Let's take a peer through the goggles, shall we? After a slightly... okay, a complete manic column last night, which was not inspired by the use of any sort of narcotic or drug, unless you count the Tylenol I took, things are a bit more serious today. I even have a few facts in this column. And opinions, of course. I don't think I say anything controversial today, but then again, my ability to discern between a "hot" and a "cold" column has proven suspect in the past, so I make no promises that you won't be pissed off and ready to spread my skull across a nearby football field by the time you hit my closing comments. Oddly enough, to me at least, only one person had anything to say about the design drawings we posted up last night. After all the debate and argument about FF needing to return to its fantasy roots, I was surprised to see indications that such a thing was happening went uncommented-on. I didn't even get people writing to say "those are fake, you liars and rumor-mongering bastards you." Dead silence. My guess is that they're designs for a FF1 revamp (there's a Garland design among them, for pete's sake), but that's only a hunch. Lastly, crossing over a bit from the RPG realm, DC comics recently announced that there will be a new project by Neil Gaiman, entitled Sandman: The Dream Hunters, released as a hardcover graphic novel sometime within the year. So why, you may wonder, does this matter? Well, the artist is one who did a Sandman poster earlier this year. A man a few of you may have heard about... Yoshitaka Amano. As a die-hard Sandman fanatic, and an Amano lover, this is a wet dream of the greatest magnitude for yours truly, and several other staffers. Damn, that book's going to rock. | Community section is for stupid people with bad dental hygiene | Hey Allan, heard about the hand. bummer. Soooo.. how exacly DID you hurt it, hmm? Extra curicular activities? ha ha. Okay, ill stop now, because Id like to to post this. ALright, first off, I think Tactics goes beyond what we normally get to do in an RPG, in that you can walk around durring battle, to an extent. of course, you sacrifice the ability to walk in towns and go exploring, and waste time, and play mini games as you can in a normal RPG, but it makes every battle unique! in not one other RPG that Ive played (well, except for kartia and, oh whats that other game, I don't know, that watered down version of tactics thing. Anyway, they're all Tactics wanabes) is every battle you fight a truely uniqe one. We should apreciate that. It makes for a good waste of time through tons of random battles, each of them being quite fun, and did I say unique? Unique. there, I said it again. Voice acting can be done well. Text can be done better. both together, or by choice between the two, could be a great thing. Hell, they all could, it just depends on the company making it happen. First off, if your going to ask what would RE2 be like without voice acting, there's a simple answer. Look to its closest comparison that doesn't use voice acting to get a message acrost or tell the story: Parasite Eve. Short but ever so sweet, it seems torn from the same cloth as the RE series, but has its own twists (as square is famous for). how this game gets its message acrost for mood is all in the character choriography, something that both REs had a very bad job of doing, on top of the VERY bad voice acting, mainly on RE1s part. But like I said, It all depends on the company making it happen. Non linearity has its advantages, but has gotten a bad rap from games like SaGa Frontier (why do the capitalize the G?). It could be done easily, or with a bit of creative slickness, to pull it off right, but still have main focus points that the character has to go through, like having to dring the drugged tea as said yesterday. Don't let SaGa frontier give you an impression of what non-linearity is like, it can be done well, and without carrying the game on over twenty CD's. No ones done it yet, but I think it could be pulled off quite well by someone..... Okay, thats all I have to rant about today, so thanks secret agent man for lending me your super secret agent ear (Mmm-M, A-1 ear sauce, anyone?) - John Smith |
I'll leave the first two pieces be, since we've covered this ground pretty throughly over the past few days. Which leaves subject number three, that of non-linearity. In that realm, I do confess some bitterness at how thoroughly SaGa Frontier botched it, giving freedom but very little excitement to explore. However, I stand behind my assessment that a story-heavy non-linear RPG is a pipe dream. There are non-linear RPGs on the market right this moment; in many respects, I'd be inclined to describe Moria, NetHack, and roguelike games of all stripes to be highly nonlinear. It gives you a world (a dungeon, usually) and sets you loose, to do almost anything you want. But the cost of freedom of play is drama and story. No game engine simply can account for all the possible actions and