i first oof would like to say that your probably the coolest man on the face of the planet (not counting anyone that works for squaresoft).

But dissing Brainlord???? You really need to lay off the pixy-sticks.

I rent (and beat, not to brag) all of my rpg's. I usually buy the god ones, and of course have to buy all the imports. But after spending only a week on FF6, i was really disapointed (although it's one of the best of all time). I found Brainlord by accedent, wanting to rent another game, but getting the wrong one. No game has EVER had a challenge like that. I went through 3 controlers trying to beat that damn thing (throwing them and smashing 'em, etc....)

Yes, i admit, the SLIGHTLY overloaded on the puzzles, but how could you not like something that made you work at EVERY doungeon?? Most rpg's have there chalenges, but many parts can be walked through with ease. I spent so many hours on that game, i bought stock in caffne pills.

So, play lolo, have no respect fo rthe all-time bad-ass puzzle rpg. Then again, was Final fantasy mistic quest tough for you too???

- GameMstr25

I ask of you a question, a query handed down by gnarled hands through theraging waters of time. A question that has stumped humanity at every turn,one that not even the most brillant of man can answer. And so I have cometo you, the frighteningly intelligent Double Agent. No task is tooinsurmountable for you, O Great and Wise Double Agent, so it is only youwho can solve the final question of the universe...

Why do hot dogs come in packages of eight, and hot dog buns come inpackages of six?

- A hallucenigenic jaywalker that shuffles mindlessly through the alleywaysof Planet Xaxxon

I've had this crazy idea about using the mini-disk technology in a portable game system. Sony has already gotten them to equal the CD storage capacity, and they are extremely popular in Japan. I know you can't do anything, but I just like to get my crazy ideas out there so somebody may build one. If it did get built...RPG makers would probably make lots of games for it...well anyway that's just a dream...I hope someday I can use these crazy ideas of mine....

Shadow_Hunter

Hey kiddies, here's a fun way to get any music from any video gameonto your comp! As long as you have a small amount of technical knowledgeand about $5, you should have no problems.

You'll need the following stuff:

- A decent speed computer, with a sound recorder and Wave to MP3 program.

- A console/TV, in the same room as the computer

- A patch cable from Radio Shack. The specific type you need [write thisdown]is a female phono plug to male computer plug chord. One end will have twoplugs matching those in the back or your TV, while the other end willlook like theend of a speaker wire, or pair of headphones. If all else fails, bringalong a pairof headphones and the AV cables from your console to check. Try not togigglelike schoolgirl when asking for it.

Step 1: Use a watch to find out how long the song is. Open up yoursound recording program, and make a new wave file. In most cases, thedefaultlength will be 60 seconds, which is never quite enough time. For theWindowssound recorder, keep moving the slider to the end of the file and hittingrecordto increase the file's length until the thing is the right amount oftime.

Step 2: Plug the audio cables [Red and white] from the into the patch chord. Stick the other end into the microphone jack of your computer'ssoundcard. Take the video cable [Yellow] and stick it into the matching portin the backof the TV.

Step 3: Turn on the console. Get to whatever point in the game at whichthe music you want starts playing. Hit the record button in the program afewseconds before it starts, given it will probably take a few seconds forit to get going.Stop when done.

Step 4: If you've got some kind of crazy software that allows you tofiltersounds, have at it. Pull out any slight hissing, or such. Then run thewave throughyour MP3 making program. And that's it.

NOTE: The wave file can take up to 100 megs of space, and if you try to listen to it before converting it to MP3, then your system will mostlikely go to a crawl for a half hour while it loads, if it doesn't crash first. If theend result is reallypoor, with heavy crackling during any loud parts of the music, then youneed toturn the recording volume down.

Confused? Me too. Feel free to mail me for assistance/clarification.

- Max

DISCLAIMER: The Internet is a medium for the exchange of ideas. Thoughtsand concepts are shared there. It is possible that people who use it maybegin thinking about things they never did before. If this idea disgusts,frightens, or revolts you, please refrain from using the Internet in anyway, shape, or form.

- Pteryx

Hey. If this isn't the correct address to send Double Agent correspondence,I apologize, but that's where this letter's meant to go, and seeing as youare the "Double Agent"...

Anyway, in Response to Matt Blackie's criticism of Amano as Final Fantasyconceptual artwork : I think Mr. Blackie has failed to grasp two criticalwords here: "conceptual" and "artwork," and is basically being absurdlyprosaic in his interpretations.

First, the "conceptual" bit: yes Amano's designs are ethereal, delicate, andfrequently strange, but they are in the truest sense "conceptual": theydon't make it into the games in any literal form, and their idiosyncracy ispart of their charm. No, I wouldn't necessarily want to play an FF game inwhich my band of soldiers comes off as a bunch of nocturnal waifs, but tohave these illustrations as a starting point is in my opinion fascinatingand mysterious, and leads to more interesting results than Tetsuya Nomura'shomogenous casts of spiky anime badasses. Just because Edgar and Terra aredrawn wispy and delicate doesn't mean they are or should be wispy anddelicate in the final product, and Square's designers understand this.

Second, and really more critically, Amano's work must be viewed as "art,"it's quite a lot more esoteric and rich than simple character designs, andyou shouldn't interpret it as literally. Rather than a simplistic layoutstating "this is what this character will look like, and this is what hewill wear, and this is the color of his hair..." Amano's work is art in andof itself, and from that standpoint I think it's not only fantastic, butbrilliantly suited to the Final Fantasy series. Under the ultimatelysuperficial wars and revolutions. all the recent FF's are ultimately aboutemotional, personal, and frequently tragic human events and emotions, andAmano manages to convey this aspect of Final Fantasy very eloquently, andalong with Nobuo Uematsu's scores, was largely responsible for making thosesuperdeformed sprites and simplistic plot structures seem like so much more.

