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DRAGON QUEST IV - CHAPTERS OF THE CHOSEN COMPLETED

First, let me explain my absence. Since my last update, I started playing Phantasy Star 2. However, I did not like it very much and ultimately skipped. If anyone wants to discuss it, I'm up for it. For now, however, I'll be brief and say that what was a good idea and concept suffered to bad execution, poor writing and a far too steep difficulty curve.

Next, I started playing Ys III, the Oath in Felghana-version on Steam. It was very fun, but a certain...issue I have with it which ultimately lead to me rage-quitting it and made me put it on hold for a while. I'll return to finish it soon.

Then I played Dragon Quest IV for a while...then I just got tired of it. Then I played Final Fantasy III for a while...and got bored with that too. More on FFIII when I finally get around to finishing that. After some messing about with later entries (which I'll cover later), I finally mustered up the willpower to finish Dragon Quest IV. And here we are.

Now, Dragon Quest IV suffers with being the sequel to Dragon Quest III, a solid contender for Best RPG Ever. However, it does a good job of distancing itself from DQ III. The plot is a lot more character-centric, following the chapters of certain chosen protagonists (oh-ho) as they deal with their different quests and personal goals. You might recall that this was something I felt like docking DQ III for in the past, and I'm happy to say that the plot of DQ IV is truly one of its strong points, which is a first for a DQ game. Without spoiling too much, I will say that the very varied cast and their individual stories go together wonderfully and create a truly epic story that, while it loses its energy at certain points, never gets dull or sidelined. It drives the game forwards in a very satisfying way.

DQ IV goes far in avoiding getting compared to its predecessor, and its truly amazing how much is new in this game. Spells, keys, mini-medals and quite a lot of equipment is like it used to be, but the new mechanics of choosing party members and certain...I don't like to call it gimmicks, so I'll call it "features" with certain characters makes their individual chapters feel very different (Chapter III in particular was incredible fun because of how DIFFERENT it is to every other JRPG experience at this point). Choosing your battle-party in the later parts of the game affects your battle-line up means you have to think more and be more selective in how you distribute your equipment. Which, however, leads to some of the things I disliked with the game.

First of all, because of all the party members, the amount of equipment necessary sky-rockets. While you can move equipment around as usual, this can mean that certain characters have no equipment if you change them back into the battle party. Also, and more seriously, skills are very limited. For example, your two healers and two battle-mages have quite different support-skills, and I often caught myself wishing I'd brought the other one. Of course, this adds a layer of strategy, but also a layer of frustration. On the other hand, I probably would have complained about the lack of unique-ness to the characters if I could cover all bases with the same four characters...grrmbll...game-design is hard, yo.

Characters naturally brings me on to character design and graphics. I must say I much prefer the designs here compared to DQ III, especially the female characters. But, there are certain enemies and bosses that...were hard to take seriously, and the ridiculous names the enemies get don't help. And that's part of the DQ style, I know. But in this game it clashes at times with the otherwise serious story and themes. I played the DS-remake, which I recommend to everyone, with wonderfully colourful and varied cities and dungeons. No two caves, towers, towns or cities look the same, which is still one of the strongest points of the series.

Speaking of strong points, the music is, as expected wonderful. There is not a single half-assed theme in the whole soundtrack...which is not surprising how few themes there are. A lot of themes are reused time and time again, and while they are of great quality, I would wish for more tracks. And while I'm making unjust demands, PAUSE THE BACKGROUND MUSIC FOR BATTLE AND OPENING CHESTS, DANG IT! We're back to DQ I in that these long and beautifully composed themes are time and time again cut short and starts from the beginning again, which really hurt some of the longer themes like the wonderful Overworld-themes and make the dungeon-themes sound really annoying because you'll only hear the first half minute or so at a time. Come on, game devs! You did this right on the SNES, why can't you replicate it on the DS?! Errr, that little rant aside, have my favourite theme from the game. It truly shows how much effort went down into what is "just" the theme for tower-based dungeons.

So...yeah, not much more to say about it. It's a solid game that brings hopes for another success like the DQ III.

Final score: 8/10

Next up is...finishing Final Fantasy III. Fingers crossed I'll make it to the end.

A..hahaha.....haha...I kinda forgot about this.

Coincidentally, I finished Trails in the Sky FC some time ago, so hell, let's count that as progress.

Trails in the Sky: First Chapter...Was it generic? Kinda. There's really nothing actually unique here. Land with monsters, a queen ruling the country, a conspiracy going on, 'orbs' as the magic system. However, cliched ain't a bad thing by itself, and in this particular case, it was very well done. Our protagonists Estelle and her adopted brother Joshua travel around the country of Liberl, exploring various cities(Five, to be exact, and a few towns), helping people, and befriending fellow 'Bracers'. Estelle is loud, energetic, and idiotic, but not obnoxiously so. Joshua is calm, composed, and skilled, but not overly perfect. They're a great pair together and really makes this journey fun and enjoyable. The other party members you eventually meet are also a joy to the mind. There's the overly aggressive and arrogant Agate, the nice girl Chloe, a little girl with a huge gun Tita, the tragic(har) singer Olivier, and so on. While this isn't quite like the Tales series in that the interactions between the party members make up the game, here it's the various interactions between Joshua and Estelle and the current party.

Plotwise, as the 'First Chapter', this is when genericness comes back. Estelle travels to different cities to do quests and get recommendations from the different branches of the Bracer Guild. For most of the game, you'll be solving problems of whichever city you're in(Discovering the mayor was corrupt, participate in a school play, help orphaned children), and early on there's only very subtle clues that relates to a bigger plot. Then you get to chapter 3 and the storyline picks up into one big plot involving the royal family, and it becomes absolutely thrilling and hard to put down. Starts slow, but the slow parts were enjoyable by itself(Think Steins;Gate anime and how the first half was calm, slice of life, etc. and then the second half was a dark thriller due to plot events).

