Happy 2012, everyone! I decided to make 3 resolutions this year: to go to bed before midnight more often (which I’ve only done once since the year began, sadly), to write more often, and to play more games that I’ve had in my collection but have barely touched. For example, I’m sure we’ve all had times where we’ve bought something mostly because it was labeled ‘Limited Edition’. I mean, we’d still be interested in the game without any bonuses, but why not get a few ‘feelies’ if they’re being offered? Well, a limited edition of “Record of Agarest War ZERO” for the PS 3 has been collecting dust on my shelf, and writing a liveblog about playing it seems like a good way to deal with two of those resolutions.
- Q. Why haven’t you updated your ‘My Sims’ blog in over six months?
- A. Well, the point I stopped updating was around the time I bought Dragon Age: Ultimate Edition for the Playstation 3, which includes all of the downloadable content in addition to…uh, long story short, I lost interest. I’ll probably get back to it, as well as my other non-Visual Novel liveblogs, eventually.
- Q. Anything about this game we should know ahead of time?
- A. All of the Agarest War games focus on a lineage of heroes rather than a single protagonist. After certain points in the plot, there comes a time when your current protagonist has to choose one of his love interests to settle down and have a kid with. This kid’s skills, appearance, and abilities are affected by factors such as how your current protagonist is developed, who you choose to marry, and how much that love interest loves you back. In the original game, this happened for five generations. This game is a prequel to the original title, and while it’s better in many aspects, there are only two generations.
- Q. Is this anything like Dragon Quest V?
- A. Except for that bit about the person you choose to marry having a major effect on your offspring, I don’t think so.
- Q. Have you ever played the original game?
- A. No, and I don’t think I ever will. I don’t own an Xbox, and as far as I know, the only Playstation 3 version of the original title has to be downloaded. And I can’t even hook the thing up to the internet until my provider stops sending me the wrong cables for my new modem…
- Q. Is there anything special about your Limited Edition of this game?
- A. It came with a soundtrack CD, a deck of playing cards with pictures of the main cast, a smaller set of cards depicting images from an early part of the game, and a small character guide that outlines everyone’s stat growth, abilities, and basic personality. That last one will be really helpful in future updates of this liveblog, especially if we want Protagonist #2 to be specialized a certain way.
- Q. Is this going to be a blind run?
- A. Define ‘blind’. While I’ll be using this guide
to get to the best ending, and I have a character guide, I’m completely unaware of such things as ‘the actual plot’.
- A. Define ‘blind’. While I’ll be using this guide
- Q. Will this liveblog be interactive?
- A. No. While there are a few choices I can make that won’t affect the True Ending guide, such as what the first protagonist’s weapon of choice will be, they’re not major enough to warrant stopping the liveblog until I get a comment. Plus, if my “Disgaea Infinite” liveblog is any indication, matters such as whether or not to include database entries in each update aren’t major concerns of my viewers…
- Q. Finally, what are the chances that you’ll actually finish this Liveblog by the end of the year?
- A. Less than the chance that the world really will end on December 21, 2012. But I’ll try!
Well, I think that’s enough of an introduction. See you in a few moments, when I talk about my first few moments spent actually playing this thing!
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