Tag: videogames

Gaming progress

Anna3 Comments

Excellent, they only had 25€  eShop cards, so even after buying the Ace Attorney: Spirit of Justice extra case, I have money left on my account. I could impulse-buy a game! Except that would be a terrible idea. I have enough things lined up as is.

I am Setsuna, for one thing. Yes, I am really … taking my sweet time here. It’s a combination of different factors, one being that it’s been sort of difficult to adjust to home console JRPGs after years and years of playing exclusively handheld titles. I’ve become really used to playing JRPGs just whenever, whereever, without the need to stay stationary for a longer while. And it’s been summer! Now that the days wil be shorter and colder, I guess I’ll spend more afternoons or evenings huddled up inside in front of the TV, for more than an hour at a time. Honestly, it’s a bit weird to play a game where there is snow everywhere, while the birds are chirping outside, the sun is still up at 8 pm and the temperatures are above 30 degrees …

Dragon Quest VII, too. I am awful at finishing Dragon Quest titles, but I am going to stick with it this time. :P I promise. I won’t touch another DQ title before I’ve finished this one, at the least. OK? Deal? Please hold me accountable.

I really hate having games left unfinished, you know. I don’t mean the times when I decide to abandon a game because I don’t enjoy it, but the times when it just happens, because things keep getting between me and the game, because for some reason I cannot concentrate on it at that moment, because something else comes along, or because I’m stuck and grow frustrated and put off trying again and then it’s been two years and I’ve all forgotten about it … D:

I think I have it in my mind that you’re only ever supposed to play one (story-driven) game at a time, from start to finish, without longer breaks or without starting on a new game randomly. I feel the same way about books, but curiously, not about TV shows. Possibly because TV shows don’t require any immersive effort on the recipient’s part? With books and games, you’re in control, you decide the pace and it kind of takes your willingness and readiness to really immerse yourself in the story? I feel like I cannot do that if my mind is still occupied with another story (in the same medium).

Does anybody know what I am talking about?

 

Ace Attorney 6: Spirit of Justice

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How time flies! It feels like it wasn’t so long ago that I played Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies, and now here I am, two days after having finished its predecessor! I think I really need to replay the first four games, too. Now THAT’s something I haven’t done in ages. It was in 2006, I believe, that I played the third game. That’s ten years! How’s that even possible? It’s not like I got old or anything. It’s a mystery.

Spoilers. Seriously. Also warning for rambling incoherence …

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Ever Oasis: Yay, Nintendo wants to make me happy!

Anna8 Comments

A while ago, I “finished” Streetpass Garden – a mildly entertaining, if frustratingly slow timekiller about growing flowers – and saw the name Koichi Ishii in the credits.

That … hurt, a little bit. Koichi Ishii had been one of those names that had been with me since the start of my videogame career. He made Secret of Mana, which was probably the most influential game for me, a very special gaming experience. Europe in the 1990’s wasn’t a great place for JRPG fans, so I played and replayed and replayed Secret of Mana for years and years. And each time I loaded up the game, there was the wolves’ howling, the gorgeous tree artwork – and the name “K. Ishii”. And now this! Seeing his name attached to some (comparatively) irrelevant Streetpass game, over twenty years later … well, it does kind of make you feel sad. Like the gaming joys of your youth are so, so far in the past. Like we’ve all lost our ways. Koichi Ishii should be out there making new RPGs that would shape the genre, dammit!

Ok, this is just the context you need to understand why I was completely thrilled by yesterday’s announcement of Ever Oasis, a 3DS action RPG by Grezzo … *drumroll*  … by Koichi Ishii.