Music-wise, Falcom delivers. It's a calming OST with jazz and style and some other genres. It's not a masterpiece, but it's a good listen. Personally, Zeiss's town music was probably one of my favorite non-battle ones, or maybe the theme that plays at night. Battle-wise, the most notable song would be Silver Will, a boss battle theme that plays very late into the game. According to the trope page here, this track is....popular. Well, in Japan anyways. Seriously though, it's a great track, and you'll know which one I mean when you see it.

Despite it's episodic nature, this IS only the 'First Chapter' of the three-part game. And there's a reason us English fans have been waiting in suffering for a while now. There's a huge cliffhanger and plot twist quite late into the game that leaves us hanging good and dying. Beware that if you don't know Japanese and play this game to the finish, you'll be suffering(Hence why I'm more serious with my Japanese studies now than ever).

Yay, Danna! Good to see you're still with us; haven't heard from you in a while now.

Now then...

FINAL FANTASY IV COMPLETED

...those of you who are trained in arithmetic will notice that I have gone from FFII to FFIV without completing III. Now, I played Final Fantasy III on the DS for a good while (I was about halfway between the third and the fourth crystal), but in the end I couldn't finish it. The game was slow, tedious and tight-fisted with the gil. Also, the class-changing mechanics were not as fun as they will be in FFV. So through-out most of FFIII, I kept wishing I could play other Final Fantasy-games.

Not to say that FFIII is all bad. The class changing feature is very interesting, and it's clear how it lays the class foundations for future games, particularly FFIV and of course FFV. Also the plot is nice and epic, the game-world very cleverly designed and it features a lot of neat design choices.

Now, those of you at home who are paying close attention to the list (please give a message if you exist!) will also have noticed that I've skipped quite a few more games to get to FFIV. Ys III is nearing completion, but one of the bosses was way too difficult, forcing me to take a break. Saga 2 on the DS turned out to be very poorly designed, so I skipped it. I'm still playing the SNES-remake of Fire Emblem 1, but progress is slow. Phantasy Star III was skipped because it looked and played terrible, which is a shame, because I heard it had a branching storyline and everything. Then again, I am still of the opinion that the early Phantasy Star-games bit over more than they could chew. Furthermore, Ultima VI, Worlds of Ultima: The Savage Empire and Wizardry VI were cut because of awkward controls not having aged very well.

Which brings us, finally, to the year of 1991 and Final Fantasy IV.

Often regarded as one of the best classic Final Fantasy-games, this game has received several remakes and even two sequels seventeen years after the release of the first game. Some might call this modern-day Square Enix being Square Enix, but it is truly no wonder why this game is so well received among its fans.

To start things off in a more overarching perspective, I would like to say that FFIV combines the best parts of the previous games into one. You get classic Final Fantasy-gameplay a la FFI, a solid character-driven plot as featured in FFII and the classes (though not the class system) and epic world-design of FFIII. Throw in some new and innovative ideas such as the Active Time Battle-system (quite ground-breaking for a JRPG at the time) and more characters than you can shake a stick at, and you've got the recipe for a massive new game.

You may have noticed that I'm using a lot of size-related adjectives. But size and a serious tone really is what defines this game. It is clear to see how the Final Fantasy-series here attempts to both distance itself from its rival Dragon Quest as well as the newcomer Phantasy Star, the latter of which having claimed that they would create serious RPGs. The themes of revenge, redemption and forgiveness are heavy and handled very well and the plot never truly "lets up". In such a way it succeeds where Phantasy Star breaks down under poorly-designed gameplay and distances itself from the more light-hearted Dragon Quest. I can't wait to see the responses from the two series as I progress down the list~!

Similar to DQIV, FFIV features a large gallery of playable characters, though where DQIV had you change between different groups until they were all collected, FFIV keeps the protagonist Cecil as a solid centre of the plot, with the different other characters leaving and appearing as the plot advances. This helps keep the battles and party-setup fresh and exciting, and allows for varied and dynamic gameplay and storytelling.

Back when I was comparing FFII and DQIII I complimented the latter series on being a lot better than the former at making cities and dungeons feel unique and varied. Well, someone must have told Square Enix the same back in the early Nineties, because they really stepped up their game for this game. Every cave, dungeon, mountain, tower and castle has its own style or atmosphere, so that you never quite know what to expect. And while DQIV's dungeons were also quite diverse, they had nothing on the sheer otherworldlyness of some of FFIV's.

While on the subject of dungeons, I'd like to mention the difficulty. Now, difficulty is always a bit hard to pull of in JRPGs. Often, you end up being overpowered a lot, underpowered a lot or have to do long periods of grinding to be the right level. FFIV strikes a delicate balance of while grinding not being particularly cumbersome or time-consuming (in my experience), there was hardly ever a dungeon I could just breeze through. For every single plot or side-quest dungeon in the game I can point out an enemy or group of enemies that keeps the tension and level of challenge high enough to push you all through the game. Even though I was quite overpowered by the time I reached the end boss (about 20-25 levels over what you can do it on), I was pushed to the limit in all the last dungeons and at the final boss. It made it just all the more satisfying.

Now, graphics. Area design and character design is very good, though it suffers slightly because of lower detail (I played the GBA-version, but I have seen screenshots of the DS and PSP versions). The age shows, but then again it's that classic 16-bit Final Fantasy of a time when that was the new hot thing at the time, and brings back fond memories now. The cutscenes are very well made and manages to carry over both humour and seriousness with limited resources. They are also full of little details that show how much attention to detail was put into the game.

