tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-50251407496629156382024-03-28T10:01:23.876-07:00RPGreatsRPG reviews from actual RPG fans, not fanboys or paid shills in the pockets of industry giants!Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger549125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5025140749662915638.post-79056145502315062442024-03-15T09:27:00.000-07:002024-03-16T22:34:56.300-07:00Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade "INTERmission"<p>Released as downloadable content for Final Fantasy VII Remake (but frustratingly not available on the PS4 version), INTERmission is a new chapter of the story starring a relatively minor character from the original version of FF7; namely, Yuffie. Mostly set around the Sector 7 slums, it has Yuffie ally with a new character named Sonon as they attempt to steal Shinra's "ultimate materia"; a story that unfolds in about 3-5 hours of playtime. Of course, like the main game there's also plenty of side content to undertake beforehand, with the majority of it going to a new minigame. Loosely based on the real-time strategy minigame Fort Condor from the original FF7, it plays out as more of a MOBA style minigame this time, having you summon units to defend your three towers and destroy the enemy's (or at least deal more damage) on a three-minute time limit. It's simple, but fun and surprisingly deep - you'll need to change up your team loadout and tactics quite a bit if you want to conquer every opponent in it.</p><p>Sonon is only available as an AI-controlled ally (though you can give him commands), but thankfully Yuffie has more than enough versatility to make up for it. She can fight both in close-range by slashing with her shuriken, or toss it away and have it spin in place (damaging anything it touches) and fight from afar by using magical bursts, giving her quite a bit of versatility. Her innate abilities are also quite varied, letting her effectively exploit any elemental weakness without requiring Materia or MP-consuming spells. Her HP is relatively low, but she is extremely speedy and mobile, so avoiding damage isn't as problematic as you'd think. Intergrade also introduces a mechanic that would become more refined in Rebirth, namely Synergy - she can Nonon can both spend an ATB bar to unleash powerful attacks, or even both spend a Limit bar at the same time to inflict massive damage.</p><p>INTERmission is what you'd expect - an interquel side-story in the form of paid DLC, with a few mechanics (and a major character) that would of course have more prominence in the next game in the series. While not strictly essential to enjoy the experience it is quite fun, and it doesn't wear out its welcome; you're provided with some fun minigames and a decent enough side-story containing about 4-6 hours of content to enjoy. Worth a pickup or a bundled buy for sure.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi5DCHKY7_sKAsk_TvZa7fP33qSbFvDO7cQl5UW7XwQa3PbmJP18VYQTStAmogppk_aTjN4WNI61eZyKDnXO-06vrhyTNJ_vq1se2th8VkFTf7iAIWmFgZ2YFhF_TRUXQnvhD88ZNjZbnq46ko40lMqgIrEqjx8Jb1zbGaRnCnN1cV9Rgx9DVkKVZWasA" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1920" data-original-width="3840" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi5DCHKY7_sKAsk_TvZa7fP33qSbFvDO7cQl5UW7XwQa3PbmJP18VYQTStAmogppk_aTjN4WNI61eZyKDnXO-06vrhyTNJ_vq1se2th8VkFTf7iAIWmFgZ2YFhF_TRUXQnvhD88ZNjZbnq46ko40lMqgIrEqjx8Jb1zbGaRnCnN1cV9Rgx9DVkKVZWasA" width="320" /></a></div><br />Developer: Square Enix<br />Publisher: Square Enix<br />Released: 2021<br />Platforms: PlayStation 5, PC<p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5025140749662915638.post-71671485198086428012024-03-15T00:17:00.000-07:002024-03-27T20:50:00.795-07:00Final Fantasy VII Rebirth<p><i>The second part of the Final Fantasy VII remake trilogy finally gets the party out of Midgar and continues the remixed plot right where the last game's left off, working in many new open world elements, character interactions and minigames along the way. But does it prove a worthy continuation of Remake, or does Rebirth just give more weight to the criticism that it's an overbloated and unnecessary reimagining of a classic?</i></p><p><i></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgXdxfwjZC-vr4jZ2Ntj1lIDgc-gt5PDQLz6bEgCvirdZ3V3Gb7kj5susFFApBAEnmgSfpOzbxyYnsCz6mtqU_eraAFI6Amt-9MCQef76-M6AIw6wfh39ADZCIImbj1XZcpsg20oSIT_Ve5GjC7nG-3clF5qiHAJeIYDWWCrn6X0BaTltrLxx41qneAiw" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1861" data-original-width="1920" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgXdxfwjZC-vr4jZ2Ntj1lIDgc-gt5PDQLz6bEgCvirdZ3V3Gb7kj5susFFApBAEnmgSfpOzbxyYnsCz6mtqU_eraAFI6Amt-9MCQef76-M6AIw6wfh39ADZCIImbj1XZcpsg20oSIT_Ve5GjC7nG-3clF5qiHAJeIYDWWCrn6X0BaTltrLxx41qneAiw" width="248" /></a></i></div><p></p><p>There was much buzz about the Final Fantasy VII remake, in no small part because Square had been not-so-subtly teasing it since the Playstation 3 era, remaking the intro from scratch as part of a trailer. It finally debuted in 2020, and while well-received overall, also attracted a fair amount of criticism for changing up the story in some rather bizarre ways (something upper management insisted upon against director Tetsuya Nomura's wishes), and for feeling more than a bit padded. I can't personally disagree - the dungeons did feel overly long at times and the sidequests just weren't too interesting for the most part. Still, it had enough new twists to hold my interest and it didn't stretch out into a 60+ hour slog just for the sake of it, so I had fun playing it and it didn't wear out its welcome.</p><p>Rebirth continues right where the last game picked up, but seems to take some criticisms of the original to heart. One thing you notice right away is that the game world is much more open; in fact, once the intro (the familiar Nibelheim flashback) plays out it dumps a whole bunch of quests on you all at once, prompting you to venture around the grasslands near Kalm in order to analyze rare enemies, acquire a piece of armor from some thieves, activate broadcast towers and, of course, battle Chadley's simulated critters to unlock summons and other goodies. Various NPCs also give quests of their own, so within the first few hours you've already got 40 or so side-tasks available. And there's only more to come once you reach other areas; basically, almost every time you'd hit a stretch of empty world map in the original you're now given a bunch of optional objectives to complete. They are all fun though and almost never devolve into tedious item-farming, so that's a definite plus.</p><p>Some new mechanics quickly show themselves too. Right away you're given the Item Transmuter and introduced to the game's crafting system (because every game nowadays needs one of those). Basically you find various items on the field (or in shops) that are useless on their own, but can be crafted into useful things like Potions, Phoenix Downs and Ethers, as well as more powerful versions of each that affect the entire party. As you craft new things and complete sidequests you'll gradually upgrade the Transmuter, earning new recipes that can prove quite handy in other ways - creating new accessories that can't be bought in stores or upgrading armlets, with upgraded versions having slightly better stats than the standard ones.</p><p>Party Level also crops up right away, and it's tied to each character now having a skill tree, earning more points by - you guessed it - completing sidequests and purchasing skill books. These do have a number of useful purposes, with a prominent one being that you can now launch elemental attacks without requiring MP; just spending an AP bar. Others include new synergy moves (more on those in a second) and just straight stat buffs, giving a character more HP, damage or making their unique skills more effective.</p><p>Synergy is another new addition, and it comes in two forms - Skills and Abilities. Skills serve as new attacks and are activated by holding down R1 to block and then pressing one of the four face buttons, which causes your current character and a second character in the active party to perform a flashy team-up move. They tend to do quite a bit of damage and also quickly build up AP, so they're very handy in the more hectic battles where enemies love to hound you constantly. Performing them also builds up bars, which can then be spent to activate Synergy Abilities - powerful cinematic attacks that also grant temporary buffs like unlimited MP or extended stagger time. In both cases, it's a good idea to mix them up - using the same ones repeatedly will also cause them to take longer and longer to recharge. </p><p>Rebirth of course follows the central part of Final Fantasy VII's story where much of the playable cast joins up, so they've added several new playable character and given each their own mechanics. Yuffie returns from the Intergrade DLC chapter of Remake and plays largely the same as she did there, able to attack from melee range as well as throw out her shuriken and bombard the enemy with ranged attacks while it remains separated from her (doing damage itself as it spins in place and damages nearby enemies). Red XIII is made fully playable, able to block attacks to fill his Vengeance meter and enter Vengeance Mode once it's at least partly filled, boosting his damage and dodge speed and getting a secondary attack in Siphon Fang, a move which absorbs HP. Cait Sith is perhaps the strangest character of all, effectively being three characters in one - the Cat can fight solo, but much of his effectiveness stems from his summoned Moogle, which can fight on its own or pair up with the Cat in "Mounted Mode" to greatly expand their collective moveset. Their special moves (and Limit Breaks) are also dependent on their Luck stat, so bolstering that with some Luck Plus materia will let you get more mileage out of them. Vincent and Cid assist as AI-controlled allies, but are not playable; presuably they'll follow in Red's footsteps and become full-fledged characters in the third and final entry.</p><p>An integral part of Final Fantasy VII's gameplay was of course its minigames, and Rebirth certainly doesn't skimp on bringing that back. In fact, there's enough minigames here to rival one of the Yakuza games. From crunches to combat challenges to smashing boxes to herding moogles to a MOBA-like minigame based on Fort Condor (also seen in Intergrade), and that's all before you hit the Gold Saucer, which has plenty more of its own. 3D brawling, shooting targets, and even a Rocket League style minigame with Red playing a high-speed version of Soccer. For the first time since Final Fantasy IX, we also get a game-spanning substory in the form of Queen's Blood - a collectible card minigame. It has a similar element of controlling space on the board, but comes down more to strategic placement of your own cards ratings rather than trying to dominate or destroy your opponent's; basically, you place cards down to mark adjacent spaces as your own for future moves, and once both players pass a turn, whoever has the highest score in each of the three lanes gets points for that lane, with whoever has the highest score in total winning the game. There are a wide variety of different cards and tactics to employ, as well as some rare cards with powerful effects to overcome and use yourself, so there's certainly no shortage of tactics despite being a simple game at a glance; you'll have to get pretty creative if you want to conquer every opponent and collect every card. Thankfully you don't lose your own cards when you lose a round either, which spare a lot of the tedious reloading saves that came with FFVIII and IX's card games.</p><p>One thing I did find a little jarring about Rebirth (and Remake to a degree) is that it plays up the humor element quite a lot compared to the 1997 original. Nomura isn't in the director's chair this time, but his influence is still felt, with hammy voiceover, jokey dialog and no shortage of exaggerated silly moments. One that particularly stands out in my mind is the famous Midgardsormr death scene - a chilling scene we only saw the aftermath of in the original, but here it's an onscreen event - one that's so abupt and over-the-top that it actually made me laugh out loud. The original FF7 did have its moments of levity, but certainly not to this degree; honestly the Remake series almost feels like a parody of Final Fantasy VII at times rather than an earnest attempt to recapture the original's heavy mood.</p><p>Rebirth feels like a logical extension of Remake in almost every respect - addressing some prominent shortcomings of the original, adding a much wider world to explore and keeping the core combat intact while adding in numerous new mechanics and playable characters. The addition of more (and more varied) sidequests and minigames helps it quite a bit too, staving off the monotony of constant combat and dungeon-crawling that its predecessor frequently fell into. The Final Fantasy VII Remake series may not quite rank as essential gaming material, but it is a lot of fun, it looks gorgeous in 4K and certainly doesn't lack for content, humor value or putting clever twists on many elements of a long-standing genre staple so I still consider it a success, and an easy shoe-in for one of the best games of 2024 so far.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxddVz8Mpc-JSkpEGfzwdOMLn_Vud8h5vtAW7xG3h2P1WUPTJzcUFewRgqOCPM8Zor9GMezJ3gnVxqG506i-Y1EJjuSn9N-qlCpiPfsvoXJ_eCuUdsQlfPDRSMUAE2s2UFKDm2G_YJvPPkywlW9xqxFGfvqeyHyWQTKBP0iyP7oeI9WrL-YUboJgP1NQ/s1920/Final-Fantasy-VII-Rebirth_20240207_47.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxddVz8Mpc-JSkpEGfzwdOMLn_Vud8h5vtAW7xG3h2P1WUPTJzcUFewRgqOCPM8Zor9GMezJ3gnVxqG506i-Y1EJjuSn9N-qlCpiPfsvoXJ_eCuUdsQlfPDRSMUAE2s2UFKDm2G_YJvPPkywlW9xqxFGfvqeyHyWQTKBP0iyP7oeI9WrL-YUboJgP1NQ/w320-h181/Final-Fantasy-VII-Rebirth_20240207_47.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX5mwtvmcfsbQk8WVRQuHQ-q_vPKDFMmg-ZfTCWrOWqTGNJFv9v_TDjfUOytiJ1FmaW1X7uIV-EkaEM6_KQZ3hbPArtXfwyPfaRAcSVXiqh0kEHo26mmWkNZo_dwVTPSEACib1puRNktAgOVh6F3ECD_iJqSbPLa-crHbu3YqRpAhWBO5ixE6LrmxFjw/s814/Tifa_ch_2_dialogue-FINAL_FANTASY_VII_REBIRTH_20240228233510.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="458" data-original-width="814" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX5mwtvmcfsbQk8WVRQuHQ-q_vPKDFMmg-ZfTCWrOWqTGNJFv9v_TDjfUOytiJ1FmaW1X7uIV-EkaEM6_KQZ3hbPArtXfwyPfaRAcSVXiqh0kEHo26mmWkNZo_dwVTPSEACib1puRNktAgOVh6F3ECD_iJqSbPLa-crHbu3YqRpAhWBO5ixE6LrmxFjw/w320-h181/Tifa_ch_2_dialogue-FINAL_FANTASY_VII_REBIRTH_20240228233510.webp" width="320" /></a></div></div><br />Developer: Square Enix<br />Publisher: Square Enix<br />Released: 2024<br />Platforms: PlayStation 5<div><b>Recommended Version:</b> N/A</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5025140749662915638.post-11431419004814938092024-03-04T08:45:00.000-08:002024-03-12T23:14:40.815-07:00Star Control II: the Ur-Quan Masters<p><i>A followup to the moderately successful 2D space strategy sim, Star Control 2 takes things in a much different direction. Drawing heavy inspiration from Starflight, there is now a much greater focus on storytelling, resource gathering and following a trail of clues to defeat a powerful enemy. But does this blend of simplistic, arcadey combat and complex storytelling work out for the best, or does it get lost among the other stars of early '90s gaming?</i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhqKKeLiH-qbekMYUziq-CftH_KaQgkGM8zl33h17O9IFNUNqiNJIG4xYgEY18IFjLZlL-zxng3fsmoVcJkg5uYbf42NJVeNr6s-f6XFE6uwi26WbQ5Klf3eGeMv84rjOw4laJU3hAPEU7jPBMW6aVk_7OPRhomvbL13OsDR1AxXuHU6PdwNP0IX07MWA" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="800" data-original-width="630" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhqKKeLiH-qbekMYUziq-CftH_KaQgkGM8zl33h17O9IFNUNqiNJIG4xYgEY18IFjLZlL-zxng3fsmoVcJkg5uYbf42NJVeNr6s-f6XFE6uwi26WbQ5Klf3eGeMv84rjOw4laJU3hAPEU7jPBMW6aVk_7OPRhomvbL13OsDR1AxXuHU6PdwNP0IX07MWA=w252-h320" width="252" /></a></div></div></div><p></p><p>The original Star Control was a modestly successful game in its time; with gameplay encompassing a blend of strategic board control and arcade action, it worked both as a single player experience and as a two player head-to-head combat game, earning a following both on computers and from a Sega Genesis port produced by Ballistic. There was an overarching story about a war between two factions - the Alliance of Free Stars and the oppressive Ur-Quan Empire - though it was mostly told in text blurbs at the start of each campaign and had little bearing on the gameplay save for determining what types of ships each side utilized. Combat was inspired by one of the very first video games ever made - 1962's <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spacewar!">Spacewar!</a> - and featured one-on-one top-down duels between two ships, with varying specs and weapons depending on the type of ship.</p><p>Star Control 2 retains the top-down combat in both single and multiplayer mode (called "Super Melee!"), but the rest of the game is completely reworked into a narrative experience. After the Alliance canonically loses the war in the first game, the people of Earth are permanently imprisoned by a "Slave Shield" that encircles the entire planet. The player, captain of a skeletal ship from a long-lost alien race called the Precursors, was stranded during the final leg of the war and thus was not imprisoned with the rest of humanity. Aided by the crew of a space station orbiting Earth, they begin a journey to seek out other alien races, build a resistance force to the Ur-Quan and eventually reclaim their freedom.