Much of Mr. Blackie's criticism centers on a perceived inconsistency betweenAmano's character depictions (as I've said, "designs" seems inappropriate)and their in-game personalities and lifestyles. I again think he's beingliteral to the point of absurdity, and I largely disagree with his characterinterpretations as well. First off, the long fingernails, slenderproportions, and delicate features are simply part of Amano's style, and tocall them "inaccurate" is every bit as silly as criticizing the in-gamesprites for depicting everyone as short and fat: it's a style, not astatement.

Mr. Blackie suggests that Amano's design of Terra is inconsistent with hershyness, and argument that doesn't hold water for any number of reasons. Hefirst suggests that her mode of clothing is inappropriate, which may in someliteral sense be true, but is nontheless ridiculous. FF's without exceptiondeal primarily in exploration and war: buy rights all the characters shouldbe wearing strictly utilitarian clothing, in many cases uniform, and I don'tthink any of us wants that. In any case, Terra's garb isn't particularlysillier than Cloud's purple bodysuit or Tifa's short shorts, for example, ifrather more esoteric. As far as betraying Terra's character, what Iinterpreted as the most fundamental aspect of her character is her fragilityand otherworldliness, and Amano communicates this brilliantly. The idea thata soldier should have a tan is so silly as to barely merit a response; it'scalled artistic license, Final Fantasy is hardly about hardcore realism. andTerra's paleness and fragility again communicate her alien, otherwordlycharacter well before we find out she actully isn't human, and is in thissense masterful and quite appropriate. Really, you need to drop these"realism" arguments when discussing Final Fantasy character designs: I forone have no interest in seeing Final Fantasy heros and heroines asmusclebound, battle-scarred, plainly garbed soldiers. Mr. Blackie alsosuggests that Edgar's design is counter to his perceived status as "machoman" and all around alpha male. First off, the fingernails argument isridiculous: Amano isn't trying to suggest that Edgar actually doesn't cuthis fingernails, it's an artistic affectation on Amano's part. It's art.Don't take it so literally. And second, I think Amano's portrayal of Edgaras a louche dandy is in many ways accurate: he was raised in royal comfort,he's a clever diplomat more than a warrior, and he's a playboy who's alwayscompelled to try and charm women even in the most inappropriatecircumstances. Amano's artwork is very much in line with this, I think, andis far more interesting than your typical armored, hyper-masculine knightcaricature (which seems to be what Mr. Blackie wants). In this case I thinkyou've just misunderstood Edgar, in addition to your customary excessivelyliteral slant.

In short, consider Amano's designs as art, and view them with from thatperspective rather than a literal one, and I think you'll be better able toapreciate them. In any case, those who'd rather see straightforward, literalcharacter designs should no doubt be thrilled with Square's decision to useNomura instead (or are those too flashy and unrealistic as well?). I for onethink that the shift from Amano's nocturnal, ethereal demimonde to Nomura'sviolence, leather, and hard stares is a crtitical part of Final Fantasy'sincreasing soullessness, but that's another, more contentious argument foranother day. ;) If anyone wants to argue it, write into the column or emailme at ad339@is7.nyu.edu.

At any rate, though I've never been compelled to write in before, I thinkyou run a fantastic column, and manage to be infinitely more interestingthan your usual letters hack. And that's actually meant to be sincere,

-pko

Well, at last I found some one in the english speaking world that actually like the Uncharted Water series. I'm just writing to let people know that the series is well alive and kicking in Japan and most Asian countries, as matter of fact part IV of the series: Puerto Estado just came out recently, and I'm anxiously waiting for the chinese release to come out and enjoy this great series once again. the serie has taken more dramatic steps toward RPG gaming, in part III there were only two main characters, and you get to go on land marks such as Minos island and Transilvania (I'm sure I missed the spelling) and fight the vampire to save your fiancee. But I don't think there is any chance of it being released in the West at all....first of all Koei has never been concerned with Graphics too much(though they have recently), and there probably some issues in the games that won't get pass the parents, Such as the existance of slavery(slaves can be bought or sold as goods) in part III. Lastly I want to remind people that there is a Gaiden(side story) of Uncharted Waters II that has two new main characters; one is a Girl that fell in love with the Italian guy in UW II and get her own ship to chase him down, and the other a young pirate who triea to become the next great one(I won't spoil too much here). Thegaiden was definitely more focused on story that UW II.

The shooter with the flying head as the "main character" is from a game called Zombie Nation, I think. For the NES of course and all that. How do I know? I used to read all of those old Nintendo Power magazines as if I had nothing better to do. That and the fact that before my local video store went under due to the "might" that is Blockbuster Video, they had the most obscure games ever imagineable for rental. I mean, I played River City Ransom, Clash at Demonhead, (better than most Mega Man games, IMHO!!), Stinger (shouldn't it have been named TwinBee or something?), and little known games at the time called Dragon Warrior 2 and Final Fantasy 2 (SNES. Yes, years later)

It was incredible! They even had imports of Japanese games for rent, and specifically done so that you wouldn't need a converter. They were incredible before they got screwed over. ^_^

So anyway, I should be doing a 20 page report and I'm just killing time now and I'm drifting. I hope I helped with "Zombie Nation" though. Geez, Obscure games used to be my thing until renting FF2 from that store... the memories...

- Dark Paladin

Double agent,

i need your help. i am writing my english final on art and style in RPG's. what i need to help me put it all together, is a decent definition of a Role Play Game. what makes a game an RPG? Could you please answer me? : Þ thanks.

jarrod "yes its me Mrs. Kabala" pritchard