And finally, the music. Besides the implementation of several series mainstays such as the Crystals-theme, Final Fantasy-theme and the Chocobo-theme, Nobuo Uematsu once again delivers a plethora of catchy and easily recognizable themes for this new instalment. And this game does what DQIV did not. No, I'm not talking about pausing the overworld music when entering battle, but continually offering new tunes. The FFIV soundtrack consists of 44 individual tracks, all perfectly timed to developments in the plot and cutscenes, and setting the mood for new areas. This is only made possible by the change from NES to SNES, and while it's clear that this is early in the days of the SNES, it's still a marvellous step forward.

...but, it still suffers from some gameplay issues. First of all, the inventory system. Thankfully, it's still using a shared inventory and not a personalized one as most other games of this time. But inventory space is harshly limited, and even the item bank gets full about two thirds through the game. And with a game that delivers so much diversity in equipment and usable items, this gets really annoying. Second, almost no matter what version you are playing, the game is riddled with lag-issues, particularly during battle. Normally, this would not be very noticeable, but when you select the wrong battle command for the fiftieth time, it starts getting to you. Thankfully, the later versions solve the abhorrent load times of the Playstation-version.

In the end, however, these are but small annoyances in what is otherwise a solid game and a true classic, marking the start of a golden age of Final Fantasy-games.

Final score: 9/10

EDIT: Oh, I forgot! The GBA-version also offers a massive amount of post-game content a la FFI and II, tailor-made for furthering the character development of the main characters. I'll be having a bit of fun with that before progressing to the next game.

Next on the list is Final Fantasy Adventure, known now as Sword Of Mana, which I'll be (re)playing the GBA-version of. Also working on Shining In The Darkness on PS 3 and the games I mentioned earlier.

edited 24th May '14 12:07:11 PM by Lemurian

As a logical next post,

FINAL FANTASY V COMPLETED

Ys III and Fire Emblem are at the same point of progress as last time, and I'm still planning to complete them. So, let me explain what happened to the games in-between.

Seiken Densetsu

Seiken Densetsu, Final Fantasy Adventure or Sword of Mana...I played. Problem is that I've already completed that game (that is to say, the Sword of Mana version on the GBA) three times before many years in the past, and I really wasn't feeling it on this fourth playthrough. But I can give a short summary of my feelings on the game.

The plot is pretty decent, though a bit...weak in certain aspects. Some very good scenes here and there, I particularly remember some heart-rending scenes that deeply affected me many years ago. A very nice touch is the dual-protagonist solution, where you can choose to follow the Hero or the Heroine's side of the story. It helps to make a nice fleshed-out story. The guest characters along the way are also pretty well made, and there were several characters that made a deep impact on me.

Gameplay is pretty top, if a bit onerous. It's got a well-designed battle system (as it should, since it's an ARPG), with lots of variation, challenging enemies and enough sidequests to keep you busy for hours. The class system also helps spice things up a little for replaying.

It's graphically stunning, with good area design and elaborately crafted sprites and images. Music is also pretty decent, though you will get sick of certain tunes.

So yeah, it's a good game. Highly recommended for those that like a good ARPG.

Games I did not play

Games I flat-out did not play were Super Robot Wars, Eye of the Beholder, Langrisser, SRW 2, Eye of the Beholder 2, Ultima: Martian Dreams, Might and Magic III, Lord Monarch, Dragon Slayer: The Legend of Heroes II and E.V.O.: Search for Eden. SRW 2 and Legend of Heroes 2 had no available English versions. SaGa 3, Super Robot Wars, the Eye of the Beholder-games, Ultima, Might and Magic and Lord Monarch were skipped because I did not like the gameplay. Langrisser and EVO I instead watched Let's Plays of.

Now, for the rest. Dragon Quest V I am going to play. FFV was just picked first since I'm playing Bravely Default on my 3DS and I wasn't keen on having another handheld RPG going. Shining in the Darkness I am playing (the PS 3-port). Metal Max, I have played. I tried this out several months back, when the Project was just kicking off. It was pretty good. Sweet concept, nice design, good gameplay, decent characters...but it had an incredibly weak overarching plot and was way too easy! I steamrolled (literally, since you get a tank) greater parts of the game without grinding in the slightest and finally I gave up because it did not give me enough of a challenge. But it's a fun game, and I can recommend the SNES-port.

With all of that taken care of, let's talk about

Final Fantasy V

This is easily one of my favourite Final Fantasy-games of all time, and it was before I played it for the Project. However, I'd started playing it...two or three times (GBA version), and never finished it. That's just how it is with me and Final Fantasy-games. :V This time, spurred on by the Project, I finally got to the end...and I'm really happy I did.

First thing to note is that FFV is a very different beast from FFIV, which received a lot of praise from me back in May. So let's start off talking about the gameplay.

FFV's gameplay is like FFIII , in that you have a party of four characters that can change Jobs and as you progress with the jobs, you get better at that job. The big difference is that the stats are not tied to the character, but to the job. Furthermore, Job progress unlocks Active and Passive Abilities that you can combine as you choose. Also, the "cooldown" period between changing jobs is removed. This means that you can change Jobs and Abilities at any time you want and make all kinds of party constellations.

I can not stress how fun this is! So many different battle tactics come out of mixing and combining Abilities, some resulting in absolutely devastating combinations! Beastmaster feeling a bit underwhelming? Give them Barehanded and watch them pummel the random encounters to the ground! Do you want your mage to do physical damage? Have them learn to use a bow in a different Job, and then use the passive ability when they come back to the mage role! With no penalties to stat growth during the class change!