</p><p>Building on that, you start off with just your skeletal Precursor ship (and should it be destroyed at any time, it's an immediate Game Over) and a single Earthling Cruiser. However, you have the option to build more Cruisers at the space station, and as you interact with and befriend other alien races, more options become available. From the cowardly Spathi (whose Eluders are weak, but relatively durable and extremely fast) to the Pkunk Fury (with a short-ranged minigun and random ability to resurrect from death) to Arilou Skiffs (which can teleport and move independently of inertia), there are numerous options. Enemy ships are equally varied, of course, and picking the correct ship type to counter their strengths is invariably a good idea. Each ship has up to two weapons and runs off a slowly-recharging energy supply to ensure that you pick your shots carefully rather than just firing wildly. If you're severely outmatched you can also press Escape to flee from battle, though you are left vulnerable for several seconds while the escape drive activates, so it's best saved as a last resort.</p><p>As in earlier games like Starflight and Elite, you won't get too far on a basic ship and little backup, so you'll need to purchase a boatload of upgrades to give yourself a fighting chance. Crewmen also effectively serve as your ships' hit points and (of course) do not regenerate on their own, so you'll have to purchase quite a few replacements over the course of the game. This is primarily accomplished through exploration - visiting other star systems and planets in search of raw materials you can trade in for Resource Units (abbreviated as RUs), which in turn can be spent to buy upgrade modules. Resources are color-coded by value, ranging from common (cyan) materials worth only 1 RU apiece all the way up to radioactives (orange) being worth 8. Scarcer still are "Exotics", colored purple, which are worth a whopping 25 apiece, but are very hard to come by outside of rare Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald planets. Planetary surfaces come with their own array of hazards - violent storms, earthquakes and waves of fire on particularly hot planets, as well as wildlife that can damage you on contact and potentially destroy your landers. Stunning wildlife with your landers' beams allows you to collect data icons, which indirectly serve as a secondary resource - by trading it to another race called the Melnorme, you earn Credits to purchase useful clues for your journey and an array of useful upgrade modules for your ship and your landers. From making your landers more resistant to planetary hazards to more efficient fuel tanks to stronger weapons, they all prove quite useful, though the order you get them in is fixed and they cost quite a few Credits apiece. The Melnorme also pay highly for the location of "Rainbow Worlds", of which there are only a scant few in the entire game, so those are well worth seeking out once you have the means. Finally, they're a much cheaper source of fuel than your starbase (1 Credit per unit as opposed to 20 RUs), so they're invaluable for refueling your ship, especially when you're far from Sol.</p><div>Of course, the meat of the game is finding and interacting with other alien races; not just to add more combat ships to your repertoire, but they'll often give vital clues in the form of planets with valuable deposits or point you in the direction of other helpful races. Of course, help rarely comes for free - you'll often have to complete some quest or another to convince other races to aid you in the fight, and at times you'll even have to get creative - coercion is a perfectly valid tactic. The dialog throughout all of these encounters is incredibly inspired and often downright hilarious, succeeding in bringing the universe of Star Control to life and getting you raveled in its lore while rarely regressing into stretches of empty exposition. Even without the 3DO version's voice acting, they still manage to add some personality to each individual race by having them all speak in different fonts. Solid proof that a well-written narrative does leagues more to keep you enthralled in a game than any amount of empty filler missions could.</div><div><br /></div><div>Despite being over thirty years old at this point, Star Control 2 remains a highly regarded game among fans of both science fiction and PC gaming. There's little doubt to why after you play it for only a short while - with its relatively simple interface and combat but engrossing story, sharply written dialog, a massive universe to explore and countless secrets to uncover and mysteries to solve, a it's downright addictive experience. It proved to be a big inspiration among industry names too, with developers on high profile titles like Fallout, Mass Effect and Stellaris citing it as a major influence. Since it's also been made open-source and fan-ported to numerous platforms (with the title trimmed to just "The Ur-Quan Masters" owing to copyright concerns) and can be freely downloaded and played natively in Windows with the benefit of controller support and enhanced music from its 3DO port, there's little reason not to at least give it a chance.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj-pF6-JupHy-cOOJCRM_s7W9uY3QUHvFCc2R4c4w9vQ9EbjzfmP-X8kISAIZx3cxdHTUTBgQfqobdc2wl4_qdpRnAOyFyIRPJiKLVBlSsHbxDqj_uvLgZqKrqX-5hi5w-6oegOMxFxt9W-99YToYqyAEcPpDL7cPBxctlHl7NLerBgZQNAD1wCyGrN6g" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="200" data-original-width="320" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj-pF6-JupHy-cOOJCRM_s7W9uY3QUHvFCc2R4c4w9vQ9EbjzfmP-X8kISAIZx3cxdHTUTBgQfqobdc2wl4_qdpRnAOyFyIRPJiKLVBlSsHbxDqj_uvLgZqKrqX-5hi5w-6oegOMxFxt9W-99YToYqyAEcPpDL7cPBxctlHl7NLerBgZQNAD1wCyGrN6g=w320-h200" width="320" /><img data-original-height="478" data-original-width="638" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgdv0JerV5bullhD8tZUmFy7tg1_UAkkM_pWj4Xy7RxOXXx-jYgG6BsMbm_0OeVq_FCcHprByMOLyegJqIBi85bZjneKmtRMSvPMWRCnVXTZM-A1mI5-eh8-LuUMOpRs2mR4cddGeH8TXh9TlodL1K8TvY3E1fBoIbnjTr0Xhegzm4ZB8P918HLuKwW5A=w320-h240" width="320" /></a></span></div></div><br /><b>Developer:</b> Toys for Bob<br /><b>Publisher:</b> Accolade<div><b>Released:</b> 1992</div><div><b>Platforms:</b> MS-DOS, 3DO, PC</div><div><b>Recommended Version:</b> As mentioned above the 3DO version of the game had its source code released in 2002, allowing for freely-available enhanced ports to numerous platforms under variants of the title "the Ur-Quan Masters". These include HD graphics, native Xinput support and numerous gameplay extensions, as well as implementing the voice acting and enhanced music from the 3DO version. Check out the vanilla version at <a href="https://sc2.sourceforge.net/">this Sourceforge site</a>, or the <a href="https://wiki.uqm.stack.nl/Main_Page">Ultronomicon Wiki</a> for other versions of the Ur-Quan masters (including an HD remaster).</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5025140749662915638.post-85513240120330450592024-03-02T19:46:00.000-08:002024-03-06T07:22:44.712-08:00Arzette: the Jewel of Faramore<p>The long-defunct Russian-American game studio <a href="https://www.mobygames.com/company/7604/animation-magic-inc/">Animation Magic</a> has become a cult favorite over the years, with a number of contributing factors - their association with high profile companies like Nintendo, Sierra and Blizzard Entertainment, the amateurish design quality of their games and, of course, their animated cutscenes. Said cutscenes have taken on a life of their own, with their trippy animation and hammy acting making them the focus of countless parodies, edits, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvxE6IUCPxU">fan remakes</a> and Youtube Poop remixes over the years. Arzette: the Jewel of Faramore is possibly the first game of its kind - a full-fledged standalone title inspired by Animation Magic's games which makes every effort to recreate their design sensibilities, though thankfully with much more polished gameplay. There's quite a bit of platforming, enemy zapping and hidden items and areas to uncover, as well as the occasional bonus stage to complete for extra money (with one such stage modeled after Hotel Mario, natch), and you'll frequently have to return to previous stages with new items in order to progress. There are also proper boss battles implemented, as well as other useful features not present in in the games it draws from (like a button-activated force field to block enemy projectiles). I found myself having a surprising amount of fun playing it, and of course the animated cutscenes painstakingly recreate Animation Magic's bizarre charm with plenty of subtle references to the games they're inspired by, so they were another big factor in holding my interest. A tongue-in-cheek homage that surpasses its muses in quality.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUcr2JVtQkyiSDzFVjs6KMj2aPAaRNgDgXy2ozI5W6MJnl1geTTUpB2CGXVru4XL4JKMUDtO61BpUsb08qAs6WR9kUftus7gUZYKdWwD84RrfBC_YTzJBrdAkcaOf9fdQp5IjRSXLhNFrMa9EHMyuMeh76u0vFjJLzmThbUelsp9YUg93VxDg-gITs1w/s1038/Screenshot-4829-1038x576.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="1038" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUcr2JVtQkyiSDzFVjs6KMj2aPAaRNgDgXy2ozI5W6MJnl1geTTUpB2CGXVru4XL4JKMUDtO61BpUsb08qAs6WR9kUftus7gUZYKdWwD84RrfBC_YTzJBrdAkcaOf9fdQp5IjRSXLhNFrMa9EHMyuMeh76u0vFjJLzmThbUelsp9YUg93VxDg-gITs1w/w320-h178/Screenshot-4829-1038x576.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBn7rOpqwv3RgmlGHm-7PtS4Fhv-0ylyJSOJOaOt9WkkRxWo78x5aqfj3MBXY6YFRv-xt7lYU0BltGanpLeXGAfqg7SsREkQtmLcvhtOicpcR8x5Bjjtli0a6mKI5u8KZC2gKZ1t79cToggD2ofhJGMZYOBRgxWvg6DTLRw34rb2vNRBEXYBuipJ1MMw/s1920/ss_1e703ff3042804f8cff9dc9a2a439536f1cf1b85.1920x1080.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBn7rOpqwv3RgmlGHm-7PtS4Fhv-0ylyJSOJOaOt9WkkRxWo78x5aqfj3MBXY6YFRv-xt7lYU0BltGanpLeXGAfqg7SsREkQtmLcvhtOicpcR8x5Bjjtli0a6mKI5u8KZC2gKZ1t79cToggD2ofhJGMZYOBRgxWvg6DTLRw34rb2vNRBEXYBuipJ1MMw/w320-h181/ss_1e703ff3042804f8cff9dc9a2a439536f1cf1b85.1920x1080.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></div><p></p><p><b>Developer:</b> Seedy Eye Software<br /><b>Publisher:</b> Limited Run Games<br /><b>Released:</b> 2024<br /><b>Platforms:</b> PC, Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, XBox Series</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5025140749662915638.post-910693175179189892024-02-25T21:49:00.000-08:002024-02-28T08:38:49.105-08:00Spoony's Ten Most Underrated/Overlooked RPGs<p>I figured it was high time for this, considering I've had a "<a href="https://www.rpgreats.com/2020/09/ten-most-disappointing-rpgs.html">most disappointing</a>" list up for quite a while but never gave any attention to the other side of the equation. Of course, most of the candidates I had in mind have since gone on to become cult classics, so I had to dig for some fairly obscure picks in order to not sound like one of those lists the hacks at IGN put out occasionally in a desperate bid to convince everyone they're not just a bought-and-paid-for propaganda mill for Sony, Sega and Microsoft. But regardless, here's some of my favorites that I don't see a lot of other people talk about.</p><p><b>Honorable Mention: Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride (Chunsoft, 1992+)</b></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjZOhvJiCJ8qEjkejCNJkZ7A5zF_ud9l_HhM9GKDLUO8a0SfbsD3vPsrLNZ2e8sHrcfWRDgR4bvzsQqUSXCY_b1vYwKpQUiw_gkZ-ePaTRmVtvcfeHPqgHenvYOSB1SIjLkzGVoM2KY_usFNgCW3aZe954ZKvxFHr2LOjOidH6KOYwvRg8gpPblQJwgIQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="320" data-original-width="234" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjZOhvJiCJ8qEjkejCNJkZ7A5zF_ud9l_HhM9GKDLUO8a0SfbsD3vPsrLNZ2e8sHrcfWRDgR4bvzsQqUSXCY_b1vYwKpQUiw_gkZ-ePaTRmVtvcfeHPqgHenvYOSB1SIjLkzGVoM2KY_usFNgCW3aZe954ZKvxFHr2LOjOidH6KOYwvRg8gpPblQJwgIQ=w235-h320" width="235" /></a><img data-original-height="709" data-original-width="800" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiR3mhtuF5rxAM0EJxLVSA38QYYAhoxCuUp_zipTv0cwVSEgNyQDkyJOZS_D66RG__HpWieJ_IwgS8W7S66OnxbBB0tSN1kOHJ_ib9S6oFTv7pLddtd61xU98SZTBKpabaM9Slm16KAG6iXjH4VzFPLW-pF8kLlpkVr-Vf373y1-VLLd_d29W935eBR_g=w320-h283" width="320" /></div></div><p></p><p>It's a bit absurd to say any Dragon Quest game is underrated since it's basically Japan's bread and butter, but it never really got much traction in the rest of the world until the PS2 rolled around; definitely not aided by the fact that it completely skipped the fourth console generation and barely snuck onto the fifth with a very late release of Dragon Quest VII on PS1. As a result we didn't get Dragon Quest V until its 2009 DS version, and it mostly went unnoticed in favor of other IPs. Which is kind of a shame, as it's easily one of the biggest emotional rides I've had in a 90s-era RPG. It's the story of the hero's lifelong journey as he endures a life of love, hardship and of course, vanquishing an ancient evil, with a surprising amount of tragedy conveyed through its tiny sprites and strong writing. It's one that really does need a rerelease on modern platforms as the DS release goes for over $100 nowadays...</p><p><b>Startropics (Nintendo, 1990)</b></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiU9Ld31T5mUzy1EOQjB5ueTeILYvXBJqLpHg2Nz0MD7UbwVUDZ0204wRKmNnZwv8y4uzn-q0re-kXQn6sbU1S5WIF4XsRdjwwxq8Dr1ufYpOWiuveEVnuHDVsEqlngb7Y2pI94d_gQjHJ9Nl2Dk61tiIxXarqCyl2nTcENYjXdI71ikbwb_08HuhXowQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="911" data-original-width="640" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiU9Ld31T5mUzy1EOQjB5ueTeILYvXBJqLpHg2Nz0MD7UbwVUDZ0204wRKmNnZwv8y4uzn-q0re-kXQn6sbU1S5WIF4XsRdjwwxq8Dr1ufYpOWiuveEVnuHDVsEqlngb7Y2pI94d_gQjHJ9Nl2Dk61tiIxXarqCyl2nTcENYjXdI71ikbwb_08HuhXowQ=w225-h320" width="225" /></a></div><br />A game that was moderately popular in the NES era but is mostly forgotten nowadays; mostly because Nintendo hasn't done anything with the IP in three decades other than the occasional token re-release on digital platforms. I always quite liked it though; think Zelda with a more irreverent twist, an outlandish plot about aliens and a lot of quirky western humor. Your main weapon is a yo-yo, you get pickups like bolas and baseball bats and kung-fu shoes that hit everything on the screen in an eyeblink, and the dialog is downright goofy at times; hey, you jam bananas into your ears to stop an alien from harassing you telepathically. It does get downright difficult and have its share of cheap deaths, particularly in the late stages, but it's a lot of fun once you adapt to the classic Nintendo Hard. If you bought it back in the day it also had a pretty clever <a href="https://www.eurogamer.net/nintendo-switch-version-of-startropics-impossible-to-complete-without-secret-code">gimmick</a> in the form of a letter you'd dip in water to reveal a passcode; although it did kind of backfire big time since most people who bought the game used probably didn't get the letter in question and spent hours looking everywhere for an in-game item that didn't exist...<p></p><div><b>Ys IV: the Dawn of Ys (Hudson Soft, 1993)</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgcKx2FE8qt5MABp1-sCAyUQUqDQS2EM6RTXFtGQt8fWC8FnfUWQkYiv0__rFs8xK59C31veQsWcbmr6oqTrtArwoaXGrD76MfU_4FJp_oGGVGkE0U4dM1YM091LTRMR9v-ZE29IfXlAxMpMQhyLAIJH8TMypt9muCncIClSoh2w3wkO49qRBO8Q_UNYw" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="788" data-original-width="800" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgcKx2FE8qt5MABp1-sCAyUQUqDQS2EM6RTXFtGQt8fWC8FnfUWQkYiv0__rFs8xK59C31veQsWcbmr6oqTrtArwoaXGrD76MfU_4FJp_oGGVGkE0U4dM1YM091LTRMR9v-ZE29IfXlAxMpMQhyLAIJH8TMypt9muCncIClSoh2w3wkO49qRBO8Q_UNYw=w320-h315" width="320" /></a></div><br />The fourth Ys game is a strange beast for sure, mostly because there's four different versions of it made by four different companies; while all are adaptations of the same basic script, they're all very different takes in terms of both plotting and design. Dawn of Ys was only released in Japan for the PC Engine CD and was very much inspired by the first two games in the series with its touch-based combat and overall presentation; in fact, you return to the locales from the first game early on. Being an early CD-based game it also takes advantage of the medium with a high quality Redbook audio soundtrack, some animated cutscenes and voiceover to accompany the plot, which was all pretty mindblowing stuff in 1993. Like the series it was spawned from it remained relatively unknown in the west for many years before coming back into prominence in the late 2000s, but it also built up enough of a following to get not just a fan translation, but a full blown fan dub; that's pretty awesome.