Ask, and ye shall receive. The Deep Thoughts, both of 'em, have been added to the Archives section of Double Agent, if anyone is interested. I'll be posting a new DT as soon as I receive a letter that I feel fits in there, for anyone that's wondering. Don't send letters specifically to be included as a Deep Thought - if it fits there, it'll be there. But it's my call. I'm a greedy bastard, aren't I? By the by, I watched an episode of Dragonball Z on Cartoon Network today and I've got to say, it stuns me how much time they spent accomplishing virtually nothing there. There were lots of dramatic poses and clenched teeth and threats, but I could probably synopsize the entire episode, without omission, in about four sentences. Now I see why it's nicknamed Drag-On Ball... Besides that, it's been a fairly slow day here. Not much to babble about, and a few corrections to be dealt with, so I guess we'll just get into the letters. The importance of feedbackHello again and again Agent, I know your right, the various companies do sell what brings in themoney. On another note, the majority of the people that buy the gamesare the ones that have opinions on them. The few people I know that havegripes about Final Fantasy 7 went out, bought it, played it through, and-then- developed some distaste for aspects of it. Their feedback wasvery directed and really logical: constant battles, overused summons,easy game, etc. (You, I, and most the gaming public know the ones.)Some, not all, sent letter/signed petions/and generally tried to getSquare to notice their opinions. Now look at the development in Final Fantasy 8. Harder battles, less(or if you consider how rarer it has become, more) stress on magic,better CGI, etc. The game evolved, changed, and some (once again notall) of the player's issues were addressed. That's how games grow andkeep their user base. Just look at Tales of Phantasia: Better world map,more control over the battles, and so on. That show real signs ofimprovement due to gamer feedback. Feedback is very important to how themarket develops. As for the issue of American gamers gaining more RPGs, there issomething important. Sales = Opinion. If the gamers aren't satisfied,the game isn't bought. Square would hate to loose their loyal fan basein America, it brings in money. Some actions are worth the risks (LikeSquare's moving to Playstation.), were the gain out weigh the losses. Istill hold that RPG could do better, if there was a better selection. Wehave a small handful of titles that are even worth buying. (GrandstreamSaga & Beyond the Beyond just scare me..ick.) We need more of a voice togenerate more popularity, and directly sales for more such titles. BTW: As for Star Ocean: Second Story. I got to see some of it andhear about the rest. From what little I know: I want it. But, then againI had contacts that could generate my interest. (Not everyone hasthat...pity, but true.) My frustration for no news on the game comefrom a larger source, my distaste for lack of titles. I'm just using onegame as an example. Sorry. Joe "Then again..." Meyer meyer@digital.net | |
Your point on giving feedback is taken; I'm a hard-bitten cynic, which means that I tend to downplay the importance of friendly advice and letters, in favour of the power of the dollar in changing opinions and situations. But they do have those customer service response cards there for a reason, especially so in the case of the smaller companies, so it is worthwhile to send important comments to developers. Make your voice heard and all that. As for the lack of RPGs, well, on one hand I can honestly say that it's a damn sight better than we've seen in years. We've got a bit of a rush coming this spring, and with any luck, we'll see more in the fall. It's not all I could hope for, but y'know, some people are getting frustrated that they can't afford, or spare the time to play all the RPGs that are out and coming out. Maybe we're just greedy, and we've got more than enough games out and coming. | In the trenches | Dear Allan, I must say that Lunar:Eternal Blue has the best fighting system of all the games. It involves a mix of strategy ( sorta ) and funny characters and the usual RPG battle sequence. Cuz you can dodge some enemy attacks by defending which lets you move backwards, thus blocking some zones enemy attacks, also the distance matters as well, because the closer you are, the more attacks you usually get. Also, lets not forget, Ruby iz always there as a finisher-offer. Thus, once again, Lunar whips supremo ass. P.S. It seems that many objects of discussion take up a lot of the letters column each day ( Subs vs Dubs, Sega Bashing, etc. etc. ), so maybe you should start a Topic of the Week ( you can play around with the name ) section, maybe having it separate, ala Deep Thoughts. ( Great idea by the way, whoever thought it up ) Kevin " I'm getting better...honest " Strange |
Woo! Lunar's battle system, especially with the upgrades in EB, was indeed excellent. Traditionally styled, but the movement aspect added some new complications and strategy to them, without it getting overly complex at any time. As for the distinct section for topics... eh, no, I don't think so. I build columns around the topic du jour, and I'd have to work doubly hard to handle having a regular column AND a hot topic section. | All hail... someone | Well, I wanted to answer your questions. My favorite combat is, of course, turn based. Not like the old-time, Final Fantasy type, where you choose your attack, then the whole thing goes like some D&D battle. I mean the later type with the timer system, uh, with the bar and stuff. You know what I'm saying? I'm sorry to say that while I love the turn based battle engines of more traditional RPG's, with my short attention span, I'm more the action/RPG gamer. And it's only my opinion, and the terminology gets all screwed up with this, but I wouldn't consider Zelda or any game with its style of game play RPG in any sort. I myself like to call them "Adventure" games. But that's me... Ok, now for a few questions. 