Of course, what's the point of this wide array of battle tactics if it turns the battles into a cakewalk? Well, while the enemies for the first part of the game may feel on the whole a bit easy...this changes. At a certain point in the game, the difficulty of random encounters start rising sharply...and keep on getting tougher. By the end of the game, it will take all your wits and overpowered ability combinations to keep your party standing. And that's not even getting into the Super Enemies, certain hidden powerful random encounters and lots of Bonus Bosses. The game keeps pushing you, much like FFIV did, but in a slightly different way, and it will take more than a baseline understanding of the game mechanics to get through the final dungeons.

But does the plot suffer for it? FFV does not have FFIV's strong story-telling, nor the advantage of continually changing party members. The overall plot is also not as fleshed out and detailed as IV, nor does it carry the same urgency as II, III or IV, despite an active antagonist. It does use its characters well (not just the main characters, but also background characters), but there is not much character development, which I miss.

Still...FFV's plot has a certain charm. The dialogue flows well, the scenes are very well choreographed and there are both scenes that will make you laugh out loud and scenes that brings tears to the eyes. There are many memorable pieces of plot that adds to the good feeling this game has.

The music is, as always, very solid, and there's a lot of memorable and mood-enhancing music. It really helps give that cheerful, soul-lifting feel...while at the same time giving the more serious moments the gravitas they need. Graphically, it's a nice game, taking advantage of the SNES' Mode 7 a lot, but it's not exactly drop-dead gorgeous. Instead, its strength lies in the complexity of the sprite and area design.

Also bonus points for pausing overworld and dungeon music in battle, making random encounters even more enjoyable.

So, in summary, FFV is a game that seems to have one job: to ensure that the player has tons of fun. And it's a resounding success. Everything comes together beautifully, carried by incredibly well-designed gameplay, and offers a lot of entertainment. Too bad the plot is not more fleshed out, or this could easily be my favourite game of all time.

Final score: 9/10

edited 5th Sep '14 1:01:43 PM by Lemurian

I'm a horrible person who'd like to add some more games to your list. Specifically, the Ar tonelico series. Melody of Elemia is from 2006, Melody of Metafalica is from 2007, and Qoga is from 2010. There's also Ar nosurge, which came out this year, if you want to count it as technically part of the series.

Ah, thank you! I've been harbouring plans of playing them, but I hadn't noticed that they were missing.

Now then, how about a sudden update? Because...

MEGAMI TENSEI: LAST BIBLE COMPLETED

First, some status reports. Fire Emblem and Ys III: No change. I have started playing Dragon Quest V. And Shining In The Darkness has officially been skipped, because of being repetitive and boring. Solid gameplay, nice setting, great graphics and all...but very repetitive gameplay and thin story. I will also not be playing Lunar: The Silver Star or Phantasy Star Gaiden, because of them being dull.

Now then.

Megami Tensei: Last Bible (also known as Demon Slayer: Revelations in the US) is a spinoff of the Shin Megami Tensei games, and is mostly known for not being as dark as its predecessors, and not nearly as difficult as the rest of the meta-series. And indeed, in the grand scale of SMT-games, it gets little attention. So let's take a closer look.

The story of the first Last Bible game puts you in control of El, a newly graduated fighter capable of using Zord, a power made to defeat the monsters that are plaguing the world. When the monsters suddenly start attacking towns and threatening to take the Orbs that keep the world together, El goes out into the world and recruits humans and monsters to fight along his side to restore peace and stability.

Monsters here take the place of demons in other SMT-games, and there are many similarities. They can not use equipment, are summoned into the party and can be fused into greater monsters. However, they are indeed more "monsters" in the sense that they are beasts roaming the world more than the supernatural demons and devils of other SMT games. However, there are tons of familiar names for all you (us) mythology buffs out there, and there's something about commanding a party of supernatural beings that just never gets old in this game.

This "streamlining" of the monster mechanics is very indicative of the difference between Last Bible and the more classic SMT-style that would truly become established with Shin Megami Tensei, which was released the same year. Last Bible is easier, less complex and overall lighter to work with and in. This is not at all a bad thing, and the more forgiving gameplay is a wonderful introduction to the series for a less "hardcore" crowd.

The story is...decent. The story is not very complicated (needless to say, certain things are not what they seem...), and at times it gets more confusing than entirely necessary. However, the storytelling is superb. Hints to developments hidden in monster conversations, conversations with recurring NPCs and a lot of clever hints scattered across the game really makes the story develop organically and a good pace, never once leaving the focus of the game. And not because the game is railroady, but simply because it's very natural what you are going to do next. I really enjoyed the story of the game, even though it was not exactly Ys 1 and 2. Also, the characters were incredibly well-designed and the dialogue expertly written and localized. Which is quite a feat, considering this is a Gameboy game.

Indeed, this hidden gem is an old Gameboy-RPG that was optimized for the Gameboy Colour just before its export to the US. And with that in mind, the finished product is quite stunning. The graphics are crisp and colourful, the areas small but full of features, the music limited in quantity but solid in quality and the storytelling is quite something for this age and technology.

Particular mention goes to the end of the game, which is a serious power-trip filled with incredible revelations, awesome equipment, jaw-dropping powers and monsters under your command and a sleuth of visually and mythologically impressive enemies.

So, in conclusion, Last Bible is a solid game that lays the groundwork of the Shin Megami Tensei series almost as much as the SNES RPG of the same name that came out the same year. Since I will not be playing SMT 1 until the mobile phone port comes to Android, this was a wonderful early dive into that unique and highly respected series. However, it gets docked points for some rather severe story faults that at times clash with the otherwise wonderful game.

Final score: 8/10

> ctrl+f "nier" on list

> 0 results

you owe it to at least give this a try given that it's probably the most well-written and interesting jrpg released in the last several years.

