I found this news interesting on RPGLand, a site that is slowly becoming one of my new favorite places to get RPG news. Both this place and IGN have announced a new game for the DS, Avalon Code.
Why would one care about this game? Because it's being developed by Matrix. They are the same guys that worked on the FFIII and FFIV DS remakes. Knowing Squenix, they will be working on FFV and FFVI remakes (just skip to VI dammit!) I felt they did a great job with FFIII and like what I've seen so far of FFIV. They are working with Marvelous Interactive (yes the Harvest Moon guys) to make this game happen. The pedigree is all there and has potential to be a very good RPG!
Here is some copypasta from IGN’s article:
In Avalon Code, you play as either Yumil and Tia, a young boy/girl duo born in a world that's on the verge of destruction. You've been having dreams about the world's end. One day, waking up from one of these dreams, you find a special book at your side. This book leads you on an adventure to explore the world, noting down all the elements that should be carried over when the world is reborn following its destruction, and rewriting all the elements that should be changed.
I should also mention that the game is looking to be an action RPG versus a turn based RPG, something I’m finding myself preferring these days (not that I don’t like turn-based RPGs). I think the concept of this game sounds interesting and I like the art style. I’m also glad to see these guys making their own IP instead of being pigeon-holed to working on Squenix’s properties.
Given the announcement of Marvelous Interactive partnering with XSeed to bring their games over, it makes me hopeful that XSeed will bring this one over too. It has a fall release date in Japan. Maybe we’ll see it next spring?
Anyone else like what Matrix has done so far? I’m thinking of keeping an eye on this one.
I was on the bus yesterday talking with Zero, about the evolution of character development in video games over the years. The topic of Final Fantasy IV was brought up in discussion. I know, surprise, surprise, right? For what it's worth, Zero brought it up. We began discussing some of the characters, the upcoming DS release and the fact that reports have shown that the original SNES incarnation had only about 25% of the dialogue due to storage limitations. We daydreamed about our favorite characters being more flushed out in the DS version of the game. We also talked about one-dimensional characters in games when he brought up an interesting point. He felt that Rydia was the most flushed out character in FFIV, and suspected that was the reason why I liked her so much. I gave it some thought and realized that I was drawn to that character for more than just that she was a female in a male-dominated hobby. Her growth is on the same and perhaps even higher level than the evolution of our protagonist, Cecil.
(Warning, FFIV Spoilers, just in case)
Rydia starts the game out as a small child. The japanese compendiums claim she was seven. Her mother was killed accidentally by Cecil and Kain, before the Bomb Ring/"Package" destroys the village of Mist. She's scared and angry at the two, not knowing that killing the mist Dragon would kill her as well. After Rydia summons Titan and the Village of Mist is closed off, Cecil takes Rydia to the village of Kaipo, bringing her to the inn and defends her against soldiers of Baron who want her captive. She slowly decides to trust Cecil. We see the first sign of growth in Rydia's character.
Rydia shows more dimension to her character when the party reaches Mount Hobbs. Blocked by a wall of thick ice, a fire spell is essential to passage. Rosa asks Rydia to cast the spell and fire and she hesitates. The incident in the village has traumatized her. We see more vulnerability to her character in a way we hadn't seen in characters back in 1991. She overcomes the fear and manages to cast the spell. After that Rydia can use fire spells, which is quite handy when dealing with undead.
In the first play-through of the game, we think Rydia is done for after the Leviathan attack. When she does return not only is it extremely satisfying, but it shows heroism in a female role. This rarity only appeared in the 90's with the likes of Samus Aran. Golbez arrives in the Dwarven kingdom, looking for dark crystals. He summons a shadow dragon, leaving our heros defenseless. He eliminates everyone in the party, about to give the final blow to Cecil. Suddenly we see a mist dragon being summoned, defeating the shadow dragon and healing the party. They hear a familiar voice but it's not clear until she appears on the battle screen fighting by your side. Our summoner has returned, marking a moment that is a favorite among fans of FFIV (fans beside me, I can assure you).
This is probably the biggest evolution of her character, not just because she has aged, but is wiser, and braver. The scared child is gone and what is left is a brave woman who isn't afraid to fight. Her strong character personality is also what draws Edge to her and her toughness can put up with his firey personality. Had the events she experienced not happened, would she be as developed as she was?