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Horizon's Gate (Rad Codex, 2020)</b></div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh-sQCP4dIoYFa3nojME-toQiyJTM9nkwKFEjbn1bziaFHuoZLccVT7c7OuBofGyOTlwJr7sQNx2qrxrlWRVXyFnsAN58lyAHH6bNM-vM9Sw_DRP3TU7Eo0YZJP_cdMguRCnWxYiAls9cP2vKE8LO_mxSMKtuVk9BWSLHgneWa0iV0i6jfUfZwJiVT7Rg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh-sQCP4dIoYFa3nojME-toQiyJTM9nkwKFEjbn1bziaFHuoZLccVT7c7OuBofGyOTlwJr7sQNx2qrxrlWRVXyFnsAN58lyAHH6bNM-vM9Sw_DRP3TU7Eo0YZJP_cdMguRCnWxYiAls9cP2vKE8LO_mxSMKtuVk9BWSLHgneWa0iV0i6jfUfZwJiVT7Rg" width="320" /></a></div><br />The game that introduced me to Rad Codex - a very talented one-man development team that's made several similarly styled turn based strategy RPGs. They're all quite good, with mix-and-match classes and character building reminiscent of Final Fantasy Tactics, but Horizon's Gate stands out by adding an open world exploration element similar to the Uncharted Waters series. So in addition to dungeon crawling and a bit of town building, you get ship-to-ship battles and get to board one another's ships to duke it out hand to hand. There's even a touch of Divinity Original Sin's improvisational element - knocking enemies down pits, channeling electrical attacks through water, et cetera, so there's no shortage of creative tactics to employ to win battles. I've gotten more mileage out of this obscure $20 indie game than I have out of virtually every AAA game of the last decade </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Crusader of Centy (NexTech, 1994)</b></div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgdNDif6TUyXpLWS5n2glHr-HcS5U_nVnDq95TeV5-RbGfLcLydvdweQXbTb6ARJ9GTIb_KlnZk9zII8Xm7WBjRhTpeY98gTIJDbqxcAiEfxQkciTCa2NETMA5iSu0_zfpFyzm6a01lTwDgL8_V6H9Xyh4L8TsAiu9b9ei_TxcpywC85l5xxOt0BQ9Vbw" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="1116" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgdNDif6TUyXpLWS5n2glHr-HcS5U_nVnDq95TeV5-RbGfLcLydvdweQXbTb6ARJ9GTIb_KlnZk9zII8Xm7WBjRhTpeY98gTIJDbqxcAiEfxQkciTCa2NETMA5iSu0_zfpFyzm6a01lTwDgL8_V6H9Xyh4L8TsAiu9b9ei_TxcpywC85l5xxOt0BQ9Vbw=w229-h320" width="229" /></a></div><br />Zelda was of course the hot property in the late '80s and its popularity only grew as the 90s rolled on, so there were countless attempts to try and cash in on its success. From Rambo to Wonder Boy to Neutopia to Landstalker, it really can't be understated how influential a series it was (and continues to be). One that got overlooked in its time is Crusader of Centy, a creative little game where your protagonist gains the ability to talk to animals, recruiting several as allies with various powers - Mac the dog can pin enemies in place, Charlie the cheetah doubles your run speed and so forth. Up to two can be combined at a time, and their abilities can even combined together for added effect, like letting you throw your sword and steer it mid-flight. Clever stuff, and the surreal setting and creativity make it one of the best the Genesis has to offer. Sadly it wasn't a particularly strong seller in its time and is now quite rare and expensive, but recent releases on the Sega Genesis Mini 2 and the Nintendo Switch Online service have made it available again to modern gamers without having to shell out a boatload of cash.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Symphony of War: the Nephilim Saga (Dancing Dragon Games, 2022)</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi4V6wtTy4HdThVHcDh0b1E8dG1fFkt809qAoyf05WjE6NKLiTO13EtitlV8z3NvhJFQ1a3P93u4clqu07Y9SZ6j4_vBiEZgO2QogeIMd72ZHoEjxmA8a2ZeJ2S6WlikJzxZAbael0XL01F2IXNOPjPnkumQQcK-tqLcNxY5pGFLlD890lsDN_RXR1pcw" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="1440" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi4V6wtTy4HdThVHcDh0b1E8dG1fFkt809qAoyf05WjE6NKLiTO13EtitlV8z3NvhJFQ1a3P93u4clqu07Y9SZ6j4_vBiEZgO2QogeIMd72ZHoEjxmA8a2ZeJ2S6WlikJzxZAbael0XL01F2IXNOPjPnkumQQcK-tqLcNxY5pGFLlD890lsDN_RXR1pcw" width="240" /></a></div><br />In 2022 when everyone was talking about Fire Emblem and Triangle Strategy, I was perusing recent Steam releases and came across this little gem. It's made in RPG Maker, but aside from a small handful of familiar sprites and spell effects in cutscenes you'd honestly never guess, as it utilizes a custom combat system coded from the ground up. Imagine Fire Emblem's map conquest and character interactions blended with Ogre Battle's party based combat, and you've got a good idea of what to expect - crafting squads of up to nine characters and sending them out to capture cities and resources as they progress across surprisingly large battle maps. Of course, there are also some clever mechanics to get you out of a jam, like getting emergency turns or dealing damage over a large area as once-per-battle powers. It's deep, engrossing and really fun, and easily one of the best indie RPGs I've played in recent years. I just need to go back at some point and try out the DLC...</div><div><br /></div><b>Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter (Capcom, 2003)</b><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg4bs9Z71SEJjJ3EDam5bJ4uHLF27OzQF_bH5wJMP6FzKQ76gdiS97kBUwe1ox9Q--1m8V3_T0QSbmZ-xdj27-6iJyOFnQK5BnmQQQwn_wmx4J6VI49djiA7WXeW-_8-9BS4aRLR0NNjdV96_6xWTw9CXsbFlQnB9MSjKC-jLTeUaYPnE4cIvRpIu0pDw" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="355" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg4bs9Z71SEJjJ3EDam5bJ4uHLF27OzQF_bH5wJMP6FzKQ76gdiS97kBUwe1ox9Q--1m8V3_T0QSbmZ-xdj27-6iJyOFnQK5BnmQQQwn_wmx4J6VI49djiA7WXeW-_8-9BS4aRLR0NNjdV96_6xWTw9CXsbFlQnB9MSjKC-jLTeUaYPnE4cIvRpIu0pDw" width="170" /></a></div></b><div><br /></div>I briefly considered having Breath of Fire 1 here since every time I mention liking it some GameFAQs-worshipping shitheel pops out from under the nearest rock to dispense some mindless Pavlov response about how trash it is and 2 is obviously so much better because it panders to their anti-religion hobby horse; never mind that it's mechanically clunky, has an infamously awful translation and is pretty poorly balanced and paced, the rich religious conservatives running Capcom know how to pander to me for an easy buck SO IT'S GOOD DAMN IT!<div><br /></div><div>...But instead, I chose Dragon Quarter - another game people seem determined to hate on despite the majority who do never bothering to actually give it a fair shake. They really should though, because it's a brilliant genre blend that clicks together surprisingly well. Combat resembles a gridless turn-based strategy game, with a focus on controlling space and lining up enemies for attacks. The overall setup is somewhat akin to a survival horror or a roguelike, with a focus on conserving limited resources and randomized loot; plus the more you play through it and the higher a rank you get, the more story scenes and extra content you unlock. The story is also a quite good one, taking the fantastical elements of earlier games and adding in some dystopian sci-fi - a bit fan-fictiony perhaps, but it's well written and captivating. Hell, as popular as roguelikes have gotten in recent years with games like Slay the Spire, Darkest Dungeon and Hades I'm honestly surprised Dragon Quarter hasn't gotten more attention as a forgotten classic of yesteryear.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Ikenfell (Happy Ray Games, 2020)</b></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZmXqQwN7y5Cj46m4uaZ6GfLgQuIZRZjsmgLF7f7NlIYNjIGuFdZZaEtx6g5n20-1US1-IAs_tvzxlARaIJyYTtSSIo2TsXIb143v5j6cPbRs2npCOVoWp0yFAemp-VgNxlG7Fix5yJD31ilKIk6mPpbcNCQPVHFfN-WYH4xeHfVcO72EgmztQT0FkUg/s1920/ikenfell-switch-hero.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZmXqQwN7y5Cj46m4uaZ6GfLgQuIZRZjsmgLF7f7NlIYNjIGuFdZZaEtx6g5n20-1US1-IAs_tvzxlARaIJyYTtSSIo2TsXIb143v5j6cPbRs2npCOVoWp0yFAemp-VgNxlG7Fix5yJD31ilKIk6mPpbcNCQPVHFfN-WYH4xeHfVcO72EgmztQT0FkUg/s320/ikenfell-switch-hero.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div>"Earnest RPGs" modeled after Earthbound have kind of become a punchline in recent years for being overdone, especially by indie devs, but there are a few I do genuinely love and Ikenfell is one. A genuinely sweet tale of a girl who heads to the titular witch school in search of her sister, making new friends, finding love and being caught in the midst of a complex conspiracy that threatens the stability of the entire world. The relatively unique tactical combat system, charming, earnest and often quite funny cast and smartly written dialog make it shine, as does the fantastic soundtrack by aivi and surasshu of Steven Universe fame. Just a wonderful experience, and easily one of my favorite indies of recent years.</div><div><br /><div><b>Panzer Dragoon Saga (Team Andromeda, 1998)</b></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjHQST0tB9Bhp_GhwhObdnIP8X9EPdvBrTMxUTqCOl37NZFHTY_SrdeNc7kIisGUEnN_4JmmFfRybgwjzoMDfFV-oxpxaggzLrWoEFPHYidjNbY6TLiUS9Rj2t0AjRkhug4A5stgkf9WDcwvOqSsjPLlWtqk2Po_GX2-7RgN-BnhW4LJn64xAvdvLx0kg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="320" data-original-width="191" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjHQST0tB9Bhp_GhwhObdnIP8X9EPdvBrTMxUTqCOl37NZFHTY_SrdeNc7kIisGUEnN_4JmmFfRybgwjzoMDfFV-oxpxaggzLrWoEFPHYidjNbY6TLiUS9Rj2t0AjRkhug4A5stgkf9WDcwvOqSsjPLlWtqk2Po_GX2-7RgN-BnhW4LJn64xAvdvLx0kg=w191-h320" width="191" /></a></div><br />The Sega Saturn was a criminally overlooked platform that never got its due, in large part due to Sega's western branches basically throwing it under the bus to focus on PC ports and arcade games. As a result something like 75% of the system's library never made it outside of Japan, and the few cult classics it does have are rarely mentioned nowadays. Panzer Dragoon Saga could have been (and by all measures, should have been) the vehicle to get the Saturn back in the race; RPGs were starting to get huge on the Playstation, so releasing a highly polished and immaculately produced title with unique mechanics could have easily made it Sega's answer to Final Fantasy VII. That didn't happen, of course - Sega released it only via mail order and printed only around 16,000 copies, dooming it to obscurity and instead electing to have no horse in the race for a whole year to hype up the Dreamcast instead (and well know how well <i>that</i> worked out for them). It's a shame, too, as Panzer Dragoon Saga is great. With a brilliant blend of ATB-style combat mechanics, a high quality presentation (with all of the dialog voice-acted - pretty unique for 1998!), a unique dark fantasy world, an incredible soundtrack and a captivating story. It's only recently when Saturn emulation has become more robust that this one's started to build up a larger following, and with the recent remake of the original Panzer Dragoon being released on multiple platforms, we can only hope Sega gets around to finally giving this one the attention it deserves too.</div><div><br /></div><div><div><b>Illusion of Gaia (Quintet, 1994)</b></div></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEheq4pZH-AOtiMFni8DMwc3YDIVmpa6MnL7shrwfnnCm3XZa396JCp64XrIhtA6FSJNiIrsKKY4RkAzXY3TMUKcfUA7A5BRaPFMOFJVkJaitf5TS65cnSI2G2o5OjL-WKu1AtvWWHpCBARTA0ziqzx3EyzFAMRYAyN3R6D3NakFqdjZwAnJ7pQo-6GJcQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="463" data-original-width="640" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEheq4pZH-AOtiMFni8DMwc3YDIVmpa6MnL7shrwfnnCm3XZa396JCp64XrIhtA6FSJNiIrsKKY4RkAzXY3TMUKcfUA7A5BRaPFMOFJVkJaitf5TS65cnSI2G2o5OjL-WKu1AtvWWHpCBARTA0ziqzx3EyzFAMRYAyN3R6D3NakFqdjZwAnJ7pQo-6GJcQ" width="320" /></a></div></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>Quintet is a name that's rarely spoken much anymore, and a big part of that is that nobody's really sure what happened to them - they made a few small hits in the '80s and '90s, stuck it out as a low key developer for a bit in the early '00s, and then just kind of vanished, with only one of their major games (Actraiser) getting any kind of modern revisit. Terranigma's also built up a bit of a following over the years as a lost SNES classic (especially as it was passed over for a North American release), but for my money their best game was, and still is, Illusion of Gaia (aka Illusion of Time if you were in Europe). A journey of friendship, love and globe-spanning adventure as your protagonist returns life and evolution on Earth to its proper course, it certainly isn't lacking for emotional beats and surprisingly dark moments. The gameplay is great too, capturing that Zelda-style blend of action and puzzle solving in a way so few imitators ever have. A fantastic soundtrack by Yasuhiro Kawasaki and a real tearjerker of a bittersweet ending (still gets me every time to this day) make it an unforgettable classic, and still one of my favorites.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Suikoden II (Konami, 1999)</b></div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj8g6AqWk2kD986bDCO7ZbCQJTiU-wO7hZ-levkmvfkLA5vsCMAoYdsxMo23yo4Uh5bxrUh7IrAU8IuLPghYAVmRZrhlsCMiBFE5HrgsW-N_a750Zm28jaH1th5GGJrdWqZyCCjVwZ7XWdML_nPIwYquwd7UlKaaA7Ijo3RA81Kcr2mUyN5EmHZM3oyUw" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="641" data-original-width="640" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj8g6AqWk2kD986bDCO7ZbCQJTiU-wO7hZ-levkmvfkLA5vsCMAoYdsxMo23yo4Uh5bxrUh7IrAU8IuLPghYAVmRZrhlsCMiBFE5HrgsW-N_a750Zm28jaH1th5GGJrdWqZyCCjVwZ7XWdML_nPIwYquwd7UlKaaA7Ijo3RA81Kcr2mUyN5EmHZM3oyUw=w320-h320" width="320" /></a></div><br /></div><div>The original Suikoden was a moderate success in the early days of the PlayStation, providing a novel turn on turn based RPGs with its blend of three combat styles (one-on-one duels, six-man parties for dungeons and large-scale war battles) and for its relatively large cast, with each game having well over 100 characters to recruit and 60+ playable characters to customize and add to your teams. Suikoden II came out right in the thick of the RPG craze, but Konami inexplicably limited its release to only about 30,000 copies with virtually no advertising to back it, so it flew under the radar and was almost immediately forgotten, quickly becoming one of the rarest PS1 titles; it wasn't until many years later (when it was rereleased as a downloadable title on PSN) that it started to pick up a larger following, and of course there's that HD remaster that's allegedly coming soon, so it might just finally get the wider respect it deserves. Still, for quite a long time Suikoden II was one of Konami's biggest forgotten gems - its strong tale, wonderfully realized characters, a fantastic soundtrack, some of the best 2D spritework in a game seen to that date and, of course, no shortage of content or replay value made it an absolute gem. In a pretty creative twist you could also import your save from the first Suikoden to carry over a few characters' levels and even unlock the protagonist of the first game as a pretty awesome hidden character, so there's just a lot to love about it in general. One of the best, most overlooked games ever made.</div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5025140749662915638.post-28167912517683772582024-02-15T09:55:00.000-08:002024-03-03T08:48:27.936-08:00Persona 3 Reload<p><i>The fourth version of Persona 3 to be released brings some new features into the fold while controversially omitting several from prior releases and replacing almost its entire voice cast. But is there enough new here to appease long time fans and newcomers alike, or is this undefinitive-by-choice release one for newcomers only?</i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitRiy8XC5WVMHiocWn3YiKFA8oQCGJjB8HUZFbaY7SjMl9jV34VNbFJOa0aeTUqbrOr2ynmZG98SebnSI3_iuBhPD4o_5yMU-mqL3g24kEcvsPPsd3CzkRNcOFHjGs4fcmqkg3w3TjdD1tSUMcvm8bKe-jIA-OdW08nQkChJ9gggKF1KwQDRNWpHTKDg/s1899/81hmWAdXP8L.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1899" data-original-width="1524" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitRiy8XC5WVMHiocWn3YiKFA8oQCGJjB8HUZFbaY7SjMl9jV34VNbFJOa0aeTUqbrOr2ynmZG98SebnSI3_iuBhPD4o_5yMU-mqL3g24kEcvsPPsd3CzkRNcOFHjGs4fcmqkg3w3TjdD1tSUMcvm8bKe-jIA-OdW08nQkChJ9gggKF1KwQDRNWpHTKDg/s320/81hmWAdXP8L.jpg" width="257" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p>Remakes seem to be the flavor of the month in gaming - taking old games that already did well, keeping the familiar elements intact and reworking the rest to modern standards. In fact, they seem to be more common than original games these days, with companies like Capcom, Sony, Naughty Dog, Square Enix and even Nintendo commissioning them now; sometimes less than a decade after the original game was released. They inevitably draw complaints from fans for not staying "faithful enough" to the originals for any number of reasons (almost invariably longtime fans trying to hold onto whatever imaginary 'cred' they believe they have and vindictively nitpicking every last minute difference they can find to prove how much of a "real fan" they are). Though I really don't get that mentality; I mean, if the original game is so 'perfect', why did they even want a remake in the first place? And if the remake is really that awful, why did they buy multiple copies?</p><p>That said, the announcement of Persona 3 Reload drew criticism right away from many fans, myself included. The game has already had three distinct versions - there was the PS2 original, which was followed by an enhanced version called FES which made various design tweaks, added a new social link and an extra story chapter (The Answer) that expanded on the original game's ending. A few years after came Persona 3 Portable - a PSP port which brought several more tweaks and added an alternate story mode with a female protagonist and many new Social Links. It sadly lacked the Answer chapter and most of the FMVs owing to space constraints on the UMD medium, but it's downright impressive how much content they managed to fit in there regardless. So with Reload they had a perfect opportunity to collate all the content from FES and Portable into one game, add in some new graphics and voiceover, and create a new, definitive release of Persona 3 at long last.