reactions of a world of characters on the fly like a real-life RPG GM can. All social interactions in RPGs are, to a great extent, created in advance by the programmers and writers of the game, and that results in railroading of response and development. Let's take an example. Imagine that Square rebuilds FFIV as a non-linear quest. In the original game, you are lectured by the king and Baigan, and sent off on the trip to the village of Mist. In the nonlinear version, you don't need to do that. You could ditch the package. You could come out of the closet and start a sexual relationship with Kain. You could quit the Baronian army and marry Rosa. You could become a stripper. A bartender. A junkie. You could write a sarcastic, inflammatory column for the Baron newspaper. Now, put yourself in the programmer's place. Predict everything the player can do. Write dialogue and game data that will allow it. Kinda hard, isn't it? That's why nonlinearity is such a bitch: it lets the player do whatever they want. And the programmers have to be ready for it. | Enix RPGs on parade | You are a masochist. There is no other explanation for printing thingslike the Michael Flatley letters. Really, there isn't. Do you WANT theentire mailbox to be filled with half-witted llama letters like before?DO YOU? Bleh. By the way, since you want DQ letters, I've played thefour American translations, and that's it. I like them all, and I stillthink DQ4 has a better plot than many SNES games. I really felt sorryfor Saro. Of course, it was way too goddamned easy, partly because ofthis one room where you could find metal babbles every third fight, andbecause of the fact that it was too simple to make ridiculous amounts ofmoney in the casino, but then, DQ3 required a downright insulting amountof level-ups in some parts, so...nyeh. Such is life. At any rate, 3 willnever be my favorite despite how much I like building up super-powerfulcharacters in it, for the simple reason that I have problems with gameswith generic, faceless heroes, which all "choose a job" games except FF5seem to have. Yucky. And for teh record, I liked Seventh Saga. It had nomore leve-upping than some of the Dragon Quests, it had good graphics,relatively cool stuff to do, and really good music. The music really wasthe best part of the game, but I suppose if myusic made a game goodLagoon would be the greatest RPG classic of all time. And it's, uh, not. |
If it's any consolation, Dragon Quest VI has "named" characters in your party with personalities and subplots, who can also be developed with class-changing with a great deal of flexibility. Similar to FF5, except it doesn't have Kururu in it, which makes me very happy indeed. Actually, the class change system in DQVI is quite excellent, and one of the best features of it. Leaving aside the 7th Saga comments (I don't think I need to rant on that topic yet again...), I agree that music is not the only important thing in a game. Of course, it doesn't hurt. Much of the popularity that the Ys series enjoys in Japan ties into the music, which is totally unlike any other RPG on the market, and gives it a very distinctive edge and atmosphere. Good music can't polish a turd, but it can take a chunk of granite and make art out of it. (Man, I'm mixing my metaphors today, aren't I?) Of course, the fact that the Ys boss battle songs universally kick ass doesn't hurt, either. | Something in the water | 'cause your crazy just like the rest of us. So comments on last nights letters. 1. Edge is really smart, I want to be smart like him, because I'll get the chicks that way. How about this Edge... Music is ... .Music and when it sounds good it sounds good... Midi music sucks 'cause is doesn't sound good... Cd music is good 'cause is sounds good... 'nough Said. |
Midi music can be extremely well-done, and vice versa. I think midi music has some severe limitations (it can't do jazz or blues worth a damn), but given the orchestral and techno leanings of many game music composers, it serves the industry well. I mean, I don't know about you, but I thought Suikoden sounded just godly, and it was all midi. And lord knows I own enough CDs to say with absolute certainty that CD music can sound very bad indeed. Basically, I think it all boils down to the talent of the musician in questions, not the medium. 2. Ohh please send me you're email address B 'cause my last girlfriend left me for FFvii (She thought Sephiroth was hot) Oh we have so many large, warm, round things to talk about. |
About ten people wrote in to ask for B's phone number and/or email address. Oy. 3. Dragon Quest is unfortunately not a common household game here in the ol' Us of A, because.. heck we're a bunch of rednecks, and if they don't sell it at Walmart we'll probably never see it.. know what ah mean Vern. (i'm not bashing DQ, but simply explicating the reason poor Alan gets so few letters for his juego favorito.) |