I know her character is still pretty shallow compared to the complexity of characters we see in a lot of todays video games, but given the time when this came out, Rydia was a well-flushed out character for 1991. She transforms both physically and emotionally, overcoming her fears and anxieties. She conquers them and helps others to conquer an evil being. For the time, I don't think any character could get more flushed out than that.
I've been on a "Point and Click" adventure kick lately. I started playing Phoenix Wright 2, which I got for Christmas. I enjoyed the stories enough that I moved immediately to Phoenix Wright 3, which I got when it came out for the Phoenix Wright keychain plushie. I REALLY got into the stories of the third game, but there was something that had been bothering me as I continued to play. Some aspects of the cases didn't seem right. I didn't expect things to be that different in the year 2016, but something about the dialog didn't fit with the assumed technological advances. Like Mr. Wright I did some investigating myself and found some perplexing paradoxes.
There are nearly no digital cameras: Pictures are frequently used as evidence. In nearly every case the camera uses film for its source and developed in the same way film is developed in the 90's and prior. Now I understand that pictures are still printed with the advent of the photo printers (I got mine in 2005). However there is frequent reference to film usage. In Phoenix Wright 3, one of the flashback cases, witness Melissa Foster (who we later know as demon bitch Dahlia Hawthorne) testifies with pictures she took with her camera. When Mia asks her about other photos on the camera she mentions that she ran out of film. Dahlia is most likely an amateur photographer and would have a camera that relfects that. In the year 2008 that's most likely a digital camera without film, let alone in the year 2012 when the case takes place. The only existence of a digital camera is one with pictures taken by the young boy Cody in case three of PW1 (the case with the Steel Samurai).
Security cameras also have film in them. One would think that in this day when we are making the transition now that the cameras would all be digital as well. After watching an episode of Las Vegas for a class and seeing all the security cameras completely digital in 2008, it would only make sense that the museum would have caught Masque deMasque and most likely caught him in HD. My guess is that it would be easier to spot and determine the identity of the "true" Masque de Masque in mid to late 20 teens.
I examined another case. In Phoenix Wright 3 one of the cases involves blackmail as a result of a genius programmer making a computer virus for the mob. Given the public awareness of computer viruses in todays day, it seems very odd that the vast majority of the people involved with the case (the judge, Maya Fey) have no idea what a computer virus is. Phoenix only has limited knowledge! How is that possible in that day and age? Furthermore, it seems a little odd that the computer virus is delivered on a CD. While it is uncertain what media will become the replacement for CD's surely people would more likely use a DVD, BD or a small jump drive. Given the severity of the crime it seems odd that something as obvious as a CD with the name of the virus labeled on it would be used.
I could be making a mountain out of a molehill, except that I found other references to technological advances that seemed obsolete even in present day. This is even more perplexing considering that these games were originally GBA games that came out in the early 2000's. An occasional cassette tape reference seemed grading, but more obsolete objects began to show up in the Phoenix Wright world. Aside from the clear statements from the developers, I wonder if the Ace Attorney series truly takes place in the distant future, when the technology suggests the games take place in the 1990's. It could be the result of me reading far into the details of this world I have grown to love, but this is the internet, the perfect place for nitpickery. Edgeworth would may not accept my evidence as valid enough in the court, but I have to at least wonder:
I had every intention of writing another Awesomely Underrated editorial on Phantasy Star 3, the black sheep of the Phantasy Star series. I've found myself in a Phantasy Star kick after the Retroforce Go! Phantasy Star episode aired. This kick of mine included playing our resident black sheep, which I had fond memories. Since it's been released on Virtual console, this week seemed to be the perfect time to talk about the game. While the setting was outside the traditional "feel" of the previous Phantasy Star games (that "feel" returning in IV) I never thought the game was bad per se. Sure, the battle mechanics were bare bones, but the story was interesting. The player had choices; choose who to marry and it effects what quests the player goes on, the stats of the offspring and the choice would effect who the offspring would choose to marry for the following generation. The game had four endings, which was unheard of in the early nineties. This groundbreaking innovation would make players overlook the flaws of the game, right?