Ah, thank you very much. Indeed, what I've seen of and heard about Nier makes it out to be quite a unique and quite beautiful game (especially the music has made me very interested in playing it). While I'm unable to edit the list in the opening post, I've now added it to my personal list.

Unexpectedly early

Breath Of Fire COMPLETE!

Yeah. Okay, so, status. I am playing Shining Force: The Legacy of Great Intention, I haven’t skipped it. However, I reached a point that was dreadfully dull and boring, so I skipped it. Meanwhile, since I’m STILL not done with Fire Emblem (I’ve made progress, though!), I didn’t want to start on another SNES game (Soul Blazer).

...but I was really bored. None of the games I was playing were really fun (I’ll go into more detail when I finish them), and there were these super tempting other games that were just a tiny bit further ahead. Also I seem to have misplaced my DS with Dragon Quest V. So I took a break and skipped forward a bit. Shining Force Gaiden has to wait until I’m done with the first one (it’s a direct sequel), Ultima Underworld, Wizardry VII and Ultima VII were skipped because they were Ultima and Wizardry-games and Super Robot Wars 3, well, that’s a SNES game again.

So, I played Breath Of Fire. As a treat to myself, because I really like the two first Breath Of Fire-games. Especially 2, which I’ll tell more about when we get there.

Now, Breath Of Fire is an RPG made by Capcom, originally for the SNES. I played the GBA-remake (which gives you a more gold and experience and thus streamlines it a lot more). The main character Ryu is a young warrior of the Light Dragon Tribe, who after a war against the goddess of destruction sealed away their dragon powers to live in peace. However, the Light Dragon Tribe is attacked by the Dark Dragon Tribe, whose leader wishes to resurrect the dark goddess to grant his wish of world domination.

...yeah, it’s not super original. However, the cast of characters is a colourful one and the areas varied and inspired. What really sets Breath Of Fire apart from the other series at this point is the strange tone. It’s a sort of dark and active setting, with lots of things happening and several unexpected twists and complications. Unique characters are everywhere, and it never really seems to settle down. This is the game’s greatest strength, how it never lets the player “rest”, but keeps throwing adversities and fantastic areas, one after another. However, this ever-changing backdrop of areas and characters to get to know is not exactly implemented with much grace. Some of the transitions can be very hard to understand, and the game is not very good at supplying hints as to what to do next. Much of this owes to what I believe to be a subpar translation. The English script is at least not very impressive.

Then again, it needs not be perfect to really evoke great feelings. There are several scenes of sorrow and victory that really stand out, well helped by several incredibly soulful tunes. Pouncing on that chance for a segue, let’s talk about the music. Breath Of Fire has several good tunes, in particular when it comes to the Overworld themes, battle themes and certain pieces of cutscene music. However, beyond a certain point in the game, it stops “evolving” to fit the crescendo of the plot, and by the end, neither the final dungeon music or final boss music really goes far enough in bringing out the atmosphere.

Speaking of things that disappoint nearing the endgame, the gameplay is very simple without being cliché. This goes a long way in helping Breath Of Fire feel different from other games, while still feeling very well executed. This is helped well along by well-designed controls and battle commands (Phantasy Star and Shining Force, take note). However, it’s also not very dynamic, and once you’ve reached a certain point in the game, you really never change your strategy. Equipment upgrades are slightly obtuse, and you easily get stuck in a rut.

And finally, there’s the matter of the endgame. Breath Of Fire does a good job of hiding away secret equipment and techniques, and it feels very good when you find/unlock it and unleash it on your enemies. However, the final technique for the Hero is so game-breakingly cheap that all bosses towards the end become a joke. Also, since that technique is needed to get the Good Ending, it’s also clear that this is what the game developers intended. Which is very disappointing.

So, in summary, Breath Of Fire does a lot of things right but fails at taking it all the way, and stumbles over the finish line after what is otherwise an amazing fast-paced race through a well-designed (but not well-written/translated) story.

Final score: 7.5

I'll do my best to go back and finish some of the games I've left behind, but there is a chance I might skip forward a little more, sorry. Last Bible 2 is coming up on the GBC, and Soul Blazer looks a lot more fun than more Fire Emblem. If you feel appalled about this lack of discipline, feel free to vent your outrage in an attempt to make me sit down and complete them.

edited 12th Nov '14 4:11:59 PM by Lemurian

bystander here but

no dark souls on the list

why

Uhm, good question. It lies a bit on the "action" part of Action RPG, but I agree that it should be on the list. It's possible it was overlooked when the list was written (approximately 1 year after Dark Souls was released), since the list focuses more on the retrospective than the contemporary. But I'll add it to my personal list, since I'm playing it anyways. Thanks for bringing it up.

That reminds me. Since the official list in the OP stops at 2012, feel free to suggest later games that fit the description in addition to games that have been missed. As long as it's important, influential or otherwise noteworthy, it qualifies. All JRPGs and WRPGs, including action, turn-based and tactical RPGs are welcome!

edited 12th Nov '14 4:54:22 PM by Lemurian

With more gratuitous Steven Hawking than ever, it’s

SHIN MEGAMI TENSEI COMPLETED

First, an update. Fire Emblem proceeds as planned. Shining Force: The Legacy of Great Intention has been skipped, and as a direct result, so have the direct sequels, the two Shining Force Gaiden-games. I will share with you my thoughts on Shining Force before continuing.

Shining Force is a tactical RPG, made with no knowledge of Fire Emblem, its Nintendo competing counterpart (or so the creator claims). Indeed, Shining Force seems to have more in common with its predecessor Shining In The Darkness than Fire Emblem…for better and for worse. Like Shining In The Darkness, Shining Force is a an well-crafted game with a slew of nicely designed characters, a decent story, well-thought out gameplay and a tendency towards the streamlined simple above the confusingly complex.