</p><p>You can probably guess from all that leadup that it didn't happen. In fact, from the moment it was announced they made no secret that it was going to be a remake of the base game's content only, excluding the Answer and the Female Protagonist route from Portable, with one or both likely to be sold later as DLC or an "enhanced version" a year or two down the road (and wouldn't you know it, fans have since <a href="https://personacentral.com/p3r-datamine-dlc-episode-aigis/">discovered</a> that the Answer will likely be released as paid DLC at some point in the future). Seems a bit silly and/or money-grubbing to do something like that, especially in a time period where the industry's reputation is on shaky footing with mass layoffs and scummy business practices. One of which is that numerous other Sega-released RPGs have started selling you basic features as "premium content" and charging exorbitant prices for it (witness having to buy the $90 Digital Deluxe Edition of Infinite Wealth just to access New Game Plus - a decision that led to me boycotting the game entirely).</p><p>All that said, I do endeavor to judge games on their merits here on RPGreats, rather than what I think they should be; I don't always succeed, but I try. So, putting all the stigma aside, does the fourth edition of Persona 3 have enough to set it apart? Well, the presentation definitely gets a nice upgrade, adding much more voiceover (with even the social link characters having voiced scenes now) and adding more glitz to the UI, with animated character portraits, some flashier stylized menus and Persona 5 style splash screens for winning via an All-Out Attack. Cutscenes and FMVs are all redone and brought up to modern standards to show off the game's higher budget, and they even re-recorded the vocals on all the game's music tracks make the lyrics more distinct and less phonetic. The major voice roles in the game have all controversially been recast, though I didn't find much cause for complaint - the new cast all perform their parts exceptionally well and add a lot of personality to their characters. In short, it's easily the best looking and sounding version of P3 to date.</p><p>In terms of design P3R is is at least not a retread of the earliest versions of its line. Several new mechanics (some ironically grandfathered in from Portable) make an appearance here, including the option to have full control over your party members rather than giving broad orders, and there are five difficulty selections to allow both newcomers and die-hards to enjoy the game. New mechanics include "Twilight Fragments" used to unlock certain chests in Tartarus; some are strewn about Tatsumi while others must be found in special, randomly placed floors of Tartarus or earned as rewards for building Social Links from Elizabeth. Monad Doors also return from Portable, allowing the player to challenge tougher battles against previously defeated bosses for extra rewards. Similar to Persona 5 Royal's Baton Pass, one can also Shift - effectively passing their bonus turn to an ally - after getting a One More, letting you conserve MP or switch up tactics. Tartarus in general is also more tightly designed and the combat faster paced, cutting down considerably on the tedium from earlier versions.</p><p>Some of Persona 3's core mechanics are reworked too. Shuffle Time is no longer a minigame and is more consistent (you'll always get one if you finish a battle with an All-Out Attack) and the rewards change up significantly. A substantial new addition here is Arcana bursts - cards with new, temporary buffs that gradually unlock as you defeat story bosses. Each character now has something akin to a super move or a limit break in the form of "Theurgy" - each character has a meter that is charged in differing ways (dealing damage, healing allies etc.) and can be unleashed once full to powerful effect. The game also does away with the pointless tiredness mechanics and party splitting in dungeons, and events that formerly relied on them (like getting medicine from the school nurse) can be done at one's leisure.</p><p>All in all, Reload is a solid, if not entirely necessary, remake. It's worth a pickup if you've never experienced P3 before and the new enhancements are quite welcome if you've played the older versions, but at $70 for what's essentially another rerelease of a nearly 20-year-old game at this point it feels a touch overpriced. Not to mention that the Answer will probably be paid DLC and you'll still have to buy Portable too if you want to experience that version's extra content (which, conveniently enough, was made available digitally on all the major platforms a year before P3R launched). Unless they decide to release it as paid DLC in the future too; either way, you'll be paying well over $100 to get the entire P3 experience. I would love to give a version of Persona 3 a 3.5 or even a 4 star rating instead of adding a fourth 3-star to the pile, especially as it's one of the games that revived my interest in JRPGs in the mid-2000s; you'd think Atlus would want to give it the best possible treatment too considering how instrumental the game was in making them the powerhouse name they are today. But alas, the wait for the definitive version of Persona 3 continues. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_ly39eVKX42mKsT0tpe3fVVIHChhxK3FJ8WjvtPD54Q80MpGbdllanhLAn7Kiq-0Y8kJFfV4Pj3PlMsnrk-cSnkvthD9EuEe37V87N3Mzf-C2KyjSx6aA2C-cCD-R4GueZlbOs7kfs2aqdx8lvjIVNiNH6LW1S2bODT8qfCockdc8gTt_BDFt0svBVw/s860/protagonist-chatting-in-the-study-group-persona-3-reload.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="484" data-original-width="860" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_ly39eVKX42mKsT0tpe3fVVIHChhxK3FJ8WjvtPD54Q80MpGbdllanhLAn7Kiq-0Y8kJFfV4Pj3PlMsnrk-cSnkvthD9EuEe37V87N3Mzf-C2KyjSx6aA2C-cCD-R4GueZlbOs7kfs2aqdx8lvjIVNiNH6LW1S2bODT8qfCockdc8gTt_BDFt0svBVw/s320/protagonist-chatting-in-the-study-group-persona-3-reload.jpg" width="320" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9o2_j0d1RLoJJOWIdhB9t3sZ-jnhBAY9WoGOjODBx6X-znR9vAG4gSXO9K1iQyILxkewxV90hhFJdf53euaAIoTb_LF3ZJiito6mjCI-cnk1SDZYhNqAOFNBKAnjj8xMF4WwwiJjPa70ECjOJuBiqBO_UDLQ8t7KctO7gF1BJM-HRjDHv0AV83dPcPg/s860/Persona-3-Reload-Screenshot-092.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="484" data-original-width="860" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9o2_j0d1RLoJJOWIdhB9t3sZ-jnhBAY9WoGOjODBx6X-znR9vAG4gSXO9K1iQyILxkewxV90hhFJdf53euaAIoTb_LF3ZJiito6mjCI-cnk1SDZYhNqAOFNBKAnjj8xMF4WwwiJjPa70ECjOJuBiqBO_UDLQ8t7KctO7gF1BJM-HRjDHv0AV83dPcPg/s320/Persona-3-Reload-Screenshot-092.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><b>Developer:</b> Atlus <br /><b>Publisher:</b> Sega<br /><b>Released:</b> 2024<br /><b>Platforms:</b> PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, XBox One, XBox Series, PC</div><div><b>Recommended Version:</b> All versions are pretty much the same. The PC version already has a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SacwPbPmLPw">fan mod</a> to reimplement the female protagonist from Portable too, so if that's your jam it may be worth picking up that version.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5025140749662915638.post-50857251518385066372024-01-30T17:14:00.000-08:002024-02-11T09:21:11.821-08:00Deus Ex: Human Revolution<p><i>The third game in the Deus Ex franchise and the first to be released in nearly a decade promised to be a return to form for series fans. But does Human Revolution live up to the legacy of the legendary first game, or is it another one to be dropped and promptly forgotten like Invisible War?</i><span style="text-align: center;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjkzCr9WG4wWVzCGXjO_2Tu1fj_mryDt2IFA7KgKqXN0dBTWDJ5qIQtAio7oatlZpqIJIg8USKJ3oE49m5xs0b_Ul_jgSvsLmfM6360mVM9Hi5vPUje5B6V1SoSn4PdV8BLRux6grSkl5XxPJHAmmpDoLrC2qttR4WyXx-PyA1eFchdv79-KgefPZ6hIA" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="353" data-original-width="616" height="183" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjkzCr9WG4wWVzCGXjO_2Tu1fj_mryDt2IFA7KgKqXN0dBTWDJ5qIQtAio7oatlZpqIJIg8USKJ3oE49m5xs0b_Ul_jgSvsLmfM6360mVM9Hi5vPUje5B6V1SoSn4PdV8BLRux6grSkl5XxPJHAmmpDoLrC2qttR4WyXx-PyA1eFchdv79-KgefPZ6hIA" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgA_MlqEH3ucz3k00mtc_CLQfM3B8H21VpJR-6EA1mFaBz0WdRYE3tDErlk6C-nYjxlEWomO2vyk-kWeeKnAsARlBwq2Dode3mI882QU7fMaTCZ-M0UPRwsY6a0LpXvgMlU6WaLe9M_Nt-3RbmSNYSFbDRM2st0vZwMV6X8c4KZFTgi0O6hsY2XXfjNKA" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="902" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgA_MlqEH3ucz3k00mtc_CLQfM3B8H21VpJR-6EA1mFaBz0WdRYE3tDErlk6C-nYjxlEWomO2vyk-kWeeKnAsARlBwq2Dode3mI882QU7fMaTCZ-M0UPRwsY6a0LpXvgMlU6WaLe9M_Nt-3RbmSNYSFbDRM2st0vZwMV6X8c4KZFTgi0O6hsY2XXfjNKA" width="170" /></a></div></div></div><p></p><p>Released almost a decade after Invisible War, Human Revolution thankfully doesn't hit the reset button again, instead opting for a prequel to the first Deus Ex focusing on humanity's newfound fascination with mechanical augmentation. The main character, Adam Jensen, finds himself an unwitting recipient of mechanical implants after the company he works for falls under siege and he is critically wounded (including a rather graphic headshot as a reference to Robocop). Per series norms, how he copes with his new life is left up to the player, either enjoying the benefits of augmentation or buying into the counternarrative that he's now less than human and wouldn't wish his fate on anyone.</p><p>To its credit, Human Revolution does at least feel more like the first Deus Ex than the second - you're not overly limited by a lack of options or cramped by tiny, narrow level design, and the augs you're given access to are rather extensive and have quite a few new flashy effects. From softening falls to punching through weak walls to hacking hostile robots to reducing weapon recoil to emitting a powerful explosive attack in a short radius around your character to literal x-ray vision, you get some quite useful and powerful effects. They're not too abusable, though, as the majority of them run off an limited energy meter that only regenerates partway (one bar in the original release, two bars in Director's Cut). You'll need a fair number of candy bars and batteries to keep your energy topped up if you want to use your augs extensively. Like many modern shooters Human Revolution features regenerating health, though it occurs slowly enough that you can't abuse it too much - if you go in running and gunning against large groups of enemies you'll still probably die pretty fast.</p><p>There's a lot more focus on stealth-based gameplay too, with the player able to flatten themselves against walls or press a button near an unaware enemy for an instant takedown, either lethal or nonlethal depending on how long you hold down the Q key. Another new mechanic I quite liked is the "battle of words" - at several points in the game you basically get into an argument with another character, and by picking the right choices you can get them to stand down, often ending a confrontation nonlethally or gaining some other benefit afterward; in fact, one of your augmentations plays into this, giving you hints on what to say based on that character's personality traits. One can also purchase and modify weapons, which once again run on separate ammunition types (hooray!) and for the first time in the series can even sell weapons back for extra cash, which is something I ended up doing quite a lot. There is an annoying catch, though, in that you can only carry one of any given weapon type at a time - any others you pick up are emptied of their ammo and immediately vanish into the either, so if you want to sell a lot of weapons back you have to drop your current copy and carry them back to the seller one at a time.</p><p>A major detriment, at least in the original release of HR, are the boss battles - overlong and generally awful slogs against bullet-sponge bosses that can sustain multiple headshots from high-capacity weapons without flinching, but take you out in only a few hits. Not to mention this rigid style of design completely disregards the choice-based gameplay everywhere else in the series and even in this game. Apparently the boss fights were actually farmed out to another development studio, and I believe it considering how out-of-step they are with everything else in the game. Thankfully the Director's Cut does alleviate this to a degree, giving them wider arenas with things like vents to sneak-attack from and automatic turrets to set traps with. </p><p>I don't much like HR trying to rope you into one particular gameplay style, either - getting experience bonuses for nonlethal takedowns (which add up very fast) and a gimmicky hacking minigame that awards more XP and lets you constantly unlock more virtual "viruses" that make future attempts easier means you're basically going to play a stealthy superhacker no matter what, because the alternative is missing out on a huge chunk of valuable points and supplies with no recourse.</p><p>Some prominent plot holes and inconsistencies creep in fast as well. 2025 seemingly has much more advanced technology than the 2052 setting of Deus Ex, withs full-body augs and AIs that can easily pass the Turing Test to the naked eye and holograms that don't require bulky projectors. The ending is somehow even lamer than Invisible War's big dumb faction punch-up, with Adam being taken to an island of essentially mindless aggressors and literally being led to a room with three buttons and told to pick one to choose an ending. Pretty weak stuff, especially given how vast, complex and rewarding choosing one of the original game's conclusions was - you were picking a plan of action and carrying it out while outwitting gene-spliced monsters and armed super soldiers, and no matter which path you chose it was pretty epic. I also felt there was a big missed opportunity by not having any of your prior choices play a role in the final area at all - it just seems that nothing you do before that stage makes any difference going in or affects the outcome whatsoever; also true of the original games, sure, but this was the first Deus Ex of a new generation of consoles and a perfect opportunity to do something new with the format.. Of course, the prequel problem also kicks in, in that you know how things are going to unfold in later games so two of the choices you're given are a purely hypothetical <i>what ifs</i> with no basis in canon, which just kind of makes me wonder why they give you an option at all other than to say "yep, it's Deus Ex and it's all about CHOICE, even if none of it actually matters in the end!".</p><p>Human Revolution feels like a "designed by committee" return for Deus Ex - made by people looking to create something that will appeal to fans and turn a profit for their shareholders without quite understanding what made the original work so well. It hits a lot of the beats and has a few good ideas of its own, but for everything it does right there's something else that feels undercooked or just not implemented very well. The gameplay gives the illusion of choice but ropes you into a particular playstyle for longterm success, and everything you do in the plot just feels ancillary, like you're playing out a bit of lore mentioned in passing in some random computer terminal in the original game that ultimately has little bearing on its events. There are also substantial performance issues even on modern machines, with a lot of stuttering and frame drops at very inconvenient moments. The end result is a moderately fun experience that doesn't live up to its potential on any front, but does at least recapture some of the immersive design, heavy atmosphere and creative problem solving the original game provided.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD118YBLyuPtqWPiDzBvDDBTstxD-dWDTSMN-a4gRSJcU5yF7NdcI-krZmnTeCDFVMGo3LyYwyK2o_NHLG8wCvsUr4eLuM7DdrwZe9MI-yR6x_dMOIsHYdrpka9nsm2sgyCKbY4JfGyOpOclyVfccbsgd1t3wlqnM67XZ5nKzWjAMg7Fq-bMFVs4f1FQ/s1280/maxresdefault%20(1).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD118YBLyuPtqWPiDzBvDDBTstxD-dWDTSMN-a4gRSJcU5yF7NdcI-krZmnTeCDFVMGo3LyYwyK2o_NHLG8wCvsUr4eLuM7DdrwZe9MI-yR6x_dMOIsHYdrpka9nsm2sgyCKbY4JfGyOpOclyVfccbsgd1t3wlqnM67XZ5nKzWjAMg7Fq-bMFVs4f1FQ/w320-h181/maxresdefault%20(1).jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGKyXtdV4E5oEXVmZpiDmVSCtt2UCbEWRth8P_yqfpUL_M2kdIVcA7gLEIB7sYf2o8yP6hldvzGq2uHYw9LqAPsWaxajHKBBCpIgfhmKdtLBszbsBO0IxVi5057bunF7aefUtKZl1wa8kI8Tv7357wAI0LSVUZnPR7fLhx1BqYIzK1tspBic-9GOgLmA/s1280/maxresdefault.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGKyXtdV4E5oEXVmZpiDmVSCtt2UCbEWRth8P_yqfpUL_M2kdIVcA7gLEIB7sYf2o8yP6hldvzGq2uHYw9LqAPsWaxajHKBBCpIgfhmKdtLBszbsBO0IxVi5057bunF7aefUtKZl1wa8kI8Tv7357wAI0LSVUZnPR7fLhx1BqYIzK1tspBic-9GOgLmA/w320-h181/maxresdefault.