This is my third or fourth playthrough of the game. When I say "playthrough" I mean I went through the choices and played multiple scenarios. I've seen each ending at least once. I have my favorite (Aron) and least favorite (Sean). Now I'm a little older and a little wiser. I still like the game, but I've found that my love for it may have been a bit because of retro goggles. I've found some glaring things about the game that my older self can no longer find acceptable in a good game.
1) Bullshit Music
Video game music today is written in stems. The idea being that an ambient layer is the base of the musical idea. Other layers of music are added on top of the ambience to add intensity. Many players have probably heard this without realizing it. The trick to writing a good stem is that each of the musical ideas need to sound good by themselves. Phantasy Star 3 didn't intend to write stems but the music in many cases sound incomplete, repetitive and just plain bad. While I could not find direct audio clips of the music (I've been searching for OST's of the original PS games for a while). But here is a YouTube Video of some of the general battle mechanics. You can hear what the music is doing as well and hear what I mean.
It's true that some of the music has some sort of melody, but in many cases it's pretty unconvincing. That victory music that you hear, that five second phrase? That's the whole thing. What the fuck was that? It sounds like it was phoned in. It doesn't even fit in the musical pallete the rest of the music has. You hear lots of funky bass (gotta love the Sega Genesis sound card) in the dungeon. That's everywhere in the music. Whenever I hear that bass sound in other Sega games, I think of Phantasy Star 3 because of the imprint it made. But I'm thinking of a sound. I'm not thinking of a catchy tune. There were few and far between in that game. You may have also noticed that even in that five minute video that music gets extremely repetitive.
2) Bullshit Dungeons
This doesn't just effect Phantasy Star 3. I found this problem in Phantasy Star 2, along with many other JRPGs of the time. The dungeons, while challenging are poorly designed with little reward to compensate the challenge. They look repetitive, which makes it very easy to get lost. Most of the dead ends have no reward. Further more, the characters move slowly which results in the player wasting a lot of time walking aimlessly back and forth. The time is added on with the random battles that ensue with it.
Here is a map of one of the first dungeons in Phantasy Star 3 (with stairs leading to the outskirts of Cille castle.
While I have no problem with a game being challenging, I do have a problem when the challenge comes as the result of poor game design. Most of the dead ends are impossible to see until you've traveled too far. Then the player needs to turn around and go back. With the random battles coming and the dungeon looking pretty much the same, I have found myself going in circles without realizing it because everything looks so similar. I don't know how I found this acceptable as a kid.
3) Bullshit Localization
Did you know Lena was Rhys's fiancee? I didn't, and was completely confused as to who she was and why she showed up when she did. Before he met Maia, he was set up in an arranged marriage with Lena who was princess in the neighboring kingdom of Satera. It's that castle across the mountains that you can't reach at the beginning of the game. Why did his parents approve of breaking that engagement? If you choose to marry Lena instead of Maia (after all that work to find her), the explanation is that the world was not ready for an Orakian to marry a Layan. I didn't get that from the "Though I sought Maia, I choose you" line that comes from the US localization.
The nice people at Phantasy-Star.net helped shed some light on the poor translation that graced the US. The example I mention earlier is just one example of important information that would have made the game make more sense. Japan, being a country that gets more cool things than us has Omake compendiums that flush out more of the story and are thus inputed into the timeline as part of official canon. All of this is great and makes me appreciate what they intended for Phantasy Star 3. Unfortunately most of that did not make it into the US version, or its translation is so poor, that it's not clear what they mean.
I know it may seem like I'm bashing the game, and maybe I'm getting old and cranky (I am approaching 30 in a few years so that may be it). Despite my complaints, I still want to play through the game, but it's become clear in my age that the retro goggles are showing their wear.
As I continue to play more retro games, I may find more games where the goggles do nothing.
This one is a quickie today, but since the announcement of a Puzzle Quest focus group for residents of the Los Angeles area, I figured I would announce that after a looooong-ass questionnaire and grilling of various aspects of the story to Puzzle Quest (there was a story?), I am one of the ones picked to try out the game. Not to mention aside from being in the focus group I will get paid a little bit of money! Sweet!