However, also like In The Darkness, Force lacks depth and substance. While the characters are well-developed, and indeed get a lot more conversation than, say, Fire Emblem-characters at this point in time, they are all also somewhat…boring. While the plot flows nicely, it’s shallow and without real impact. And while the graphics and gameplay is pretty and well-designed, it has not real depth and thus lacks a certain satisfaction. A somewhat uninspired soundtrack does not help. Just like Shining In The Darkness, I was left with a feeling of dissatisfaction as I fought my way over well-designed battlefields with the Shining Force, much like I’d somewhat sleepily delved the Labyrinth of Shining In The Darkness. Shining Force is in no way a bad game; it is a quality production which can easily bring hours upon hours of entertaining gameplay. However, it lacks nerve and impact, and thus might fail in giving the player sufficient feedback to keep going. At least, that’s what happened to me. Now, for a game with plenty of nerve,

Shin Megami Tensei

It is somewhat strange, sitting here in 2014 looking back at the first Shin Megami Tensei on the SNES. Because this is where the series really departs from its Megami Tensei-roots to start on the road to become the huge (though somewhat niche) series that we know of today. So, putting the Shin (True) into Shin Megami Tensei (True Goddess Reincarnation), it's Shin Megami Tensei 1!

What have we got? Well, a young man with strange dreams gains a computer with which he can control demons, just in time for the world to be overrun by demons trying to unite the world under God or spreading the wildfire of Chaos. Things go downhill from here, and Tokyo will never quite be the same again.

Let us start with the story. It’s hard to not mention spoilers (and really, the twists in this tale are so massive and game-changing that I don’t want to spoil them for anyone), but I can say that this story is beyond any of what I’ve seen in the project thus far. The greater story is one of Law versus Chaos, order versus freedom, and the writers pull no punches when it comes to moral extremes on either side. From the brainwashing peace of divine pacification from the Law faction to the demons eat demons anarchy of the Chaos faction, both sides do their best to further their utopic views of the world while at the same time showing the cost of going to such extremes. And it is interesting how the game (and its sequel) treat the Neutral path as the true canon ending, while at the same time making it the most difficult one to obtain. All your actions, from what demons you summon as your allies to how you treat the demons you meet, influence what path your character is taking, and without knowing it, you may have fallen in a camp you did not foresee ever becoming allies with.

This complex story is supported by a framework of quite complex gameplay, where advanced combat (based on a balance of physical attacks, magic and firearms) interplay with a complex fusion system (allowing you not only to fuse demons, but also fuse demons to things and non-demonic living beings) and a first-person dungeon explorer in the tradition of Wizardry.

And you may ask yourself, “Lem, in the preceding paragraph, you used the word “complex” twice, as well as “advanced” and “Wizardry”. How is it to play?” And not to put a fine point to it...it’s a nightmare, at times. The dungeons are confusing, the combat system clunky, the fusion system difficult (especially weapon fusion) and the morality shifts can screw you over before you know it. I used a guide, quite shamelessly, and I can honestly say that’s the only reason I got through the game.

I previously compared Ys 1 and 2 with a fantasy novel. Well, Shin Megami Tensei is more like trying to read a tome of eldritch horror. The words and passages seem to fight you, delaying your progress and making every sentence and paragraph a struggle. But every fragment you understand, every chapter you finish, fills you with a succulent taste of hard-won victory, every sentence bringing you closer to an overall understanding of things greater than yourself. Shin Megami Tensei is old-school, refusing to hold your hand and instead kicking you into a snake-pit, forcing you to explore, experiment and get help.

Is it worth it? Absolutely.

Every new fusion is a treasure and every boss makes your blood boil. Every new area is a labyrinth awaiting exploration, and every demon a new challenge. This feeling of infinite discovery and adversity may both rebuff and draw you in, torture and reward you. Once you get absorbed, you start ignoring the very drab dungeon design, the slow interfaces and the high encounter rates. With all of Tokyo opening up for you to explore, it's like a whole world of adventure and challenges lies ready for you. SMT requires patience and dedication...and rewards you.

Of course, it helps if you are a fan of mythology (like me), as every new demon is faithfully reproduced from religions and folklore from all over the world. Certain areas are like fantastical safaris, letting you meet one legendary creature after another, in the bizarre backdrop of a Tokyo heading towards the apocalypse.

Finally, graphics and music. Graphics are good, but it’s clear that character and enemy design got the lion’s share while area and overworld design got the scraps. The music, meanwhile, has a few solid tunes, that while being not exactly mold-breaking melodies, at least are bearable to listen to for hours without end. Which is really what matters in this game.

Finally finally, a note about the endgame. It’s a shame, but the difficulty of the endgame fizzles out towards the very end, when your main characters can obtain the ultimate equipment and the strongest demon allies. While one or two enemies towards the end still can screw you over, the bosses are somewhat lackluster. Also, no real final boss theme is a bummer. But oh well. At least it’s not Breath of Fire-levels of boring.

Trying to give this game a final verdict was hard. The faults of this game are harsh, but the good parts quite overpowering. I’ve decided to give both an objective and a subjective grade, as well a hearty recommendation. Worth to note at this point is that I played the SNES-version. There is a translated iOS-version out, but since I only have Android and there’s still no news of a release for Android, I opted for the SNES-version.

Final Score: 8.5 (objective), 9.5 (subjective)

Afterword

Now then, I’ll be taking a short break from Fire Emblem to play Soul Blazer, but I’ll also soon be starting out on Super Robot Wars 3. Also, I’ve found my DS again, so I’ll resume playing Dragon Quest V again soon. Until then, please leave comments and thoughts to keep the topic alive.