1)Is it just me, or does anyone else out there consider Castlevania: Symphony of the Night to have the best damn video game soundtrack out there? And anyone who disagrees that The Tragic Prince is quality music, well, I never know how to end these statements... 2)Why do all GBC games, or at least remakes for the GBC, have a "DX" succeeding the title? 3)Um, maybe this is a bit late, but I tried earlier, and it didn't work, but anyway...On question #70 on the 100 question letter, I have a complaint. If you look in Final Fantasy's (the first) manual, it clearly states the situation about houses and cabins: They are magical, and they are small enough to fit 99 in your pocket. When you need to use one, they magically grow to normal size, thus providing shelter. Yes, it's a bit vague, but it was put there as if Square didn't want anyone questioning it, and I hate it when people question things when it is implied not to inquire. Well, that's about it. Tic-Tac |
1. Castlevania: SotN had gorgeous music. The best ever? Well, I think other games give it a solid run for its money, but it's a classic soundtrack to a classic game. Moody as hell, thrashes when it should, plays it soft when the time is right... great stuff. 2. DX = DeluXe (thanks to Fritz Fraundorf for pointing that out to me). 3. Well, um, okay. | FFVII Demo comparison | Reading that report on the changes between the FFVIII demo and the full gameintrigued me - I haven't been a really avid RPG player until recently, anddidn't have regular access to a PSX until about 6 months ago (silly foolbought a Saturn, see) - hence I missed the origional FFVII demo. Can yousate my curiosity and tell me the differences between the Demo and the FullGame? BTW, there is a university course on Computer Games Technologies at theUniversity of Abertay Dundee, Scotland. It's sponsored by DMA Design(Lemmings, GTA) and VIS Interactive and is a three year course. Scotty - 298sjs@tay.ac.uk |
The FF7 demo was essentially the beginning of the game. The graphics weren't quite as refined, though, and the battle music was tweaked slightly for the final release. More importantly, Aeris (Aerith in the US demo) was in the party instead of Tifa, and she had Leviathan materia equipped. You're also higher level than you are in the final version, so getting defeated is basically impossible. | D'oh! | Two quick things (maybe...): One: The necklace that Fei and Elly share during Xenogears is actually thesymbol for the church located in Nisan. Remember that picture of *she-who-appears-to-be-Elly*? In that room, a small shaft of light is coming in. Guesswhat? That light is shaped as the necklace. So there you go. Two: I'm not entirely certain yet... but I don't think Madonna should playANY part in the PE movie. Not saying anything bad about Madonna, mind you...it's just... well... she doesn't seem to fit anyone in the cast... Oh well, Ican't really say that I was that hyped about the movie anyway.... That'll do Pig. That'll do. Ellipsis Knight |
AAAAAAUGH! I should have remember that link between the necklace design and Nisan. I should have. Dammit. Good correction, bad me. | Looking into it | I think you should change your web page, so that clients like use can start downloading files. If it is too long than the person can start later. For the people who have Go!Zilla or any other program like it. This would help a lot of users. Thank You kweber@netreach.net |
At least two others have written in to ask about this, and it makes sense, so I'll see what we can do about implementing such a thing. Stay tuned. | Where's Fritz? | Ohaiyo, Allan-kun! That's my obligatory Nihon-go greeting, now let's get down to business. 1. Is Fritz Fraundorf (sic) still on the GIA staff? I haven't seen anythingon the page accredited to him yet, and so was kinda worried about that. 2. How precisely do you manage to get in touch with your interviewees? I'vealways imagined people as prestigous as Steve Gray wouldn't take off time todo interviews, but I guess that's not the case. 3. The Pong guy is none other than Nolan Bushnell, one of the "father's ofgaming," and founder of Atari. 4. Hey, I've gotta actual gameplay question for you! Just how many troopsdo you have to have to beat Milich Oppenhiemer's army after Gremio's death?(Genso Suidoden) Gotta go, bye! The Otaku Entone |
1. Fritz is working away like a good little slave. We have him chained in the GIA Work Pit, slaving away at upcoming game coverage and news. You've seen his work already. You just didn't realize it. 2. Well, mostly, we call up the company we want to interview, say "Hi, we're the GIA, and we want to interview you," and they fall over themselves to set up a time and place for the Q&A period. When we talk, people listen. 4. I had about 11000 troops by that point. Shortly before Gremio was offed, I hunted down all the Stars I could. That was enough to pound Milich but good. It can probably be done with still fewer, but I've only finished the game once, and most FAQs I read seem to advise having upwards of 13000 troops. | General information post | heres some stuff you probabaly didnt know GoGo, the gogos are a traveling caravan peoples in the east, they coverthemselves in sheets and stuff, and imitate other cultures that they meet so'sto fit in better. Beowulf was a nordic folk hero, whos friend was a woman named reis, who wasturned into a dragon by an evil wizard dude for some reason, a huge arse beastkidnapped the dragon and beowulf killed beast and used its blood to change herback. QuetzlCoatl was an indian spirit who (I think) helped induce visions, andspirit in people, he often appeared in the form of long necked bird, or anattractive young man. Deep Dungeon was based after squares pc (or was it famicom) rpg of the samename, which was considered to be the true first final fantasy, as it felt likethe marsh cave over and over again. There was some more but I forgot it. Edge Morpheus, the nine bladed knife |
Well then. There it is. Closing comments Again, not a whole lot to add. More of an informational post kinda day than a down and dirty debate one. Diversity is Good. - The Double Agent | | | |