It's ALLAN, dammit. Not Alan. Ahem. Anyhow, I'm afraid you're right. Dragon Quest is naturally better known by the Dragon Warrior name in the US, and moreover, it's been years since it's been seen outside of Japan. So I guess it stands to reason that not many of my readers would have DQ opinions. I can't blame you guys. It's the system, dammit. 4. PSX2 will not be a pipedream you commie, because... because.... well just because.. Ask Edge for the technical reasons.. |
A compelling argument indeed. 5. Isn't Michael Flatley the gay guy who was in "Lord of the Dance" maybe you should just stake out the local theatre to find Grandma and the elusive oven mitt. Hey wow this would make a great RPG. "ALAN MILLIGAN AND THE GAY THEATRE OF DOOM". You could have sidekick Crappit (or crabbit whichever you prefer) and you're special attack would be pencil lashings or game bashing return letters. I'd go to Walmart to buy Alan, you write the script I'll take care of the PCMI Redbook wanna hump hump bar music, with some assistance from Edge of course. |
Man, Edge gets around, doesn't he? In any case, I take offense at the implication that I would ever attend a Lord of the Dance concert. I'd rather be the floor used by the Riverdance crew than ever sit in the audience to watch Flatley and his cronies, thank you kindly. The man's got no class, no style, no sophistication. Too bad Gene Kelly's dead - he'd beat that poseur but good, he would. And I go to gay bars, not gay theatres. 6. And the final closing comment is on your final closining comment, that Pez are the secret tool of the aliens on Xfiles to create a human hybrid that will aid in the destruction of the human race. They've been working on the project for a zillion years (or whenever pez was created) and they just haven't found the right dispenser yet. (They couldn't seem to get the female legs dispenser or the dead cow dispenser idea on the Market, not for lack of trying. |
Another letter-writer suggested that "adult" Pez dispensers be produced. Pamela Lee, Catherine Zeta-Jones, etc.-style Pez dispensers. It's a kinky little idea, but frankly, I think this is one place where perversity and titillation simply have no place. Something's gotta remain pure, and by gum, let it be Pez. As for the rest of your ranting, well, I'm afraid that I don't like the X-Files, so I'll have to just smile blankly and nod. 7. Did you catch that dead cow bit.. hahah. Piano Man - insane in the membrane, insane in brain. |
... a dead cow dispenser. Man. Imagine how that'd go over in Calcutta... | Dragon Quest VI! Woo! | Recently, I've been playing Dragon Quest 6, and I have to say I'vegotten a great deal of enjoyment from it. Oh, it's not perfect; thestory line is hardly epic, your characters are so small that you canbarely make them out, and the plot mainly consists of "enter new dungeonto kill boss, which gets you item you need to go to new area" orvariations of same. Nonetheless, there's something... solid about thegame. You don't play DQ looking for the massive plots and detailedcharacters of other RPGs; DQ is about Traditional Gaming, and lots ofit. DQ6, in this respect, is not far removed from DQ1, but this is notto say it is primitive. It is, simply, a combat and stat driven RPG,and none the worse for it. Compared to, say, Tales of Phantasia, whoseopening was so predictable I found myself muttering "okay, what's reallygoing on" as I worked my way through it, Dragon Quest doesn't pretend totread new ground in this: rather than creating an 'interactive movie',DQ aims at bringing gamers the simple pleasures of hunting down MetalBabbles, leveling up to get spells like "Merazoma" and "Iora", and doingbattle with the oh-so predictable Daimaou. What does all this mean? Well, RPGs have grown to the point where they contain many differenttypes of games. You can have your Tactics Ogre, your Final Fantasy 8,and your Dragon Quest 6, your Suikoden and your Xenogears. The stylesand mechanics of each game are different-different enough that we canenjoy them all without looking down upon the others. That's why I likeDragon Quest 6; it's an excellent game, and it fills a specific niche inmy hunger for RPGs. --Jason |
Amen to that. You're a gamer after my own heart, Jason. Diversity in gaming, and life in general, is a beautiful thing, and that's what I treasure most about the expansion of the RPG market in recent years. Not simply the wider public recognition and the greater volume of games available, but the diversity of style and intent that comes with it. Granted, things are still a little homogenous, with a lot of resistance to the prospect of expanding outside the high fantasy stylings of early RPGs, but we're inching towards an untouched ocean of styles and settings for RPGs, and it's nice to see the light dawning over the waves. Props to you for enjoying DQVI for what it is, and for recognizing that it fills a niche, much as others fill other niches. No one game is all things to all people. But it can be damned good, and that's what counts. | Downfall of a Square fanatic | Heya, Last semester, I