Hoopty. Not much to say, not much needs be said. Let's get straight into it. | Not totally done with puzzles | Waddup AM- For some reason, lately I've been hearing loads about a game called Super Puzzle Fighter 2 Turbo (or something along those lines)... so of course all this hoopla forced me to research the crap out of the game, via the Internet, and I'm proud to say I know a hell of a lot about it despite never actually having played it. So anyway, three questions: 1. Was there ever just a game called "Puzzle Fighter", or did Capcom go straight for the prefix- and suffix-overload when naming SPF2T? |
No, they just launched right into the full title, as a joke about their own, nasty habit of revising games and releasing them with increasingly long, silly names. They're poking funat themselves. 2. I recently played an old Genesis game called "Puyo", and from what I've seen from SPF2T, the two games are exactly the same. Can you comment on the differences, assuming there are any? |
I haven't played Puyo in eons, but assuming you're right about the gameplay, the differences are as follow: SPF2T has, during each and every match, two superdeformed characters, selected before you play. They're drawn from Capcom's library of fighting game characters, like Morrigan and Dan. During the match, each time you clear a certain number of blocks, your character will perform an attack on the other. A few blocks unleashes a taunt, or a minor swipe. Get a chain reaction of Power Gems (groups of blocks of the same color, arranged in a rectangular mass of 2x2 dimensions or more), and you Combo your opponent savagely. And hilariously. 3. This is unrelated, but... any word on Seiken 4 reaching the states yet? Thanks a load, -Capheine |
No word on Seiken 4 seeing US release. Trust me, if we had any word, it'd be the top story. In big letters. | ESRB accuracy inspection | Howdy. I think that the ESRB, although almost totally ineffective, is definitely necessary. As I've said before, no one should ever buy a game without knowing what the contents are, and parents should be given a way to control the content that their children see. So, how can the ESRB be improved? Well, they have to do more descriptive and more intelligent ratings. For example, Final Fantasy VII's ESRB advisory doesn't even mention the cross-dressing and the Honey Bee Inn, or Don Corneo. I doubt anyone could play through Final Fantasy VII and not notice those things. My guess is that they more often than not simply call the game developers and ask them about the game's content. They need to get people to actually play each game. There have also been cases where they have changed the rating of a game after it has been released. I've seen both Mature and Teen rated versions of Starcraft, for example. I would suggest that aside from the skimpy information on the back of each game, the ESRB should also publish information sheets on each game, which go in depth on the content of the game. These could be shipped with the game to retailaers, and be easilly accessible wherever games are sold. Right now the only way to find out any information beyond the often misleading ESRB rating info is to ask people who have played it or read reviews. The ESRB also needs to expand their criteria a little, with games like Xenogears getting rated Teen for "Animated Blood, Mild Language, and Suggestive Themes", while the most objectionable thing about it is the religious content, which no parent would know about unless they played the game, read reviews, or their kids told them. As for parents letting their kids buy games like Turok 2, that does very much sadden me, be it is not something that the rating companies can change. I have also heard of parents bringing their seven ear old kids with them to see Scream or Titanic. While that is simply wrong, it is not the part of a ratings organization to change that, much as it disgusts me. A rating organization's job is to effectively inform anyone interested in a game of its contents so that everyone knows exactly what they are buying. -Arpad Korossy |
Fair enough, fair enough. And you're right, I'm sure we've all seen at least one occasion where the ESRB rating is pretty out in left field. Being nineteen and pretty mentally stable, outside of this column at least, I haven't paid as much attention to the ratings as perhaps I should. Maybe the ESRB should be receiving mail, criticizing their substandard, slapdash approach. A respectable ratings system makes the whole industry look more respectable, in my view. | FF6 Piano Collections | Do you know of any stores that would carry FF6 Piano Collections? I've checked virtually every soundtrack store online, and I'm running out places to look. Any help you could offer would be greatly appreciated. |
Erm. See, last time I went looking for this title, I found it at gamemusic.com. But it's now out of stock there, so my suggestion is to hit the eBay circuit. You'd be surprised at how often really cool items can be found pretty cheap there. It's not currently there; cheap copies of the piano scores to I-IV are, though. I'd expect to pay upwards of forty bucks for it, though. Beyond eBay, most of the game music stores I've spoken to would love to carry the Piano Collections, but sell out of them very, very fast. | Privacy issues | Allen, Hey why don't you post people's e-mail adresses? That way we allcould send hate-mail to that bastard eggman!!!!!! spoondady isitadragon@hotmail.com What?What?I'm not afraid |