Lemurian out

edited 24th Nov '14 3:54:06 PM by Lemurian

Two weeks have passed and

SOUL BLAZER COMPLETE

...yeah, that was faster than expected. Other progress since last update: just started playing Super Robot Wars 3 and otherwise no progress. SRW 3 is really hard and will probably occupy me for some time. So don't expect a COMPLETE on that any time soon.

But I did finish Soul Blazer. An action RPG published by Enix, but developed by Quintet, a company that did several quality SNES games and then suddenly dropped off the map. Soul Blazer is the first game in the unofficially named Soul Blazer Trilogy, succeeded by Illusion of Gaia and Terranigma. We'll get to those in due time, with Illusion Of Gaia coming up pretty soon. A defining feature with these games is that while they are not linked in story, they share several common themes, much notably the hero being an agent of a greater good who has to go out and defeat a great evil.

Specifically in Soul Blazer, the hero (Blazer, as he is mentioned as in a later game) is an agent of The Master, a godlike being that watches over the world. When humanity invites destruction upon itself and calls the dark monster Deathtoll, all is laid to ruin and all life is sealed within the monster lairs of Deathtoll. Guided by The Master and helped by the Souls of The Master's other agents, you have to defeat the monsters and bring back the lives of all living things and in doing so restore the world.

The plot is very straightforward, but also excellent in its simplicity. It's not hard to imagine playing the role of the divine swordsman as you brave the dungeons all alone, defeating all kinds of monsters, talk to all living things (including, at some point, doors and wardrobes) and single-handedly restore life to a barren world. It's a powerful feeling, and one that keeps spurring you forward. The game is good at always making you feel like you're progressing, as every monster spawn defeated is one step closer to the end goal. While some of the finer points of the story are handled a bit clumsily, it's nevertheless a nice framework for the gameplay.

Though, speaking of gameplay, the game is not terribly hard. Mostly, it's only the bosses that are of any real challenge, and the times where you are not in absolute control are few and far apart. Then again, the bosses make somewhat up for it, especially towards the end (take note, Breath of Fire). The puzzles and secrets are also mostly straight-forward...unless you want the Magic Bell that lets you cast magic without Gems, in which case feel free to just skip to getting a guide from the get-go.

Moving on, graphics and music is quite excellent. A lot of work is put into making a large and vibrant world, and a lot of the areas are very fun to explore simply because of inspired level design and a great soundtrack. It really makes trekking through the dungeons a lot of fun.

(And that's just the second dungeon area.)

So, in conclusion...

...again, this was a tough one. I had a lot of fun playing it, but I was at several times conflicted whether the game was streamlined or just very linear. But in the end, great level design and music pulled through and kept me going all the way to the end. It was a game that always made me want to play it more (I almost missed my bus one day because I was playing it), and there was never a boring moment. Greatly recommended.

Final score: 8/10

Now then, what next...oh, Illusion of Gaia. I'll try to finish Fire Emblem before that. Christmas break is coming up, that means more time to play video games~

edited 8th Dec '14 4:19:48 AM by Lemurian

You know... I am surprised this is still going, Kudos for dedication.

Also, it's kinda weird how Persona 1-3 are included but 4 isn't, maybe you could add it?

Thank you. It helps that a lot of these games are games that I have always wanted to play, but have lacked the necessary desire to prioritize before other games. Though I still feel bad about all the games I've skipped...

And I agree, that's weird. Probably just a mistake. I've added it to my personal list. Thank you for letting me now.

Wrapping up 2014, it's

ILLUSION OF GAIA COMPLETED

I've had a nice and relaxing Christmas break, and found the time to play videogames again. While my new Wii U, Civilization V and Skyrim took a solid chomp of that time, I also dedicated myself to finish this next entry in the Soul Blazer trilogy. So, no other progress to report this time. So let's get on with it.

Illusion Of Gaia (Illusion of Time in Europe) canonically takes place a long long time after Soul Blazer, and follows the adventures of Will, son of an explorer, and his friends on an epic journey to save the world from a comet that threatens to bring about the end of the world.

...not that I'd have known that while playing the game if I hadn't read our trope page on the game.

Illusion of Gaia mainly focuses on Will's personal struggle as he tries to make sense of the strange legacy his father left for him, with the divine assistance of a powerful being known as Dark Gaia. Will is joined by Princess Kara, who gets worried when her father starts becoming obsessed with the findings of Will's father at the Tower of Babel. After a somewhat lengthy opening, the adventure kicks off and thrusts Will, Kara and friends into an epic journey across the globe to try to make sense of what's going on.

Unlike Soul Blazer, where the story was an integrated part of the gameplay, the gameplay must here take something of a backseat to the story. The story is heavily railroaded, features lengthy cutscenes and dialogues and explores a flush of interesting topics. Among them is slavery, exploitation of people in need, the respect of fellow life and how people are not too different even though we don't speak the same languages. These are quite heavy topics, to be sure, and the game handles them in an at times slightly hamfisted way. The script (again, possibly the translation) is a big part of this, as what are supposed to be young children deliver heavy speeches on the subject matters. Then again, such matters do require some anvils, and I really can't fault a video game for trying to deliver some morals for young gamers in the Nineties.

So, gameplay. Illusion Of Gaia is an Action RPG like Soul Blazer, only more so. You get a whole slew of different ways of fighting, while still keeping everything relatively simple. Both exploration and fighting is elegantly set up, and when the main character gets the ability to change into the Dark Knight Freedan, it's exhilarating how the small changes in gameplay make you feel more powerful and capable. Truly, the gameplay starts with an excellent base from Soul Blazer and just builds and builds on it. The difficulty curve is very well executed (starting easy and getting more difficult before reaching a crescendo at the final boss and with an equally hard secret boss), and towards the end the game was really making things difficult. Too difficult, maybe, what with the scarcity of healing items and power-ups and no opportunity for grinding (also no saving in the secret dungeon).