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></div><br /><div><b>Developer:</b> Eidos-Montreal<br /><b>Publisher:</b> Square Enix Europe<br /><b>Released:</b> 2011, 2012, 2013 (Director's Cut)<br /><b>Platforms:</b> PlayStation 3, XBox 360, Mac OS X, Wii U</div><div><b>Recommended Version:</b> All versions play pretty much the same, though the 2013 Director's Cut does feature some substantial improvements to enemy AI, overall gameplay (including much better boss fights) and some core mechanics, as well as improved visuals and including the Missing Link DLC. The Wii U version also has a few exclusive additions like using the touchpad to display a minimap, input keycodes, interact with computers and activate some augmentation features</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5025140749662915638.post-34041903095650129882024-01-30T15:35:00.000-08:002024-01-30T20:14:49.102-08:00Deus Ex: Invisible War<p>Deus Ex is one of the most highly acclaimed games of all time and was an enormous success for Ion Storm, so I understand why a sequel was made. What I don't understand is why it was made <i>this way</i>. Invisible War makes the leap to a new engine (Unreal 2) and jumps ahead to the future, where somehow all three endings of the original game have occurred simultaneously and somehow have all canceled each other out, resulting in the world being in the same violent, dystopian state it was at the beginning of the first Deus Ex. A fact I'm sure Ubisoft took note of, as they've since engineered every sequel they ever make to nullify everything that occurred in the previous game. The engine does IW no favors right away - the awkward, buggy physics and severely shrunken-down levels (clearly from being built as a console game first and the PC port being an afterthought) greatly subtract from the grandiose, interconnected feel of the original. It hits the gameplay beats of Deus Ex, having the player find upgrades via augmentation cansisters and tweak weapons to make them more useful, but virtually nothing new is added and everything is scaled down. Weapons all inexplicably run off the same ammunition pool, so the "strongest weapons" will drain your reserves in only a few shots and once you run out you have no backup save possibly a melee weapon (which I ended up using the majority of the game as a result). The story is just a retread of the first game with none of the subtlety, ominous mood or grounded real-world conspiracies to lend it credibility, and as a result it all just rings of going through the motions to make more money. Go here, go there, learn about the generic "new" bad guys, see a few familiar faces from the first game, rinse and repeat until the final showdown where all three factions convene at Liberty Island (from the first game! again!) and you choose to spare one of them to guide humanity's future or destroy them all and plunge the world into chaos. Just like the first game. It looks pretty enough for a 2003 game and it does feature substantially better voiceover, but with an overabundance of rote repetition and an absence of any decent ideas of its own, Invisible War just falls flat on its face. What a lame, unnecessary sequel.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgwIgX8Tp-kvTNhq-fDtTjOdOSrzqsNXsG8V4205vJRdgt2ClSPN-GX5W-pbNMPH1xMqo36aoDxOo7nSi5VOWRH3NRrxq80Ns6c-SIBQraIM0vnCoYTMgaWTDe42N3GMnEqxbcSkHm2t7G_8YtA76onqbq-1ZoDNF40ISe3uPacIBx2T-OyOI-vQFT-zQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgwIgX8Tp-kvTNhq-fDtTjOdOSrzqsNXsG8V4205vJRdgt2ClSPN-GX5W-pbNMPH1xMqo36aoDxOo7nSi5VOWRH3NRrxq80Ns6c-SIBQraIM0vnCoYTMgaWTDe42N3GMnEqxbcSkHm2t7G_8YtA76onqbq-1ZoDNF40ISe3uPacIBx2T-OyOI-vQFT-zQ" width="320" /></a></div><br />Developer: Ion Storm<br />Publisher: Eidos Interactive<br />Released: 2003<br />Platforms: XBox, PC<p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5025140749662915638.post-26606161940284831752024-01-17T21:49:00.000-08:002024-01-26T15:11:26.527-08:00Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: DragonStrike (NES)DragonStrike on computers was a pretty novel idea - a D&D-licensed flight and aerial combat sim. The NES did have a few such games like Top Gun and Airwolf, but they were all pretty primitive, held back by the limitations of the hardware. So rather than trying to adapt the PC version of Dragonstrike, Westwood chose to make an entirely new game - in this case, a top-down free-roaming shooter. Given a choice of three dragons to control with slightly differing stats, you fly around large maps, shooting down enemies with projectiles. One can fly low to attack enemies on the ground by pressing the B button, then switch back to aerial combat to engage other flying enemies like beholders, dragons and wizards on flying carpets. Every couple of stages you're pitted against a boss, ranging from a giant squid to a fortified castle to a heavily armed ship, and the final battle pits you against big-time D&D baddie Tiamat, the five-headed dragon queen. The game does look quite nice on the NES, with detailed environments and little sprite flicker, and the music is provided by Westwood alumnus Frank Klepacki, who would become famous for composing the soundtrack to Command & Conquer only a few years later. A decent if not amazing experience, though it is commendable that they decided to make an entirely new game rather than trying to adapt the computer version onto hardware it wasn't suited for; more than I can claim for some other <a href="https://www.rpgreats.com/2022/09/ultima-warriors-of-destiny-nes.html">NES games</a>, for sure.<div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg70IUGFBKzPFlmgitOg3UbffGNGUJC_Si50tpu3gMjPA0B-qg6o5PdJ7r14LS3qEKZ-N8-0bJivBRukTBx6G6KgKL0Njfi2VcuIYfBvKGoS4Vnc_8O50lg3BTardVhlwNvObsEhw45GR4xYFEREZIN-MChaFWrD6VmG7Kd1q31t4eeiDZZjTTaYrJYMw/s256/Advanced_Dungeons_&_Dragons_-_Dragon_Strike_1.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="224" data-original-width="256" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg70IUGFBKzPFlmgitOg3UbffGNGUJC_Si50tpu3gMjPA0B-qg6o5PdJ7r14LS3qEKZ-N8-0bJivBRukTBx6G6KgKL0Njfi2VcuIYfBvKGoS4Vnc_8O50lg3BTardVhlwNvObsEhw45GR4xYFEREZIN-MChaFWrD6VmG7Kd1q31t4eeiDZZjTTaYrJYMw/s1600/Advanced_Dungeons_&_Dragons_-_Dragon_Strike_1.png" width="256" /></a></div><br />Developer: Westwood Associates<br />Publisher: Strategic Simulations<br />Released: 1990<br />Platforms: NES</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5025140749662915638.post-80948939134607346352024-01-17T21:33:00.000-08:002024-01-17T21:33:13.548-08:00Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: DragonStrike<p>DragonStrike (not to be confused with the similarly-named D&D board game) is certainly an odd take on Dungeons and Dragons, exhuming RPG design in favor of an aerial flight and combat sim game. The player is put in the role of a knight riding on the back of a dragon, and over the course of numerous missions they shoot down enemies with dragon breath or defeat them in melee combat using their dragon's claws, teeth or their lance. There's quite a few of them too - dragons, manticores, wyverns and beholders all attack at various times, and flying too low will put you in range of enemy archers, so that's something to avoid. Per Westwood standards the game is quite impressive visually with its smoothly animated (albeit undetailed) 3D environments and enemies, and the 2D artwork on display between stages is quite beautiful to behold. While not a particularly deep game it is fun while it lasts, and if nothing else it's probably the only flight sim that will ever be attached to the D&D license. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh-jbEI5-RXty7IwB1ns1WH1svDbewfMFwwFqKBCZgRu1HwZhJxXv4XhEROqjOr-8x919XQTe7cSHMIkHrXHPRssuCyTT8cTTWBcR7O5x23iFVGUPICWRL_fHGz0fz-LZX5k_NH36Vdavmv0PvclhEtrTW418nlXjEXQSvZiUXuzm0IjCLSPoD_4n-a-Q" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1726" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh-jbEI5-RXty7IwB1ns1WH1svDbewfMFwwFqKBCZgRu1HwZhJxXv4XhEROqjOr-8x919XQTe7cSHMIkHrXHPRssuCyTT8cTTWBcR7O5x23iFVGUPICWRL_fHGz0fz-LZX5k_NH36Vdavmv0PvclhEtrTW418nlXjEXQSvZiUXuzm0IjCLSPoD_4n-a-Q" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div>Developer: Westwood Associates<br />Publisher: Strategic Simulations<br />Released: 1990<br />Platforms: Amiga, Commodore 64, MS-DOS, PC-9801, Sharp X68000Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5025140749662915638.post-5427274282882169242024-01-17T21:07:00.000-08:002024-03-10T23:11:30.510-07:00Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Treasure of Tarmin<div>The second Dungeons and Dragons licensed game on the Intellivision. But whereas the first game was a very loose adaptation of the subject matter with an arcadey bent, Treasure of Tarmin draws far more inspiration from earlier D&D-inspired games like Wizardry, Ultima and even the old mainframe clones like Oubilette and DnD. With a first-person perspective, monsters to vanquish, traps to avoid, some inventory and equipment management, and six stats to keep tabs on, it's an archetypal dungeon crawler. Melee weapons and spells you find are single-use, while bows and spellbooks can be used repeatedly (the former as long as you have arrows, the latter as long as you have Spiritual Power), but nevertheless have a chance to break on each use. Potions appear to restore war/spiritual strength and some special spellbooks can allow you to glance through walls, teleport through them, or power up equipment. One can also find treasures like coins, crowns, lamps and golden chalices, though these are only used for points. There's a surprising amount of depth and nuance for a game released where and when it was, and as probably the first game of its time to appear on a console, it's worth checking out from a historical perspective.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqOGueZXwA_Kq2Q0wc49MXMUP8DncGmbDulVRIU_4PxXAJhsZBMdquTNn_CwehHJPN4qt2EUExlBqKAyqzKmA8OfZ71PwJ1cPwM6Zq3G8sDFKjJ_qFg93oI6Xz0xATil-twTyjKhAkOQv1rgA_DMpcHynkzJi1RdHOVe3BeELjHEau-2V71udafte6XA/s1514/tarmin.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1092" data-original-width="1514" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqOGueZXwA_Kq2Q0wc49MXMUP8DncGmbDulVRIU_4PxXAJhsZBMdquTNn_CwehHJPN4qt2EUExlBqKAyqzKmA8OfZ71PwJ1cPwM6Zq3G8sDFKjJ_qFg93oI6Xz0xATil-twTyjKhAkOQv1rgA_DMpcHynkzJi1RdHOVe3BeELjHEau-2V71udafte6XA/s320/tarmin.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div>Developer: APh Technological Consulting<div>Publisher: Mattel Electronics<br />Released: 1983<br />Platforms: Intellivision, Mattel Aquarius<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5025140749662915638.post-3194986019463702912024-01-17T19:59:00.000-08:002024-03-10T23:09:37.495-07:00Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Cartridge<p>The first official D&D-licensed game to appear on a console and the third made by Mattel overall, with the first two being an electronic board game and a handheld LCD game. Some sources I've seen (including Wikipedia) also give it the subtitle "Cloudy Mountain", though as far as I can tell this was never included on any actual printings of the game. As one would expect of an early '80s game console it's not too much to look at and the core gameplay is rather basic arcadey fare. AD&DC has a fair degree of depth and complexity for its time, however - there are algorithms in play to randomly generate dungeons and the world map, so the experience is a bit different each time you play it. Several monsters hinder you in the dungeons, each with a distinct audio cue and taking varying numbers of arrows to kill - a lowly rat, bat or spider takes only a single arrow, while tougher monsters like demons and dragons can take two or three (and one, the slime blob, cannot be killed at all). Your arrows can also ricochet off walls to damage enemies around corners, which comes in handy for dealing with the faster, deadlier critters that can quickly overtake you, though they can also harm you if you don't aim carefully. In fact, it's often a good idea to take blind shots into rooms or around corners if you hear a dangerous enemy's audio cue, so this can be considered a crude stealth mechanic. Other twists include having to find keys to open gates, axes to chop down trees, boats to cross rivers, and your ultimate goal once you reach Cloudy Mountain is to find two halves of a crown, each guarded by a winged dragon, which wins the game. There are also four difficulty settings, though the only major difference between them is that you find fewer arrows in quivers and monsters move slightly faster with each step up. A simple, but nevertheless fun game that should provide a few minutes of entertainment to die-hard D&D fans and/or retro game enthusiasts.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh2OSXS36w-AbXP5lReD-OmSCaUxvKv1mK-hW60fyOGwy1UaIjgdL-FmDpjelS0qw65qVZZahdliN7UEjT0XmMmPOU_aX7hIEXx7ypWWJ-jAAA1KINOTGYjmQWzSIdSOr-ofPXn0puf1kuo1eUkwvNJHmt4C7ELLlQ6rk8CBnJrcj1vyeiOpgdJ-KnODg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="320" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh2OSXS36w-AbXP5lReD-OmSCaUxvKv1mK-hW60fyOGwy1UaIjgdL-FmDpjelS0qw65qVZZahdliN7UEjT0XmMmPOU_aX7hIEXx7ypWWJ-jAAA1KINOTGYjmQWzSIdSOr-ofPXn0puf1kuo1eUkwvNJHmt4C7ELLlQ6rk8CBnJrcj1vyeiOpgdJ-KnODg" width="320" /></a></div><br />Developer: Mattel Electronics<br />Publisher: Mattel Electronics<br />Released: 1982<br />Platforms: IntellivisionUnknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5025140749662915638.post-88286707073338337772024-01-06T20:29:00.000-08:002024-01-09T12:34:53.690-08:00Baten Kaitos Origins<p>Released as "Baten Kaitos II" in Japan (and indeed this title still appears in the opening FMV), though it was given an alternate title in North America since it's a prequel to the original game. They seem to have taken some criticisms of the original game to heart and made strides to greatly improve the game's pacing. Case in point, the card-based combat is now significantly overhauled. Rather than having a large stockpile of weapons with differing elemental properties, you're now given generic "attack" cards with numbers that go from 1-7. Attack cards can now only be used in ascending order, and you can use any number of them in a single turn as long as you follow this rule. One also gets weapon and armor cards, which always have a number of "0"; rather than needing to be used at the moment of an attack, these cards remain in effect or a fixed number of uses before deactivating, with armor naturally reducing damage and weapons dealing extra. However, you can only have one equipment card, weapon or armor, active at a time - using another overwrites the old one and any remaining charges are lost. Some cards (like healing items) aren't numbered at all and can only be used on their own in a given turn, while special moves are now powered by "MP", a gauge charged as you play cards; using a special subtracts from your total number of filled MP bars. There are now only three party members and they all draw from the same deck, which cuts down on micromanagement. Battles move at a much faster pace, with turns activating on a linear time scale and taking longer to recharge after certain actions, not unlike the ATB system from Final Fantasy IV. You can discard unwanted cards to stop them cluttering up your hand and don't have to lose turns to "shuffle the deck" anymore, which is quite nice. "Class levels" are now tied to Technical Points earned from battle rather than items doled out at the whim of the plot, and experience levels are applied after battle so you don't have to run back to the church nearly as often. The annoying element of having to snap photos of enemies is discarded in favor of simple money drops. Quest Magnus also have a bit more purpose than simply solving puzzles - if you keep certain types in your inventory slots they'll actually boost (or lower) your battle stats and elemental resistances a bit, and can be used to craft new cards in some shops. Fittingly for a prequel many familiar locales from the first game return, though you also see several new ones, and the story, while not as interesting as the first, is a solid one that builds on the fourth wall breaking gimmick of the first game (with the player once again taking the role of a "Guardian Spirit" whom the protagonists directly speak to). All in all a much better paced and more refined gameplay experience, and the writing, while still solid, is told through a slow-burn story that takes a good while before everything falls into place. The world building definitely loses something without Masato Kato at the helm, which makes me wish we could get a reworked version of the first game that uses Origins' gameplay design. It's a shame the game came out so late in the system's life that almost nobody played it, but hey, at least you can get it at an affordable price on the Baten Kaitos HD Remaster compilation now.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEglJIARNGtFXRy_ZI49HOvrtLFiKF6qY_A3mO-z_wXh2aKM7j1Ccd8fJVMs0CjdKGKvWyCIeeyK0biSk3wGXOdfSJu6ghbKzCWLSMgbjEzvJowjB9C1nV_p9l9YPz-FTim2j5rWDuUGtzgAXQoU7blnn_FJ-vwI4WYem1Hj9Cn1vcEGkRplXfiX6gBwrA" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEglJIARNGtFXRy_ZI49HOvrtLFiKF6qY_A3mO-z_wXh2aKM7j1Ccd8fJVMs0CjdKGKvWyCIeeyK0biSk3wGXOdfSJu6ghbKzCWLSMgbjEzvJowjB9C1nV_p9l9YPz-FTim2j5rWDuUGtzgAXQoU7blnn_FJ-vwI4WYem1Hj9Cn1vcEGkRplXfiX6gBwrA" width="320" /></a></div></div><div><br />Developer: Monolith Soft, Tri-Crescendo<br />Publisher: Bandai Namco<br />Released: 2006, 2023<br />Platforms: Gamecube, Switch</div><br />The version on the Baten Kaitos HD Remaster compilation has some QoL improvements like options for disabling encounters and speeding up the gameplay, though like the original Baten Kaitos, it also loses its English dub and has only Japanese audio with English subtitles. A bit more of a substantial loss this time as the dubbing was actually well-done in this game.