Unless specifically told otherwise, I leave email addresses off letters as a matter of courtesy. Not everyone is comfortable receiving response, especially really angry response, on the basis of one letter they wrote in. Having your email address up makes it available for people to mail until the DA Archives go down, and not everyone is keen on that. And hey, sometimes some anonymity is nice, y'know? | News PSXes and the Deep Thought | Hey Allan, That was a pretty informative deep thought you posted, but I was wonderingif recent purchasers of new PSX's need to worry about that problem. I gotmy PSX for X-mas, and if it'll keep the thing from breaking I'll turn iton it's side in a heartbeat. But if I don't need to, I don't want to.So, do you know if they make 'em better now so I can rest easy during myfour hours of Xenogears? Nation |
To my knowledge, newer PSXes are less likely to suffer the errors that the Deep Thought outlines. It couldn't hurt to rest them on their sides, just in case, but by and large, you needn't worry too much. Myself, I bought my PSX when Vandal Hearts was released, and it only broke down about three months ago. Considering the hell it was put through in the meantime, that's not bad at all. So don't fret. | The funny bones | Congrats, Sebbie! Bastard o' the week! You're up there with the awesome masters of smack-laying like the Space Moose himself, Adam Thrasher ( www.spacemoose.com . I always knew you had it in you, boyo. Anyhoo, about humourous RPGs. I have only one word to say in regards to who could be crazy enough to attempt it. Difficult plot? Braod humourous tastes? Oodles of laughable material? Who could do it? One word, my friend: Lucasarts. Need I point out Sam and Max? Or Monkey Island? I didn't think so. As for Drew, well... he's certainly more blunt than you are. While you seemed to gradually develop that chip that sids solidly on your shoulder (though I know damn well it existed before this column), your boy opened with guns a-blazing. Perhaps he should relax a little; hit a pillow, beat up his cat, take the next train to Prozac, something like that. Perceptive fellow, though. Just not subtle. We like subtle. Oh, one other thing. Not that I think you need the help, but if the trolls are ever beating too heavily on your door, you know we've got your back. By my guess, you might have a whole army of flamers eagerly awaiting some fresh meat. Me included. -- Rum |
Hey, Rum. Thanks for the comments generally, but especially so for mentioning Sam 'n Max. I've gotta check and see if there's been a Sam 'n Max for any console. Even an old, useless one like the 3D0 would be fine. Any excuse to Vault that game would be fought over to the death by at least AV and I. In other notes, someone pointed out that Popful Mail for Sega CD, translated by WD, was pretty damn funny. Yeah, it's probably the most clear-cut comedy game on a console. | Snapshots (Metal Gear Solid Spoilers) | Why is it that you can face and army of zombies, mutants and watching your friends be killed one by one, yet you cant go outside to face 1 dog?(resident evil) |
A dog ate your kid brother, back when you were only four years old. A real mean chihuahua with an extra toe. Nasty thing. Ever since, no matter what the alternative, you just can't bring yourself to face up to a canine. Or eat at Taco Bell. After you leave terrorists hideout, what happens to the other terrorists?(metal gear solid) |
They all drop their equipment and have an orgy. Why do you kill liquid in every way possible, but he dies of a heart attack ant the end?? (* blown up twice (hind,metal gear), beaten up and thrown off metal gear, shot with automatic weapons, car crash. ) (metal gear solid) |
All the cholesterol just caught up with him, I guess. A heart attack is generally the death suffered by any villain who the hero won't kill because he's too heroic and upright to do so - this happened to a few of Spider-Man's villains. It seems out of place in Metal Gear Solid, but hey, resilient as Liquid proved to be, it was his poor diet that did him in. Why did the shopkeeper bother locking the door? Evan then, why didn't he lock the door before you came in? (resident evil 2) |
Because he's an idiot and a fool. Why dosnt Cid ever loose his cigarette? Is it nailed there or something?(FF7) |
It's actually a horrible, agonizing growth that Cid generally doesn't like to talk about, so he painted most of it white, and tries to pass it off as a cigarette. It pains him immensely, each time he opens and closes his mouth, but that's the life of a tough guy with a deformity. If the bad guys have huge armies then why dont they bring them all down on you at once?(most RPG's) |
Because they don't read the Handbook for Evil Overlords. Why cant you punch annoying characters in the face? (e.g..Pokey and his entire extended family except Picky, Mido ect.) |
Because that wouldn't be neighbourly, would it? Where is Mr. Saturn's stomach?(earthbound) |
He doesn't need one anymore. He now survives entirely by sucking in air, and extracting vital minerals that way. He then expels the cleansed air through a tiny hole in his back. Why is Cid in every FF game? RSVP Pezz Master T |
Compromising photos of Sakaguchi and a moogle.
Closing comments Life is good, life is bubblicious, life is short, so I'll keep this brief. Kool Aid Man still rocks. Joey asked Great Googily Moogily means. I don't know, but it sounds very cool, so I use the phrase as often as I can. And lots of people asked where they can buy Final Fantasy Symphonic Suite. To which I say Ha Ha are you joking? FFSS is hard as squid teeth to find. If you really can't live your life without having it, make sure you've named your next of kin. And that's all for today. - Allan Milligan | | | |