I still don't know if we will be playing Puzzle Quest 1.5 or Puzzle Quest Galatrix, but I will be going to an undisclosed research company next tuesday for about 2 and a half hours. If I am allowed to talk about what I see I will. At the very least I will probably be able to give a "yay" or "nay" on it. Knowing D3 and what they've done with the first game it will most likely be a yay.
So are there any other D-Toiders that got picked? I will be in the first group on tuesday so let me know if I expect to see any other familiar faces!
If my avatar isn't obvious enough I will say I am an FFIV fangirl. While I've lamented the direction of the later Final Fantasies I still pine for the old school ones. When I heard last summer Square-Enix was remaking FFIV for the DS I cried tears of joy. I've since waited patiently for a US confirmation. I even NOT downloaded the Japanese version for my R4 and while it was fun I have to say it's very hard to play in Japanese when one can't read it. My hopes and dreams were realized when DS Fanboy posted this article confirming the appearance of the game in Nintendo Power, complete with interviews and english screenies. I've tried to find such screenies on the net, but with no avail as of now. I think I may have to go searching for the magazine myself and scan them in for your pleasure.
Another interesting tidbit was a quote from the Nintendo Power interview about remaking other classic Square titles (versus the Enix titles). This is what was said:
"Chrono Trigger was a no-holds-barred, swashbuckling adventure that was a lot of fun to work on... If the demand is great enough, it's certainly possible. But as a creator, I feel the need to create new titles and not just series installments and remakes. I realize it's a little strange for me to be saying that in an interview about Final Fantasy IV (laughs). But I need to remind myself of that, too."
>_> is all I have to say about that. Sure, NOW they worry about being cash cows. If they're not going to bother remaking Chrono Trigger, could they at least put it on VC? Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy IV are my too favorite video games of all time. Having them both remastered would be my dream come true. I'd be Chad-level happy for months!
I love video game music. I love it so much I want to makea career our of it. In my pursuit of making a career out of it, I've met some people that work in the field and have learned some of the differences between the method from American composers, versus the Japanese counterparts.
Let me explain where I'm coming from by giving some insight on how video game music is sequenced. It's become customary to record video game music today with a live orchestra versus the use of MIDI from the SNES and Genesis days. The term "orchestrated" has been used to describe when this happens, or when journalists think it was recorded. In the case of smaller budgets, the composers rely on technology to trick the listener. Technology has advanced quite a bit to convince the listener that they are hearing real instruments. Sample libraries can be purchased for hundreds, thousands of dollars to convince movie go-ers and gamers that what they're hearing is real. In other cases a "hybrid" score may be used instead, where some of the players are real, but most of them aren't.
This is the standard for European and American composers, but Japanese composers seem to be resistant to the idea. Take Super Mario Galaxy for example. This was the first Nintendo game to use a live orchestra and not even all of the tracks had a live orchestra. I'm not sure if any of you readers out there noticed it, but I certainly did. When a live orchestra (or a good sequenced mockup) is present one can kind of hear the placement of all the instruments within the orchestra:
Notice how far back the percussion guys are? So when I hear a tune and hear the drums really close up, and then farther away in other tracks, it's incredibly distracting. Take a listen to two tunes in Super Smash Brothers Brawl:
Notice how much closer the drums sound? The top one is real (or really good samples). The other one is clearly MIDI. I'm amazed they come from the same game.
This seems to be common with Japanese game music, and the music sounds not only archaic but old fashioned. This isn't 1997 anymore. So why is it so different with their western counterparts? Kondo argues he had to pull strings to get even some of the tunes recorded for Super Mario Galaxy and he lamented on the lack of live players in Twilight Princess. It seems almost as if Japanese developers look at game music as secondary. Nintendo isn't the only culprit either. Listen to the Kingdom Hearts soundtrack. It's not much better, for example.
All is not well on the Western front either. The production values are much better, but there is a stigma that western scores have to be big and bombastic. It's to the point where they all sound the same to me. This isn't to discredit my colleagues. I've met some amazing composers who know their shit. One colleague said this to me "It's funny how we all want to be like American composers, but it's the Japanese composer's whose music we remember." This is extremely true. I'm hopeful given how beautiful and intimate the score to Bioshock was (which was recorded live). But for every Bioshock, there's twenty other scores that have big drums loud brass and repetitive strings. You've all heard those before, right?