<p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5025140749662915638.post-59844434938794878792024-01-03T18:34:00.000-08:002024-01-03T23:02:13.173-08:00Dissidia Final Fantasy NT<div>The third game in the Dissidia franchise overall and its first entry in HD, and like the previous two it's an arena combat game with a plethora of Final Fantasy characters and elements to utilize. NT revamps the gameplay into a three-on-three free-to-play online combat experience; 'free-to-play' of course meaning "you can get a small handful of features at no cost but if you want to use most of the characters and weapon sets, you gotta pay up". Thankfully there is a season pass available that grants you most of the game's content for around $30 (substantially less if you happen to buy while it's on sale) and a Deluxe Edition that includes all the characters, though there are also an awful lot of extra weapon packs and costumes available, making it easy to feel like you're being nickel-and-dimed. The core gameplay remains solid enough, based around juggling Brave and dealing HP damage and trying to be the first team to score three knockouts. New additions include equippable Materia to cast spells, which have supportive effects like poisoning enemies or recovering some HP over time. Summons replace the Assists from Duodecim; your team builds a meter by either landing blows, taking damage, charging via the touchpad or destroying Summoning Cores, and once the gauge is full you can pull off a summon, which can provide powerful buff effects on your team or deal heavy damage to the enemy. Another game mode called 'Core Battle' is added to complement the multiplayer focus - somewhat similar to 'Capture the Flag', one must drive the enemy's teammates away from their core and destroy it before the same happens to theirs. It's a pretty fun game if you have some friends to play with (and against), but the minimal single player experience and battles always involving teams of three may be a deal breaker to some longtime fans of Dissidia.</div><div><br /></div><div>(Also dare I say Square Enix should get some tips on animating faces from Team Ninja?)</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbi0BKFUCCDhbEUoLhUffQykLSlJUrwg0gk8GdH2jQkqOyDTxicPOeV8i1_ymQWXCKIQcFgKmMdvKhhdZsO886EOhSNYj0vRJZvntR3w_aCe-wlwaJjdowBKQOx6Qgt9AuIQ_t2fN0nw5YNT-bcW59SaFPcvemNheCP5IhapTLaDtc2yZaqtIi0S9nfA/s1920/DFFNT02.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbi0BKFUCCDhbEUoLhUffQykLSlJUrwg0gk8GdH2jQkqOyDTxicPOeV8i1_ymQWXCKIQcFgKmMdvKhhdZsO886EOhSNYj0vRJZvntR3w_aCe-wlwaJjdowBKQOx6Qgt9AuIQ_t2fN0nw5YNT-bcW59SaFPcvemNheCP5IhapTLaDtc2yZaqtIi0S9nfA/s320/DFFNT02.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />Developer: Team Ninja<br />Publisher: Square Enix<br />Released: 2015, 2018, 2019<br />Platforms: Arcade, Playstation 4, PC</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5025140749662915638.post-11697418525626658392024-01-03T17:15:00.000-08:002024-01-14T10:25:35.700-08:00 Dissidia Duodecim 012 Final Fantasy<p>Dissidia 012 is of course the sequel to Dissidia Final Fantasy, which was released a little over a year after the original game. As one would expect it adds a few new mechanics into the mix and adds some fan-favorite characters that weren't represented in the original like Kain, Tifa, Gilgamesh and Laguna, as well as Lightning from the recently-released Final Fantasy XIII. The story mode is also greatly expanded this time - it takes place on a 3D world map rather than the simple grid of the original, complete with random encounters and NPCs to interact with, and allowing the player to control a party of up to three characters at a time. In addition to serving as a prequel, this mode also retells the entire story of the first game in its new style, as well as adding a new following chapter, so there's quite a bit more to experience on the single-player front this time. Combat remains largely similar to the first game, though with some new mechanics added into the mix. Assist Mode allows a player to call in a second character to aid them in battle, helping to attack or defend against incoming attacks. Assists can also be "Broken" while a character is in EX Mode, preventing the other player from calling in their own assist for a short time. Similarly, a character's EX Mode can be countered with an EX Break - calling in an assist character to force them out of that mode. Finally, there's EX Revenge, allowing a player to sacrifice their EX meter to stop an opponent's attack and slow them down temporarily, allowing them to get an attack in instead. A game with a lot of flair, quite a bit of content to experience and plenty of popular characters and little nods to series canon to enjoy make it an enjoyable arena combat experience on the PSP.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJIrfXMCHb2A80RphECKk7XGzp2DTRBh-ZvYGmJ1GktVem0PH6xIuh6NIbXu-wRHjX6OTP72PEibLWn30L6zjxO1H8Xw8bRfVgrPqUU12l1AHSACDKsfAG-ognKXgZ8mts9XKw8vuhGVRfTfq537slzF2MWJ-yMc2TI9q_2CkzTBgq0VsCdXtr0xycoA/s480/Vann_battle_FIX.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="272" data-original-width="480" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJIrfXMCHb2A80RphECKk7XGzp2DTRBh-ZvYGmJ1GktVem0PH6xIuh6NIbXu-wRHjX6OTP72PEibLWn30L6zjxO1H8Xw8bRfVgrPqUU12l1AHSACDKsfAG-ognKXgZ8mts9XKw8vuhGVRfTfq537slzF2MWJ-yMc2TI9q_2CkzTBgq0VsCdXtr0xycoA/s320/Vann_battle_FIX.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Developer: Square Enix<br />Publisher: Square Enix<br />Released: 2011<br />Platforms: Playstation PortableUnknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5025140749662915638.post-55631574075076447892024-01-03T16:08:00.000-08:002024-03-03T08:56:11.192-08:00Dissidia Final Fantasy<p>While the Final Fantasy franchise has ventured out into numerous other genres over the years, its first foray into fighting games (as guest characters in Dream Factory's Ehrgeiz) was viewed as lackluster by many; it was a pretty mediocre fighter in the first place, but the characters were also mostly just reskins of existing characters and had no presence in the storyline (not even unique endings), so it wasn't a particularly interesting new angle to see them from. Dissidia was initially intended as a fighting-based offshoot of the Kingdom Hearts franchise, though it was later changed to focus exclusively on Final Fantasy characters, its cast eventually expanding to incorporate characters from every game in the franchise to that point. Rather than being a one-on-one fighter focused on execution and combos though, it was more of a blend of an RPG and an arena combat game similar to Virtual On. Players maneuver around large, open arenas, interacting with objects in the environment to move faster or trigger traps that hinder their opponents, and of course go on the offensive themselves with a plenty of flashy attacks and weapons. In addition to a health bar one also has a stat called "Brave" which determines how much damage their attacks deal; using a circle button attack steals Brave from the opponent, while a square-button attack deals damage to the opponent's health, emptying their Brave in the process if it lands, though it will quickly refill. If one is completely drained of Brave by an attack they will be at a significant disadvantage - not only can they not harm their opponent until they get some Brave back, but their opponent will get a substantial boost in Brave themselves. In addition, an EX Gauge gradually fills as the player takes or deals damage or collects items about the field, and once filled they will be able to transform and become significantly stronger. While in EX state they can to unleash a powerful "EX Attack" by landing a blow and then correctly pressing a number of quick-time inputs, while their opponent can reduce the damage they take by performing correct inputs of their own. The RPG element comes in between battles, with characters gaining stats, levels and randomized equipment to utilize in future bouts. These can also be used in two-player competitive matches, or if one wishes, they can instead play the "Arcade Mode" which strips out all the RPG elements to balance characters out as much as possible. While not a particularly deep game and the story mode layout is a little drab, Dissidia does have plenty of visual flair (especially for the PSP platform) and the story mode has plenty of service for long-time franchise fans, with a lot of familiar characters, plot points, items and music to experience. It's also the first time many of the characters depicted have been presented in 3D with full voicework, so that's also a nice touch for fans of the pre-10 Final Fantasies.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjoeqUmDWZdFuN83MECAI5kyY6nLanYVCPZkIf4C7OpvkVaN3QZG-ZuyxxOimVgV7_mIKnQdj0FmaQFiZcdO5WYlvHldWQ50pczMLNWxspo1CBQW-TlbP2TIJQQK_yXDvSuawhM9ZJU7KtYXOkyXw9KWJR38HLVJKoD6jYMsPEK4AlsD40tLx20wO_Q0A" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="272" data-original-width="480" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjoeqUmDWZdFuN83MECAI5kyY6nLanYVCPZkIf4C7OpvkVaN3QZG-ZuyxxOimVgV7_mIKnQdj0FmaQFiZcdO5WYlvHldWQ50pczMLNWxspo1CBQW-TlbP2TIJQQK_yXDvSuawhM9ZJU7KtYXOkyXw9KWJR38HLVJKoD6jYMsPEK4AlsD40tLx20wO_Q0A" width="320" /></a></div><br />Developer: Square Enix<br />Publisher: Square Enix<br />Released: 2009<br />Platforms: Playstation Portable<p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5025140749662915638.post-27121175207174711422023-12-31T22:51:00.000-08:002024-02-15T19:05:35.312-08:00Shadow Hearts: From the New World<p><i>The third (and tragically last) Shadow Hearts game changes up the setting to to a new locale - America - and stars an almost entirely new cast in a story only tangentially connected to the originals. But does it prove to be a worthy sendoff for a short-lived franchise, or should it just have stayed in the old world?</i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk2y9jCeEbNXXFotTqdZ47K_XQnTSwanTQrm2zAJYvjhkLm8lyx23EreBxeEUMPl8q-J1YhlreFcAjxZzlWYU9t5AWI25jD_e2BpXZQ_owfGBYelYXloaubUIOfVoUOtFzMgcuoEVbW9R4IaPQ36BEkUYKxj3m9HcjwUhDXVA0p1wCmb4qnWWM_U5Ktw/s800/5025607-shadow-hearts-from-the-new-world-playstation-2-front-cover.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="564" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk2y9jCeEbNXXFotTqdZ47K_XQnTSwanTQrm2zAJYvjhkLm8lyx23EreBxeEUMPl8q-J1YhlreFcAjxZzlWYU9t5AWI25jD_e2BpXZQ_owfGBYelYXloaubUIOfVoUOtFzMgcuoEVbW9R4IaPQ36BEkUYKxj3m9HcjwUhDXVA0p1wCmb4qnWWM_U5Ktw/s320/5025607-shadow-hearts-from-the-new-world-playstation-2-front-cover.jpg" width="226" /></a></div><p>The third game to bear the Shadow Hearts moniker and the fourth in the series counting Koudelka, though technically it's a spinoff; a Shadow Hearts 3 was planned (which would have been a prequel telling the story of Jinpachiro Hyuga, Yuri's father), though it was unfortunately canceled when Nautilus was dissolved in 2007 by its parent company Aruze. From the New World debuted in the US the same year, making it something of a eulogy for the series, as well another popular JRPG franchise that unfortunately never got an HD entry.</p><p>From the New World bears many gameplay similarities to the second game, with a cast of outlandish characters and accompanying side-quests to power up their unique abilities. Characters can also chain attacks together in battle and form Combos, dealing extra damage the more hits they land in an unbroken chain, and most characters can use a pool of common spells via the use of add-ons - Stellar Charts in this game's case. Thus, while there is a fair bit of character customization, each character also gets their own unique mechanics and abilities to utilize; again, not dissimilar to Final Fantasy VI. The series trademark Sanity Points return too; should your sanity drop to 0 or less, that character will go berserk and start attacking allies and enemies at random and will miss out on any experience gained from that fight, unless you restore it before the battle ends. This can be particularly annoying early on, as many of your characters (even your main one) have very low SP at the start of the game, so you have to be sure to make every turn of theirs count.</p><p>But while many of these elements are still recognizable from 2, things do change up a fair bit. A new mechanic called "Stock" is added, with attacks and taking damage gradually filling a character's bar up to a maximum of two levels. Once you have at least one level, you can choose to spend one to start a combo chain (with everyone else who joins in having to spend one as well), or use a Double action, effectively getting two moves per turn, though you cannot do the same action more than once per turn. Spending two Stock bars even allows you to combine both a Double and a Combo in the same turn, so you can chain up to eight actions together and rack up heavy damage. Thankfully a UI improvement is also introduced - attacks now have lit indicators show the range(s) in which they hit (high, low or mid-range), and if an enemy you're targeting with the currently-selected attack is suboptimal or likely to miss entirely, their name will be highlighted in red, so you can back up and pick a better option without wasting MP.</p><p>The Crest Magic system from Shadow Hearts Covenant is also discarded in favor of a new one, utilizing Stellar Charts. Each character can equip only one at a time, and each comes pre-loaded with a set number of slots and spells. However, by visiting Bugen the Engraver, one can pay money to customize these slots and add new "Stellars" to them, granting access to new and more powerful spells. Slots come in three basic types for Offensive, Restorative and Support magic, one of the six elements - fire, water, earth, wind, light and darkness - and four levels of power. One can also change any elemental slot to a generic colorless slot that accepts any element, though this is much a more expensive option. One can further add an "Effect Up" augmentation to a given slot to get more mileage out of offensive spells, or decrease MP cost of a spells in that slot by up to 50%, both at further cost.</p><p>The jokey tone of Covenant is played up even further here, both in its story scenes and in the characters' respective combat mechanics. One of your first recruits is "Frank", a self-proclaimed ninja with an unidentifiable accent trained in Brazil who wields all manner of bizarre objects as oversized swords; not dissimilar to Joachim from Covenant picking up random objects to use in battle, always accompanied with dramatic speeches. The requisite Valentine family member is a self-proclaimed superhero, changing form based on how many Calories she consumes; while in Slim form her physical attributes drop while her magic gets stronger, and in "Curvy" form things go the opposite direction. Shania has a familiar mechanic in her Sanity-consuming monster morphing, though the designs and animations are more over-the-top than ever and extremely fanservicey; more than a little reminiscent of Bayonetta, though this game predates it by several years. Johnny wields several gadgets in battle and is something of an amalgam of other characters; a cell-phone to summon help, a camera to snap pictures and analyze enemy stats (which then take the form of trading cards as part of a larger sidequest), and eventually gains some monster morphing abilities of his own. It's all the weirdness and creativity of the series transplanted to a kitschy and exaggerated 1930s America, and it's pretty glorious to behold if you're into that sort of thing. It is considerably scaled down from the previous game though - understandable since it's technically a spinoff title, but if you're used to the more leisurely pace of Covenant and the original Shadow Hearts it can be a bit jarring.</p><p>Shadow Hearts: From the New World definitely feels like a spinoff game - smaller in scale in almost every respect, and as a result it tries to cram more into that smaller space with mixed results. Combat is slower and tends to drag after a while, particularly late in the game when virtually every enemy inflicts status effects and chains together long, damaging combos if you aren't scrupulously depleting their Stock every time they build it up. Sidequests feel more than a bit filler-y (particularly Mao's, which requires an awful lot of tedious item farming) and even with all of that, you'll likely have to come through again in New Game Plus to see everything. The lackluster villains and lack of character development in comparison to previous games feels like a pretty big omission too. The end result is a game that feels like it needed a bit more time to cook - time they unfortunately didn't have as they were closed down not long after its release. It's a shame the series ends on such a bittersweet note, though, as I think Nautilus had the stuff to become a big name in the RPG field had they had a chance to prove themselves some more.