got straight A's with three AP classes. I was even doingwell in the beginning of the second semester. And then Final Fantasy 8 cameout. My grades started to dropped (or just dropped), and what I once was inCalculus, Physics, and Econonmics, I was no longer. Wahhh... In fact, theonly thing I study now is Japanese... you know why, heh heh. Anyway, I justcan't figure out why Square decides that September is a hot time of year torelease games (only one I can think of is Christmas, which is some monthsoff). Aside from the devoted Square geeks who will get the games on theirrelease date, wouldn't the sales in the first few months of releaseincrease if those first few months were in the summer? Ahh well, as long asthey release the games eventually, then I'm happy. School always comesbefore Square. Who needs Physics anyway... Oh, I guess this is a somewhat long letter, so you'll be wanting some talkabout Dragon Warrior, huh... Err, the Zenithian Sword in the fourth onekinda made the killing of metal babbles very easy and less satisfying(Still very satisfying... just a little less). And the Dragon Warriorinstructions were some of the best around, with the monster charts, itemlists, spell lists, and maps... Oh, and I promise once I learn a littlemore Japanese, I'll get Dragon Quest 7 and email you again, ok? Heh... a former nerd, who is now just a geek P.S. Oh yeah, what college are you planning to go to? If you're going toU.C. Berkeley, then I'll see you there! (Actually, I got rejected. StupidFinal Fantasy 7...) |
You see, kids, that video games can ruin your life if you decide that they're more important than an education. Tsk tsk. Very sad. I won't be seeing you at U.C. Berkely, mainly because I'm Canadian, and can ill afford to move to another country and study. My university choice isn't final yet, as I'm still waiting for admission responses from two or three. When I make my pick, I'll mention it in the column, all right? As for why game companies launch in September, well, I'm a little fuzzy on that, to be honest. November launches make perfect sense - decent shelf life, and set up perfectly to take advantage of the Christmas season rush. But September? Anyone with significant marketing knowledge care to fill me in? | FF Collection mutterings and natterings | first off i want to praise your site for delivering the info i crave. second,i have questions. will the games in the final fantasy collection still havetheir original endings? please say yes. i loved the original endings and ihope they arent completely replaced with cg graghics, it is enough to make mewanna cry. and lastly, just what the hell was cloud doing in two of thedrawings for the mysterious final fantasy game you showed, truth be told, IHATE CLOUD STRIFE. anyway, thanks for taking your time with this letter andplease respond soon. a friend, christian p.s. i vacationed in dartmouth and halifax this past summer and had a blast, iwas wondering if you lived in canada. thanks again. |
Okay, apparently there are only three FMV sequences in the FF Collection version of FF6. The opening, the ending, and the "Opera" one, which is unlocked in the Omake mode once you complete the game once. Anyhow, the FMV sequences are in addition to the original game sequences, so fear not. All is ginchy. For those that asked, GIA does not currently have the FF4 and FF5 FMV sequences on its servers, and the one place we know that did have it has been collapsed. And I remind people more often than I really intend, I am indeed Canadian. I'm an Ottawa resident, to be exact. Anyone that shows up on my doorstep as a surprise visitor can and will be used as a practice dummy for my trained Siberian tiger, Mister Muffin. Be warned. | What Allan likes | hi do you like dennis millar i noticed you used his old joke 1-800-lactose from cap1 |
I'm a Dennis Miller fanatic, and make no bones about it. Really, I model myself a great deal after him. I'm politically aware (though it seldom comes through in this column), I'm a snarky, sarcastic bastard, I've got a high-pitched laugh, can be self-deprecating with the best of them, and most of all, I rant at the drop of a hat. Any hat. Even those little round navy ones with the flat tops that look vaguely like bottlecaps. God, those are ugly things. Now, I don't want to get off on a rant here, but headwear is... Whoops. Sorry. My Dennis Miller homage nearly strayed into the Puff Daddy realm there. Not a good thing. Anyhow, good eye spotting my injoke reference to one of my heroes. | A very special guest | Hello. I am a snoot. My body is covered in fuzzy pink fur, and I chirp when I am wet. If you rubmy ears, I dance. ~Shawners |
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Mister Dennis Rodman.
Closing comments Like I said, a more serious column tonight. My madness comes and goes in spurts, it seems. Wacky wacky stuff, says I. I think that'll do for one night, so g'night everyone, and have pleasant dreams while they last. - The Double Agent | | | |
