I have to say my favorite RPG was Final Fantasy VII. Its amalgamation of magic and science really made it a memorable experience. (This is coming from a self-proclaimed "old-skool" gamer who played and relished FFVI, Chrono Trigger, and Secret of Mana.)

Lastly, some games have technology in them while still keeping with a "swords and sorcery" theme. Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross both had stories which revolved around scientific advancements (CT around time traveling machines, CC around the computer system FATE and Time Fortress Chronopolis) yet still had plenty of wizardry and impossibility. I haven't heard any complaints about either of these RPGs. Maybe if people looked at XenoSaga in the same light, they won't be so quick to dismiss it as a defilement of RPGdom.

-Amphitrion