Based on the first trailer and a gameplay video, I’m excited. The first associations are Fantasy Life, Animal Crossing, Zelda and – yes – Secret of Mana. The similarity to the latter mostly has to do with the battle system: three party members with unique skills that you can/must switch between? Secret of Mana! Good. I’d love if there was an option that would allow some kind of multiplayer co-op, to play with friends, but I have not heard anything of the sort and … shouldn’t just project my unfiltered SoM nostalgia onto this new game, right? ;)

Because aside from these obvious connections that any 3DS RPG player can’t help but notice, Ever Oasis seems beautifully distinct. The general, decidedly non-western look makes it stand out.The setting is described as Egyptian-inspired, to fit with the desert setting. Cool! I have to say, it also makes me happy to see a dark-skinned main character, seriously a rarity in JRPGs – and you’ll get to choose between male and female, too. Hey, can the feminist blogosphere maybe take a break from complaining about Link still being male, and acknowledge Nintendo’s new IP? ;)

Most of the characters in Ever Oasis appear not to be human, but some human-animal hybrid. And amazing penguin-owls! Koichi Ishii has brought us such distinct mascot creatures as moogles and chocobos. Will Ever Oasis‘ “noots” become as iconic? Fingers crossed!

Something to look forward to in 2017.

Thinking about RPG parties

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I’ve been thinking about JRPG game design lately. It’s one of those topics where, when you google for opinions, you run into superficial criticism before you run into anything worthwhile. Sad!

Anyway, I was thinking about JRPG parties in particular. There are three types:

  1. Fixed party that stays the same throughout the story
  2. Fixed party where characters join or leave according to the plot
  3. Party you can choose freely from a (more or less large) roster of characters.

I am not sure what I prefer. Well, that’s a lie, I don’t think I’m overly fond of the second type. I don’t want to lose a character that I’ve levelled up and equipped with nice weapons just because the game demands it! And worst case scenario, it’ll be like Grandia and I’ll be stuck with a damn annoying bunny while the cool characters have better things to do than hang out with me!!

I like having a number of characters to pick from. Narratively, this creates the problem of “But if you’re a group of 14, why is it that only four of you ever take on an important battle by themselves?”

Chrono Trigger found a decent in-universe answer for this. Chrono Trigger does something else really well, I think: Aside from the initial trio of Crono, Lucca and Marle, there is one party member from each time era. That’s good because I think that every party member ought to bring a unique experience to the table. That’s why Final Fantasy VIII‘s cast was kind of blah. It’s not just that they were all 17/18 years old – they all belongd to the same organization and grew up in the same orphanage. Usually, I’d hope to see characters who provide new perspectives on the plot, who have ties to different towns or people. Who have obviously lived different lives and each represent a different part of the world. Really, the “rag-tag group of adventurers” isn’t just fun because it’s a classic trope. It’s fun because it’s the best way to access the depth of the game’s setting.

Should you play Bravely Second?

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Bravely Second was released in the USA yesterday, and I have seen a lot of people wonder whether they should give it a try.

The answer is YES. You should.

I have not completed the game yet, but I’ve been playing for 70+ hours and would be extremely surprised if the game suddenly started sucking NOW. Bravely Second is a great game and a proper sequel. I mean that it is not just a game set after the original, but a game that learns from the mistakes of its predecessor and improves on its ideas. I won’t spoil anything! Just know that the pacing is better, the plot stays engaging, the dungeons are more complex  and the sidequests are much more interesting.

There is a part of me that liked … that thing in Bravely Default. It was such a bold move and a unique idea. But it was not executed very well and ended up affecting the gaming experience in a negative way. However, there’s no need to avoid Bravely Second because of that. The game was clearly created with an awareness of what worked and didn’t work in Bravely Default.

Why I am not going to play Fire Emblem Fates

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I am not a long-time fan of the Fire Emblem series. Awakening was the first of the games that I played, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. But I didn’t buy any of the DLCs, did not max out my stats, recruit the bonus characters or even try to play in Classic mode. So, just a casual fan, not a dedicated hardcore fan. Fates was on my radar from the moment it was announced, of course. Because any sequel to a great game I enjoyed is a potential future purchase!

But by now, I’ve become a little bit grumpy about Fates, and have decided not to buy it after all. It has to do with the distribution model, but it’s not so much that I think both – or all three – story paths should be available for the price of one game. It’s possible that the different story paths are extensive enough that you’re still getting your money’s worth, so, whatever.

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