I want to point out some of the differences to people that may not have noticed it before, or who may have noticed, but didn't know what was going on. We need to see some changes and improvements in video game music from all parts of the globe. To the western developers: let your composers take more risks. I've heard some of you complain that Japanese game music has too much activity, but there could be a happy medium compared to some of the ambient tracks. Some woodwinds would be nice once and a while. To the Japanese developers: Go to soundsonline.com and buy the East West Gold bundle for orchestra. Start there and get some better samples. There is no excuse to why we should still be hearing 90's MIDI. There is better stuff out there without having to make a huge budget for players.
I'd like to see composers from different parts of the world learn from eachother because in the end it just leads to more immersive and better music for everyone.
After a small amount of time off from talking about underrated games, I've come back to talk about the games that deserve a little extra love. While Nintendo was the king of platformers for the Nintendo and Super Nintendo, a small little company called Hudson made a series of platformers that revolved around Master Higgins and his quest to save.... um.... some hot chic?
The premise of the Adventure Island games were fairly simple: Master Higgins moved through various stages avoiding enemies, collecting fruit to add time to the clock. Various powerups include tomahawks, fireballs, skateboarding, and in the second game, our featured title dinosaurs.
The first Adventure Island game was much more difficult than its predecessors, and as a result the second game was a huge improvement. The difficulty was more balanced and the dinosaurs added some neat new options from the first title. With Higgins riding various dinosaurs, he could traverse over lava, destroy rocks and fly over chasms. It was a contemporary to Super Mario 3 and Super Mario World, and while not the same calibur is still a very entertaining game.
It may not have reached quite the acclaim as Mario's platformers because it was still more difficult for an 8-bit NES platformer. The introduction of dinosaurs came at a similar time to the birth of Yoshi in Super Mario World, and many gamers may have seen it as a cheap substitute. However, the game still moves quite well. Master Higgins acquires powerups in a way similar to Super Mario 3; he finds hidden rooms where he can access access powerups and store for later, which was one of my favorite things to Mario 3.
In a sea of platformers on the Nintendo it's hard to make note of the good ones. Everyone knows Mario, Zelda and Samus, but how many people know Master Higgins? It may be a bit more challenging, and may borrow a few things from the plumber, but it's still entertaining. It hasn't hit virtual console yet, but I wouldn't be surprised if it did one day. Otherwise give it a try if you have an NES.
(I would have had a picture, but it's being stupid)
I've been stuck dealing with the trials (pun intended) and tribulations of jury duty in Los
Angeles, CA. I was actually summoned today and sat around for a torturous 7 and a half
hours before they let me go home. I brought my DS ad PSP to keep me entertained but I
forgot to bring earbuds. I decided to experiment and see how well I could play Patapon
without the sound. I hoped that my musical background would help me keep a good beat.
It worked most of the time, but I felt really stupid hitting random buttons in intervals. The
game lost a lot on mute.
I know it's easy to mute a video game while playing it, but I couldn't help think about that
today (anything to avoid thinking about being on jury duty). The game could not work
without the audio and I think that's pretty neat. Music and sound design can really add the
immersiveness of a game when it is good, but can deter when its bad. It's a dangerous
thing; lousy visuals can be overlooked with stellar gameplay or a great story, but bad
sound is bad sound. The result is me turning down the volume. The further implication is
to not even bother turning it up after hearing so much bad audio (like me). I think players
end up missing part of the gameplay experience.
I first discovered this when I played Dragon Quest 8. The guys at Squenix put in live
orchestra for the music instead of the shitty-ass MIDI that Japanese composers seem to get
stuck using for the US version. The demo did not have this and after playing the demo
and the game back to back I was blown away. The real players added so much more for
me and I enjoyed the game more for it. Bioshock is another one of those games that loses
out without the audio (I've watched Zero play it, no I haven't started yet. Don't spoil it for
me). Finally the live orchestra for some of the tracks for Super Mario Galaxy really helped
capture the whimsy that game has. Although I must admit that I can easily hear the tracks
that are MIDI.
So this has turned into somewhat rambling but the point I'm trying to make is that it's very
easy to forget about video game audio. Sure the bad audio can be horrid, but sometimes
the good can really enhance the experience, sometimes making it essential.