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoGJO6dSX_9rL7Kg6ZzEtTX0Qnm0eZZ64N8_2WWI0CQbrejwAVob6hjTu_XPzb3aWCwPNPFVn_sxnwlBrSg2J6749pyF1MHHKEQYJEfGSpbXVCoRFMUuW13Dl_o5ff0uOSYgoWyfsd6dHbToDZLqQ12pLrUD80NZZcsvaQbUiPw4UtZn5XVCx0GFgY8A/s576/sh1.jpg_06w9JVR.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="447" data-original-width="576" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoGJO6dSX_9rL7Kg6ZzEtTX0Qnm0eZZ64N8_2WWI0CQbrejwAVob6hjTu_XPzb3aWCwPNPFVn_sxnwlBrSg2J6749pyF1MHHKEQYJEfGSpbXVCoRFMUuW13Dl_o5ff0uOSYgoWyfsd6dHbToDZLqQ12pLrUD80NZZcsvaQbUiPw4UtZn5XVCx0GFgY8A/w320-h248/sh1.jpg_06w9JVR.png" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFCsOb_trUZUG04dYwUTKQcFulPjWRfXbQG46cHOmbHKk3nGtuFw-gJ6pkWL0xsMPAN8YP9ZlxKx5rSToluzpJ5FCqbqU2txgcaRHgy9r9WjZM_6sHpYKWYuqzUI-Kp_MtYmE1JnMIlqjglnmi56GhDe5ZjHCUhybkOj3eutxfKm9G6YDLCcnKuNmR7w/s1280/1_XASX6aOtbbrrVbxJYfXeMg.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFCsOb_trUZUG04dYwUTKQcFulPjWRfXbQG46cHOmbHKk3nGtuFw-gJ6pkWL0xsMPAN8YP9ZlxKx5rSToluzpJ5FCqbqU2txgcaRHgy9r9WjZM_6sHpYKWYuqzUI-Kp_MtYmE1JnMIlqjglnmi56GhDe5ZjHCUhybkOj3eutxfKm9G6YDLCcnKuNmR7w/w320-h181/1_XASX6aOtbbrrVbxJYfXeMg.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></div><br /><div><b>Developer:</b> Nautilus<br /><b>Publisher:</b> Aruze, Xseed Games, Ghostlight<br /><b>Released:</b> 2005, 2007<br /><b>Platforms:</b> PlayStation 2</div><div><b>Recommended Version:</b> N/A</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5025140749662915638.post-7305452551132636772023-12-29T23:40:00.000-08:002023-12-29T23:40:12.438-08:00Etrian Mystery Dungeon<p>Another crossover for the Etrian series, this time with Mystery Dungeon's roguelike gameplay, though it may not be the best fit for a crossover - roguelikes are generally built as single-character romps, so having a full party accompanying you throughout feels a touch unwieldy. Particularly as enemies will almost always target your weakest characters by preference (like your squishy mages and healers) and will power up on scoring a successful kill, proving a much greater threat to the rest of your party. Your fighters and mages will generally attack of their own accord unless you choose to take all their turns manually, though that does significantly slow down the action, and of course having multiple characters around makes it much easier to trigger traps as you move about (though other characters will at least avoid them automatically once they're uncovered). You do at least have the ability to swap between party members and assign skills to hotkeys with combinations of buttons, though it takes some adapting. The formula does work fairly well once you adapt to it, though in all honestly I'd rather just play an Etrian or a proper roguelike instead of a strange hybrid of the two. A sentiment seemingly echoed by many who played it, as it didn't sell well enough for Etrian Mystery Dungeon 2 to be brought outside of Japan.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgGTTZuZamFspryC3Qlr8R7nzsQwd3e6YwAcBaH11NQw3XOhMPTjLyIFzJhev9fxbnCOt8aIzMAtBX8zYwrQuqVIZJ_aCWvCXA9VEllUuD7gq20tRUTGNW-rIiHl3R7ZCCdIt4GZvJIeUa7Kj7AlPT6xeYYj53hvd67WEwZWWFeZejd4hM36l9rRfa8HA" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="590" data-original-width="984" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgGTTZuZamFspryC3Qlr8R7nzsQwd3e6YwAcBaH11NQw3XOhMPTjLyIFzJhev9fxbnCOt8aIzMAtBX8zYwrQuqVIZJ_aCWvCXA9VEllUuD7gq20tRUTGNW-rIiHl3R7ZCCdIt4GZvJIeUa7Kj7AlPT6xeYYj53hvd67WEwZWWFeZejd4hM36l9rRfa8HA" width="320" /></a></div><p></p>Developer: Spike Chunsoft<br />Publisher: Atlus<br />Released: 2015<br />Platforms: Nintendo 3DSUnknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5025140749662915638.post-54298831390255759232023-12-27T15:11:00.000-08:002023-12-27T15:11:27.897-08:00Etrian Odyssey Untold: The Millennium Girl<p> A remake of the original Etrian Odyssey, with several new features added - 3D models for monsters, multiple options for difficulty, some features to streamline the action (like fast-traveling through completed floors), some new enemy types, faster animations and combat, and most substantially, a new alternate story mode with new areas to explore, quite a bit of voice acting and several pre-defined characters and new story scenes, as well as two new classes exclusive to that mode (Highlander and Gunner). Basically, the original EO with some significant upgrades and new content added. The only real hangup is that there's only one save slot available, so you can't keep a separate save for the Classic mode and for the Story mode - you have to delete your progress in one to start the other. That aside, it's classic dungeon crawling action with modern accomodations to trim down on the tedious aspects of its '80s bretheren; if that sounds good to you, Etrian Odyssey Untold is worthy of your time. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjTMw5PFkOgd_AhzwbczZAH2REh9eLhtVf0BqTzvhXiJjpiaqn8fzxRRSc-lZBydUi0SGt-L6WavT2_DFfO1oID6XPG44M02L-pG45cKpsmO0n2yHxy3K_0txcSD8uqAdCu1T6lZpS5j8IoNh1T0VMm17yCWiIzi24iFO_7q67jU4BgYK7YX5zup8gbSw" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="240" data-original-width="400" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjTMw5PFkOgd_AhzwbczZAH2REh9eLhtVf0BqTzvhXiJjpiaqn8fzxRRSc-lZBydUi0SGt-L6WavT2_DFfO1oID6XPG44M02L-pG45cKpsmO0n2yHxy3K_0txcSD8uqAdCu1T6lZpS5j8IoNh1T0VMm17yCWiIzi24iFO_7q67jU4BgYK7YX5zup8gbSw" width="320" /></a></div><br /><b>Developer:</b> Atlus<br /><b>Publisher:</b> Atlus<br /><b>Released:</b> 2013<br /><b>Platforms:</b> Nintendo 3DS<p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5025140749662915638.post-75034648100946443802023-12-27T14:19:00.000-08:002023-12-28T10:03:47.306-08:00Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth<p>Persona of course is an offshoot of the Megami Tensei franchise, which has its roots firmly in old-school dungeon crawling with strategic turn based combat. Etrian Odyssey, another Atlus franchise, is much the same, intended as an explicit callback to games like Might & Magic, Wizardry and Ultima and even including map-making (via the DS touch screen) as an integral part of its gameplay. So it wasn't much of a stretch to attempt something like Persona Q - a game which takes the engine of Etrian and adds in Persona's characters, story beats and a few key mechanics to create a hybrid game. There are two story campaigns to experience, starring the casts of Persona 3 and 4 (as well as two new characters) venturing through the labyrinth, though other aspects of Persona's gameplay are altered substantially. One is the addition of a mechanic called "Boost" - by striking an enemy's weakness, that character gets higher turn priority and has the cost of their skills reduced to 0 until they take damage, and having more party members boosted at once grants a greater chance of performing a powerful "All-Out Attack" at the end of a turn or performing a Co-Op attack. Each character's main persona (and thus, spells and elemental properties) are fixed this time, but they can equip "Sub-Personas" to grant themselves a wider array of spells and augmentative abilities. The Etrian element covers the rest - collecting item drops to sell and unlock new gear in shops, mapping out dungeons, and battling occasional strong monsters called FOEs that are much stronger than mundane encounters, but also offer substantially greater rewards. The art style is also an expert blend of both franchises, with Etrian's cute chibi-fied character designs and Persona's bright colors, poppy soundtracks and surreal environments and monster designs. An expert blend of two franchises that are both steeped in old-school dungeon crawling.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0re3yv8U7PEP2avflNBkskA2W9VUZuAKn3_S0ZhjR8rS4ucvBNs2CeQmEfzw3HTKk28NXbkpYL85F9aWa2_A1NI3epv09g2tPdO4Biq0ILq5sOU1-mTYIgHhIpP6NBIT5ZYQVtq_4Lt4qdBsb-gB2mW4eWaPFxLzsGBFtetbE4h-JYnhe69P6A_LP7g/s400/image140729_1058_012.bmp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="240" data-original-width="400" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0re3yv8U7PEP2avflNBkskA2W9VUZuAKn3_S0ZhjR8rS4ucvBNs2CeQmEfzw3HTKk28NXbkpYL85F9aWa2_A1NI3epv09g2tPdO4Biq0ILq5sOU1-mTYIgHhIpP6NBIT5ZYQVtq_4Lt4qdBsb-gB2mW4eWaPFxLzsGBFtetbE4h-JYnhe69P6A_LP7g/s320/image140729_1058_012.bmp" width="320" /></a></div><p><b>Developer:</b> P-Studio<br /><b>Publisher:</b> Atlus<br /><b>Released:</b> 2014<br /><b>Platforms:</b> Nintendo 3DS</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5025140749662915638.post-6552675598832563992023-12-25T01:22:00.000-08:002024-02-04T20:54:40.614-08:00Super Mario RPG (2023)<p>After nearly three decades of fans demanding a proper continuation for Super Mario RPG, Nintendo made an ambush announcement in 2023 that a remake was being made and that it would release before the end of the year. Sure enough it did, and it was a quality job, appeasing fans of the original and ensuring it would win over many new ones to boot. The game adds a few new features and some tweaks to the core design but is very faithful to the original overall, even retaining most of the silly animations and jokes from the original. Additions include some new fully-animated cutscenes, a couple new battle mechanics in the form of the Action Gauge and Triple Moves, Combos that grant cumulative bonuses for successful timed attacks and blocks, "special" enemies that are tougher than their normal counterparts but drop Frog Coins when defeated (making them considerably less tedious to farm), and quite a bit of new postgame content to provide new challenges to seasoned players. The Action Gauge gradually builds as you go through battle, and once it's full you can unleash a Triple Attack - a flashy animation that does heavy damage and has unique animations and effects depending on who is in the current party. Perfectly timed attacks will also gain added effects (such as normal attacks also dealing light damage to non-targeted enemies), while perfectly timed blocks completely negate damage. The game now also shows little meters and indicators for most of the special move minigames that lacked them before, and timing seems to be a bit more forgiving overall, making it easier to hit goals like the 100-jump challenge. True to the original but with plenty of flair of its own, ArtePiazza outdoes themselves again with another excellent remake of an RPG classic.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgmTs1XSiKcFH2pQ81_nhcmu4VfCy-w-MBsi90LsDHgZJnDw3cKfr6T6gniUZfXSs8kheZUpAEr1I7UwQ4W5fgUWqNVlJFgJmIMkveOUjaoorEUPQ2Kt3_utI_ZkQt5qAdgY69km4SDmouYXzIOSsvRdRlIzvDjrHkHkJtRYp5pwU1LIEKooVUOZe_NWQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="404" data-original-width="718" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgmTs1XSiKcFH2pQ81_nhcmu4VfCy-w-MBsi90LsDHgZJnDw3cKfr6T6gniUZfXSs8kheZUpAEr1I7UwQ4W5fgUWqNVlJFgJmIMkveOUjaoorEUPQ2Kt3_utI_ZkQt5qAdgY69km4SDmouYXzIOSsvRdRlIzvDjrHkHkJtRYp5pwU1LIEKooVUOZe_NWQ" width="320" /></a></div><br /><b>Developer:</b> ArtePiazza<br /><b>Publisher:</b> Nintendo<br /><b>Released:</b> 2023<br /><b>Platforms:</b> Switch<p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5025140749662915638.post-76212026365937722732023-12-24T22:16:00.000-08:002024-01-22T10:10:15.262-08:00Super Lesbian Animal RPG Super Lesbian Animal RPG. The name makes it sound like some kind of parody or that it's going to be very over-the-top, raunchy and played for laughs, but I assure you, it's very much done in earnest. Starring two friends/lovers and several of their other close friends as they attempt to form their own adventuring guild, the game has a few of the silly elements you'd expect from the setup - stat-buffing kisses and love powered magic - but the rest is a genuine, well-told adventure with plenty of earnest humor and some fun three-dimensional characters. For the player's part (in the role of Melody Amaranth), you're given a career choice of three variants of Paladin, and your choices throughout the narrative do actually make a substantial difference in how scenes play out. Despite being made in RPG Maker, the game also shows a high degree of polish and effort - I didn't spot any stock assets, and all the new ones showcase some high-quality art, spritework, music and animations. Little touches like experience meters, custom menus and status screens (complete with a brief character profile) also go quite a long way, as do new mechanics; abilities run off both traditional Magic Points and "Star Power" that charges as the battle progresses. Other, more substantial additions include a quest log, treasure maps with corresponding puzzles to solve, and of course the usual roundup of RPG sidequests like a bestiary and a few collection quests. Basically it's a well-made, well-written, entertaining RPG with a silly title and a lot of clean humor. And gay. Very, very gay.<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGPgR01u6ui48omnPd71eEECHKUeNGEcsfHeAa-pmNNA7wATjpcxa2qTNCO39sFH-hDUxswOLI9YvwsbNhQ5JyeRaMng3K8AIFnG3q9lvDsnbW2r6M1FPVwnHXZ905mHd-2uGe9dpmsv2FKqiEG856brCebrQqahTwPgQYXxanUqZOqb6duT_u_FCVJQ/s2881/reviewscreen.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1872" data-original-width="2881" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGPgR01u6ui48omnPd71eEECHKUeNGEcsfHeAa-pmNNA7wATjpcxa2qTNCO39sFH-hDUxswOLI9YvwsbNhQ5JyeRaMng3K8AIFnG3q9lvDsnbW2r6M1FPVwnHXZ905mHd-2uGe9dpmsv2FKqiEG856brCebrQqahTwPgQYXxanUqZOqb6duT_u_FCVJQ/w320-h208/reviewscreen.png" width="320" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_1X4CMnpHlPhF1473VBeDXpovRibtmu20LXi36DZR98h6bElNnVq82mgjyy_71oHhSOw-MMo8ieyDeon6d3h3WjXme1blOXlDOEeHLJCXZniJl8wC7TOnskp6V3MRyqaXWUs5P0Z7BfOpWqiUEdfrYMrjpLD62lAlFXEvGbbRS6K_wOMEkgb0kedPwA/s2881/screen3.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1872" data-original-width="2881" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_1X4CMnpHlPhF1473VBeDXpovRibtmu20LXi36DZR98h6bElNnVq82mgjyy_71oHhSOw-MMo8ieyDeon6d3h3WjXme1blOXlDOEeHLJCXZniJl8wC7TOnskp6V3MRyqaXWUs5P0Z7BfOpWqiUEdfrYMrjpLD62lAlFXEvGbbRS6K_wOMEkgb0kedPwA/w320-h208/screen3.png" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFFo1EGy0tflRFw7Kvc4GE1y5QCDZg_f0E0bTqYFHVm7kcoR9nQ76fWGTcVvVFW1fK6vv4QSy6pJXjkneqNP8CYfPPy2mu1N418ObuijvgeR6pl9W5fLO-y8PATrd3d24ivJcPFSFiKuvuAA5rl_0Q7vRY7fWch6k8S4mAFgHZkQCjlm8XxPsmrMOFdQ/s2884/reviewscreen2.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1864" data-original-width="2884" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFFo1EGy0tflRFw7Kvc4GE1y5QCDZg_f0E0bTqYFHVm7kcoR9nQ76fWGTcVvVFW1fK6vv4QSy6pJXjkneqNP8CYfPPy2mu1N418ObuijvgeR6pl9W5fLO-y8PATrd3d24ivJcPFSFiKuvuAA5rl_0Q7vRY7fWch6k8S4mAFgHZkQCjlm8XxPsmrMOFdQ/w320-h206/reviewscreen2.png" width="320" /></a></div><i>I don't know how much these last few sliders and options actually factor in, but regardless, something I haven't seen before in an RPG. Gets points for that!</i></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Developer:</b> ponett<br /><b>Publisher:</b> ponett<br /><b>Released:</b> 2022<br /><b>Platforms:</b> PC</div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5025140749662915638.post-9147401368400448652023-12-21T23:13:00.000-08:002024-01-23T13:49:44.727-08:00Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies<i>Codeveloped by Level-5 and Square Enix, Dragon Quest IX is the first mainline game in the franchise released to implement online functionality and co-op play. But does it still manage to be a fun time even as a single player experience, or is it an experiment gone wrong?</i><div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgU1K0G3MQ3BiYW0Fy_xN11EcztsMeOGtH67ErKlFCCe01jTWTO4QehBmgZWdpZ0owyLbmmVttgllD4Lsnp_c12y4TP69i-iXinAhE40ZD9i-6jGg6yrodCOx7VxlUsW0vcbN6bygapO7lmauxOQcOPbBbGMB0V9zm-l0C1yLcOTaEYi1I_WlDuLLoAxg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="800" data-original-width="897" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgU1K0G3MQ3BiYW0Fy_xN11EcztsMeOGtH67ErKlFCCe01jTWTO4QehBmgZWdpZ0owyLbmmVttgllD4Lsnp_c12y4TP69i-iXinAhE40ZD9i-6jGg6yrodCOx7VxlUsW0vcbN6bygapO7lmauxOQcOPbBbGMB0V9zm-l0C1yLcOTaEYi1I_WlDuLLoAxg=w320-h286" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Dragon Quest IX was the first game in the franchise released exclusively for the Nintendo DS, and per series norms it was a massive success in Japan, selling over 4 million units. It was something of a cultural phenomenon to boot, with its online component being widely used among its install base and even inspiring the Spotpass and Streetpass features on Nintendo's next handheld console, the 3DS. It did relatively well outside of Japan too, selling another million units overseas and being lauded as one of the best RPGs on the Nintendo DS; no small feat considering how prolific the genre was on that platform.</p><p>Somewhat ironically, Dragon Quest IX began development after completion of the planning stages of what would later be come to known as Dragon Quest X and developed concurrently with it, with the two teams sharing ideas throughout. As a result Dragon Quest IX feels a bit like an online game despite not being exclusively built as one; there's a character creator, item trading, a much heavier focus on item hunting and the crafting system introduced in VIII, and numerous short, quick-to-complete quests with incremental rewards throughout. One can find (or have traded to them) numerous maps which unlock Grottos, which are semi-randomly-generated dungeons one can explore to fell foes and collect new equipment. Indeed this was a massively popular feature in Japan, especially with maps that contained valuable goods and/or large concentrations of Metal Slimes. And of course, there's also a "Party Tricks" command, which works similar to Gestures in many other online games, having your character play a small animation and print out a short message to convey simple communication to other players.