(I'll try not to fangirl all over this rant. I promise. This is also not meant to sound
eloquent. This is a rant after-all.)
Something has been bugging me a lot in the last few months. In fact this has bugged me
ever since Blue Dragon came out last August (was it August?). I was listening to Major
Nelson's Podcast (this was in my stage where I listened to pretty much everything that was
gaming and a podcast) and while he always had glowing reviews of Microsoft's first party
games, he didn't have those same glowing remarks for Blue Dragon. He made some of
sort of comment that it was a special kind of game or some bullshit and that not everyone
would like it. He had little to say about it because he's not into those kinds of games. Well
jeez Major, you seem to be into every OTHER kind of game. Couldn't you devote a little
time out of your busy day getting agility orbs in Crackdown to actually fucking play Blue
Dragon?! Do people wonder why it sold like shit here?! If Microsoft isn't even going to
support it why should anyone else?
And the result? I found some reviews for some JRPG's on the 360 (for Blue Dragon and
Lost Odyssey) and decided to save a few of the beauties.
Um... there's something called strategy where you are given some time to plot out your
moves, kind of like tactical RPG's but you don't have to worry about moving your character
to the enemy. It's a similar concept. Now I know this is some douche reviewing a game on
EBGamestop and he doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things, but there are a LOT of
twerpy gamers out there that don't understand at all.
I'm not saying everyone should love JRPG's. If you've played them and couldn't get into
them, that's cool. We all like different things. However it's stupid ass-hattery that comes
from the gamers AND the industry folks that seem to dismiss them like their old fashioned
garbage.
It's the same idea as above but the spelling is more lulz-worthy. People seem way too
interested and shooting or beating people up that they can't appreciate the idea of plotting
a battle with some thought. Is that all people want in the US (stupid question, stupider
answer)?
I know there are exceptions to the rule, of which many of them read Destructoid, so don't
get me wrong. I feel like Major's sentiments set a precedent. I don't subscribe to him
anymore, so I don't know how he felt about Lost Odyssey, but since he's so biased towards
everything else Microsoft, couldn't he be biased towards their JRPG's too and you know,
promote them a bit?
Blue Dragon has its faults (shitty level design for one) but it's not a bad game. Not as bad
as everyone has made it be that is (one day I will write an AU for Blue Dragon, but not
yet). I'm tired of the double standard!
I used Blue Dragon as an example but this could apply to a lot of other JRPG's. Yes some
of them are even too repetitive and archaic for me, like anything made by Gust and Idea
Factory. There are a lot of great ones that get ignored, which prompted me to write about
underrated games that I really enjoy. I wish more people in the gaming community as a
whole outside of Japan would back it up as more than just some strange niche genre.
Attached photos:
My banner sux less!!
My name is Naia (pronounced either Nay-a or Neye-a, like yay or like eye) I am I'm a starving artist in LA trying to keep my sanity. I do mostly freelance stuff and I'm always looking for people to do fun projects with in entertainment. That can be either in theater, film, TV, video games. I want to be like Kermit the Frog and be part of a group that entertains. I also love blue slimes, puppies and Sprinkles Cupcakes.
I've been playing computer and video games all my life. My dad's a programmer so we got an IBM PC very early on in the 80's. For christmas in 1989 my parents surprised me with a Nintendo and it's been downhill ever since. I have/had an NES, gameboy (of all flavors) SNES, Sega Genesis, Sega Gamegear, Sega Saturn, PS1, PS2, Gamecube, DS, PSP, Wii, and 360. Whew!
I'm such a nerd, I like to keep track of all the games I've completed in an excel file. The total is over 200! I also collect plushies. When I finally get a house someday, I want to have a "nerd room" where all the gaming systems, toys and such all go. Revel in the nerdiness!
BTW, drop me a line if for some reason you add me as a friend on XBL or on the Wii. Otherwise I may not add you.
I have a lot of things to say about the game industry, it's something I care deeply about and love giving my opinions. I like to rant about shit. I'm here just to share what I have to say, in hopes someone is willing to listen.
Currently playing: Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker (DS) Phantasy Star 3 (Gen)
I'm also always playing Rock Band, Guitar Hero and/or Brawl for parties