</p><p>The Vocation system from VI and VII returns here, though in a more restrained form that also works in elements from Dragon Quest VIII. There are six vocations available at the start (with the player always beginning the story as a Minstrel) and 6 more are unlocked by completing quests as the game progresses. Each vocation has a skillset unique to it, as well as access to four schools of weapon skills; by gaining levels you earn points to spend in these skillsets to unlock new abilities and stat bonuses. One can of course change classes at their leisure once they reach Alltrades Abbey - class abilities do not carry over, but weapon skills can if you switch to another compatible class. Investing 100 points into a weapon discipline will allow you to use that weapon (and associated skills) with any class, which allows for some fun mix-and-match combinations. Maxing out your level in a given class and then reverting to level 1 grants a medal that, when equipped, grants a significant boost to a stat or other useful benefits (like being able to use gender-specific gear regardless of your starting choice), so while the system is designed to resemble a traditional single player RPG, there's still plenty there for the long-term powergaming intrinsic to online play.</p><p>Some other long-standing Dragon Quest design elements have been reworked too. The equipment system in particular now has much more to it - there are now gloves, pants and boots in addition to the usual headgear, armor, weapons, shields, and accessories from earlier games, and equipped items do show up on your character's model, which is a nice touch. Evasion is now a separate stat and operates as a flat percentage that can be increased by class abilities and certain types of gear, and there's now separate "Magical Mending" and "Magical Might" stats governing how effective healing and offensive spells are respectively.</p><p>The Tension mechanic also returns from Dragon Quest VIII and operates very similarly, though it's now a feature of certain vocations rather than being an ability for all characters to innately use. The hero gets a unique ability (Egg On) that can be used to boost any character's Tension by one level, and being at maximum grants immunity to all status effects, giving it some added benefit beyond simply hitting harder or getting more mileage out of supportive spells. Something slightly similar to XI's Pep is given form here with "Coup De Graces" - special abilities that have a small chance to become available each turn based on a number of factors. These vary by Vocation and have quite a wide variety of effects, from getting guaranteed criticals to stealing items to restoring one's own MP to even gaining more experience after the current battle concludes. If all four characters in your party enter this state at the same time, you can pull of a powerful combination move called a "Co-Op De Grace", with the choices you're given varying by the current party makeup.</p><p>Being built with a focus on the a multiplayer experience does have some downsides, though. While there is still a main storyline in the game to follow (and it's a good one) and some well-written and memorable characters to take the journey with, your whole active party is comprised of generic characters - whether you create them yourself, ally with other players or pick some pre-fab ones out at the inn, only your protagonist has any active role in the narrative. A definite downside after the last few Dragon Quests had such well-written and memorable casts integrated flawlessly into the storytelling. There's also no voice acting this time around, though you do see some quite stylish and well-animated FMVs at key story points. A bit of the magic is also lost with the discontinuation of the online component and the game being well past its heyday - the ability to connect to Nintendo Wi-Fi and exchange characters and items for one's player-populated inn, is no longer available, and while one can still trade items with other players while the system is in Sleep mode, you're not likely to run across them in the wild anymore. Said features have also been a sticking point for a modern-day rerelease of the game as they were such a significant component of the core experience back in the early '10s, although developers at Square Enix have expressed interest in seeing the game return in some form.</p><p>Even though the game takes a step down to a handheld platform from its previous entry, Dragon Quest IX certainly doesn't skimp on its presentation. The charming Toriyama character designs are expertly brought to life once again in 3D by Level-5 and Square Enix, and Koichi Sugiyama's soundtrack is once again fantastic, lending an epic mood to the game. Perhaps as a means to make them easily identifiable, player characters (and major plot characters) are rendered in 3D models while minor NPCs are depicted with 2D sprites - a nice design touch and a clever nod to the older, less lavishly-produced Dragon Quests.</p><p>So, while Dragon Quest IX is a somewhat incomplete experience today and may not hold the same appeal as the strictly single-player games in the franchise, it's still a very worthy adventure to undertake. It's well-presented, consistently charming and retains that timeless charm in its gameplay, retaining turn-based combat but spicing it up with plenty of clever mechanics, varied enemies and no shortage of granular character customization to experiment with. I do hope Square Enix revives it in some form down the road, as I can imagine it being an exceptionally fun journey to undertake with friends.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiX8gj3WxNHGJx1qPiHN_vZBP8rNLdtSuvuFM6e1PRzFfQE4JoFNQlEDm8Y7232kUpJNctV4wSZakfPP63zH5NaQOVwvBMj0Q7ej9RZ8Fp3cDzijwSkOBqwSYPgq61vpe2n418pp4JZRNLgimQ3t4SnKR77hp0eVZkAowFom3lTshaugeeBM_PdvPocGQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="384" data-original-width="256" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiX8gj3WxNHGJx1qPiHN_vZBP8rNLdtSuvuFM6e1PRzFfQE4JoFNQlEDm8Y7232kUpJNctV4wSZakfPP63zH5NaQOVwvBMj0Q7ej9RZ8Fp3cDzijwSkOBqwSYPgq61vpe2n418pp4JZRNLgimQ3t4SnKR77hp0eVZkAowFom3lTshaugeeBM_PdvPocGQ=w213-h320" width="213" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhb87XVm35hzektp5D8UgMGaMjoaVKnlEET88gyKVFqpdbJEVcIcFy5b4gDhYwfdI4QehnHBwAt00M7zHIjMJkmkEo_pdsDHLcx__jemaG29Bs-TK9tXt7DsC_I2Dl7e4YEsi_ou4Ux0hjxuCVCzH99D36bLgASUzwWL11GnWvH4LiLQxq0WFeuMRP8iA" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="384" data-original-width="256" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhb87XVm35hzektp5D8UgMGaMjoaVKnlEET88gyKVFqpdbJEVcIcFy5b4gDhYwfdI4QehnHBwAt00M7zHIjMJkmkEo_pdsDHLcx__jemaG29Bs-TK9tXt7DsC_I2Dl7e4YEsi_ou4Ux0hjxuCVCzH99D36bLgASUzwWL11GnWvH4LiLQxq0WFeuMRP8iA=w213-h320" width="213" /></a></div></div><br /><p></p><div><b>Developer:</b> Level-5, Square Enix<br /><b>Publisher:</b> Square Enix<br /><b>Released:</b> 2010<br /><b>Platforms:</b> Nintendo DS</div><div><b>Recommended Version:</b> N/A</div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5025140749662915638.post-13935198684489277102023-12-20T11:02:00.000-08:002023-12-20T16:41:07.958-08:00Shinsetsu Samurai Spirits Bushidō Retsuden<p>A relatively obscure offshoot of the Samurai Shodown/Spirits series, it also holds the distinction of being the only RPG released for the Neo-Geo CD, as well as one of the very few RPGs from SNK (the only other I'm aware of being the cult classic NES title <a href="https://www.rpgreats.com/2018/03/crystalis.html">Crystalis</a>). Story-wise it's a loose retelling of the first two Samurai Shodown games (divided into a separate chapter for each game), giving you a choice of six starting characters as they embark on their own journeys, eventually joining up at the end to vanquish that respective chapter's main baddie. The overall plot remains the same, but each character gets some unique dialog and scenes to view, lending it some replayability. The core gameplay is fairly standard turn-based RPG fare, having you purchase items, upgrade equipment, get into random encounters with various foes and earn experience to level up, though there are some small twists - you can block enemy attacks or inflict extra damage with timed button presses, and special moves can either be selected from a menu or executed via fighting game style action inputs. Characters also keep their trademark weapons throughout the game, gradually upgrading them at blacksmiths as the story progresses and optionally infusing them with elements to inflict extra damage to certain types of enemies; not completely unlike the weapon forging in the Suikoden games. As ever SNK's gorgeous animation and beautiful spritework is a joy to behold, and the moody music and voiceover lend it a nice edge over may other RPGs of the time, but it shows SNK's forte really doesn't lie in the traditional RPG genre - the slow action (even on the fastest settings), frequent encounters and drab dungeons are definitely a detriment to the experience. Die-hard fans of Samurai Shodown's characters and lore will probably find a lot to like here, but if you're looking for some visceral and captivating fighting action in isolationist Japan, I'd say play one of the fighting games instead.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitIU39qyZbitlYNTGzaiTOcdXomrCdnc44tuRelPZxyTlXTK5t7Qp1gGDeScormDtBFvmWF3POwTBqnGYkQOFtRPkl-8ucFn9o0d4fFHokyw7w1g0AsBB64VyOT_A7DbuFLtbmacMs4RPwElmIgqwRiL3mG98knKaSxbClNTnYC1w8Q5e3hJFfOgEJrw/s2749/screen.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2155" data-original-width="2749" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitIU39qyZbitlYNTGzaiTOcdXomrCdnc44tuRelPZxyTlXTK5t7Qp1gGDeScormDtBFvmWF3POwTBqnGYkQOFtRPkl-8ucFn9o0d4fFHokyw7w1g0AsBB64VyOT_A7DbuFLtbmacMs4RPwElmIgqwRiL3mG98knKaSxbClNTnYC1w8Q5e3hJFfOgEJrw/s320/screen.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><b>Developer:</b> SNK<br /><b>Publisher:</b> SNK<br /><b>Released:</b> 1997<br /><b>Platforms:</b> Neo-Geo CD, Sega Saturn, Sony Playstation</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5025140749662915638.post-72317214495503612052023-12-12T23:03:00.000-08:002023-12-15T10:31:10.841-08:00Magician<p><i>Magician is a fairly obscure NES RPG by Eurocom and published by Taxan with some unique design elements and a notorious difficulty level among those who have heard of it. But is there some merit to be found in this mostly forgotten game, or should it just be left buried in favor of other, better known 8-bit titles?</i></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH2KVdN4zdC3q1m1QpL1YcJwVBpkyZkm5QaA7ZOYqoLyMdkHQduALBAU_Z8TkLKwD0fssYgJlZ2Ab4HP1SeLrrACd7r5ApLWKl4hnQiMWzv5xPz03DMtgxzbSe7I-WRG3FNPS3bcYZER71SX5oNgkbl82EUAi8IKOj_YaQkKzOLgImK7pec_u_WnJO5Q/s718/magicianbox.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="718" data-original-width="537" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH2KVdN4zdC3q1m1QpL1YcJwVBpkyZkm5QaA7ZOYqoLyMdkHQduALBAU_Z8TkLKwD0fssYgJlZ2Ab4HP1SeLrrACd7r5ApLWKl4hnQiMWzv5xPz03DMtgxzbSe7I-WRG3FNPS3bcYZER71SX5oNgkbl82EUAi8IKOj_YaQkKzOLgImK7pec_u_WnJO5Q/s320/magicianbox.png" width="239" /></a></div><br />Magician is a mostly forgotten RPG these days, and even among fans of retro console games it's not really one that comes up much in conversation. Not for a lack of trying, though, as it's one of the more unique RPGs on the platform. Taking place in a sidescrolling view, the game also utilizes a stage-based format, with nine levels in total. However, there is no way to backtrack to a previous level, so if you miss a key item from an earlier stage it can potentially mean restarting the entire game. Numerous things can also kill you instantly, from falling in a pit to triggering a trap to starving to death; that's right you have to manage your character's food and water meters, and both deplete at a surprisingly rapid rate, effectively putting your progress on a strict time limit. Shops to replenish food and water supplies are also very few and far between, and though you can occasionally find more supplies as part of treasure hordes, that likewise means being constantly wary of traps and enemies that can deplete significant amounts of your health, shields and magic. While you can save your progress at any time and there four slots to save to, you only get fifteen saves per playthrough, so one must ration them carefully throughout the game.<p>Magician features a relatively novel spell-crafting system - you create spells by combining different syllables in the pause menu, then click the spellbook to memorize them. Unlike Dungeon Magic, however, not all combinations are viable. In fact, the vast majority result in an "unknown spell" that will have completely unpredictable effects; usually instant death to your character with a surprising number of different animations exclusively for this purpose (although on rare occasions you may also get a full heal or other beneficial effect). The manual only tells you how to access a basic attack spell, while the rest must be discovered in-game by finding or purchasing scrolls at hefty cost (though the manual does also provide spaces to write discovered spells down, saving you money on later playthroughs). Spells can also be adjusted to four levels of power, which annoyingly plays into some puzzles; the swamp stage is one notorious example, requiring you to constantly adjust the power of your Jump spell to leap to the next platform, with a level too low or too high usually sending you plummeting to an instant death. (Just casting the Fly spell to avoid this isn't an option either, as you'll be struck by lightning the moment you leave the ground for - yep - another instant death.) </p><p>Combat is Magician is pretty bland and monotonous. There are four elements in the game (Physical, Venom, Fire and Power) and four varieties of shields to cast which completely block those elements, depleting themselves as they do. Thus, battles typically boil down to casting shields to block the enemy's attacks, then spamming one attack spell repeatedly until you knock your way through the enemy's shields and eat away all of their life; preferably before they do the same to you. Thankfully it's not nearly as prevalent as it is in many other NES RPGs - all encounters in the game are fixed events - but it's still something you end up becoming annoyed by rather than looking forward to.</p><p>All in all, Magician is a fairly clunky game with some annoying trial-and-error puzzles, irritating difficulty compounded by limited saves, and underwhelming combat that mostly consists of raising shields and spamming one attack until your enemy falls. However, it is very well presented, with detailed backdrops, smooth character animations and some <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hu5QTcmkCWs">stellar music</a> by Neil Baldwin. In fact, I dare say it ranks among the best soundtracks on the NES, lending the game a heavy, foreboding atmosphere throughout and showing off some impressive technical tricks, like simulating wind sounds for the forest stage theme. So while game itself isn't really anything special, but the soundtrack is well worth a listen for fans of chiptune music. The <a href="https://shrigley.com/source_code_archive/#comments">source code</a> has been released by the developer too, which may be of interest to those interested in making their own NES games (or possibly improving on this one's clunkier aspects).</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOyykpYCAm-1zVj52zm1bnrPY7GC9ZXbraxbGzEITZyyqZjJSKLw9mYB_sKXNFxWjd9i1NHHB5q6_T330yNENnFcjqUtJRKOdcN_HCQBR0luxlCzbbbFz9uUtAgfzW7wFjI9d1VfBJiLZ7HbcoEm6WY2v1x_QawFSsz0sK60zF2lSg8D63qiCOUBolTg/s256/1635276-magician-nes-your-quest-is-just-beginning.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="240" data-original-width="256" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOyykpYCAm-1zVj52zm1bnrPY7GC9ZXbraxbGzEITZyyqZjJSKLw9mYB_sKXNFxWjd9i1NHHB5q6_T330yNENnFcjqUtJRKOdcN_HCQBR0luxlCzbbbFz9uUtAgfzW7wFjI9d1VfBJiLZ7HbcoEm6WY2v1x_QawFSsz0sK60zF2lSg8D63qiCOUBolTg/w320-h300/1635276-magician-nes-your-quest-is-just-beginning.png" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOKbe0nTd7rjKy6VmqSVsxHezK1r7A8e4SF9-9Kv1eHXrH1I1SHlroKCkp3JUKLMyR5tJ60D8vuptDKZBRqgZbYXE24hoLuqVBPBXt3eWjBcKOuR6jY-yYnFSDYaedhVZLIHjkXlUj04s1_j0b-9aXe-7msGEWqvOQ7NFpNCxK_Dl5QCPTxgOT18qymg/s256/8043219-magician-nes-outside-the-town.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="224" data-original-width="256" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOKbe0nTd7rjKy6VmqSVsxHezK1r7A8e4SF9-9Kv1eHXrH1I1SHlroKCkp3JUKLMyR5tJ60D8vuptDKZBRqgZbYXE24hoLuqVBPBXt3eWjBcKOuR6jY-yYnFSDYaedhVZLIHjkXlUj04s1_j0b-9aXe-7msGEWqvOQ7NFpNCxK_Dl5QCPTxgOT18qymg/w320-h280/8043219-magician-nes-outside-the-town.png" width="320" /></a></div></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Developer:</b> Eurocom<br /><b>Publisher:</b> Taxan<br /><b>Released:</b> 1991<br /><b>Platforms:</b> NES</div><div><b>Recommended Version:</b> N/A</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com