Speaking of the secret dungeon, though. This requires a mention. There is really only one sidequest in all of Illusion Of Gaia. That is to collect the 50 Red Gems necessary to open the secret dungeon. To get all the power-ups, you don't need more than about 30, but the secret dungeon requires all 50. And a lot of these gems are Lost Forever, some of them right from the start of the game. Now, this was somewhat on purpose, because the game manual comes with the locations of all 50 gems. But for those who wish to purchase a used cartridge or emulate it, just find a guide from the get-go. It's absolutely impossible without it. Ye be warned.

Moving on to graphics. Illusion Of Gaia is a pretty game, easily eclipsing its predecessor when it comes to sprite design (especially the protagonist's sprites are beautifully crafted and animated) and boss design. While the environments also are nice, travelling on the overworld really is something of a letdown as well as poorly executed. This is something of a disappointment, and does not help with the fact that for over half of the game, much of your progress is mostly linear.

Which brings us, somehow, to the music. There has been a strange prioritizing when it comes to musical design. Dungeons, of course, get the best music, and that's really important in an ARPG. But the overworld music and cutscene music really leave a lot to be desired, which is odd for a game that tries so hard to be an epic journey that tries to handle large issues with long cutscenes. Combined with the fact that certain cutscenes also slow down text speed to a minimum crawl, it becomes hard to enjoy the already slightly flawed storytelling. But if I move the focus away from that, this game has some really solid tunes that really set a unique and slightly pressured atmosphere that really gives the game that special something that makes it a special experience.

...so, where does this leave us? Well, while the story can be lacklustre at times, it's nevertheless a solid ARPG with some very inspired gameplay, a lot of memorable areas and scenes and a unique atmosphere. Quintet dares to go far beyond what they accomplished with Soul Blazer, but the execution is not 100% on all counts.

Therefore, in conclusion: 7.5/10

With that, I want to wish everyone a Happy New Year and I hope 2015 will be a great gaming year full of innovations and great experiences.

See you next year!

edited 31st Dec '14 11:51:05 AM by Lemurian

First completion of 2015

FIRE EMBLEM COMPLETED

Whew, took me a long time to get here. As some of you may already have seen, I've been playing this game for quite a while. But this is actually my third time trying to play the first Fire Emblem. Before finishing the SNES version, I've also tried the original NES version and the DS remake. I'll easily recommend the SNES version with fan-translation before any of the other versions, simply because it plays the best and isn't total rubbish like the DS version. That aside, however, it took me a long time to finish FE 1, mostly because of my perfectionist leanings (so much savescumming to get ideal level-ups) and desire to have everyone survive to the end. But now it's done. So let's get to it.

Fire Emblem, the game that started a quite popular series of Tactical RPGs. You play as Prince Marth (yes, this is the one with Marth ), who leads a small group of fellow resistance fighters against the tyrannical rule of the evil dragon Mediuth and his priest Ganef to save your sister and the world. You recruit new soldiers from towns or by persuading enemy combatants, see your forces grow stronger and lead them through dramatic battles to attempt to seize victory.

The story is quite straight-forward; the good guys are good and the evil ones not, and the good guys who are with the bad guys can be helped to be good guys again. It's a simple, but light-hearted structure that helps to keep you going. The stories for each battles are not overly complex, but are heartfelt and motivating, and helps give that drive towards the end. Furthermore, each character you recruit has a little backstory to help make you connect with the character, albeit there are some that really get the short end of that stick (those are also usually the ones with the worse stat growths too). This connection with the characters (which would also be attempted in Shining Force) really makes you care, which is important, since they can also all die in battle and be lost forever.

Which brings us to the gameplay. The gameplay is in truth quite simple, but still holds a lot of depth. A lot of classic RPG elements (classes, turn-based combat and experience and levels) are mixed in with a creative bunch of tactical ones (degradable weapons, terrain bonuses and practically no chance of resurrections) and then finely tuned. Especially the SNES-version feels quite streamlined to play and is always very easy to keep an overview of. Which is good, because the game is also really hard, especially if you don't want to lose your characters.

Speaking of stream-lined, the graphics are less so. Animations, backgrounds and quite a lot of the character art is quite bare-bones, in truth and does not (IMO) do as much with the SNES graphics card as is possible. This is something of a shame, but it also needs to be said that the SNES version is a remake of both the 1st and the 3rd game in the series, so maybe some corners were cut for space reasons. I dunno.

Music, though, is great. The game has a lot of themes that you are gonna hear again and again (battles, friendly and enemy phases, recruitment, inter-stage scenes, etc.). It's a testament to the composer, then, that I never really got tired of them (even while grinding in the arena). The simple but catchy themes (which, again, do not draw the full potential of the SNES system IMO) really help nail the shifting moods and help give a rhythm to the game. The only downside is that some of them are heard only for a very brief time and thus don't really get the chance to be heard in full (kinda like early Dragon Quest-themes).

(You knew it was coming )

Playing this remake has been an eye-opener to just how much has been there from the start and until when I would start playing Fire Emblem with FE 7 (Blazing Sword). Plot and storytelling work together with the gameplay in an attempt to create both an epic story and emotional combat. And to a certain degree, it pulls it off. However, the story is never very deep (though very heartfelt) and the gameplay never truly exceptional. But its a solid attempt and lays a solid foundation for the games to come.

Final score: 7.75/10

So, yeah. Good to finally have it completed. What's next? Well, Dragon Quest V is proving itself to be, uhm, difficult. So, I'll be working on Super Robot Wars 3 (which isn't too easy either) and possibly SMT Last Bible 2. I've also purchased Lands Of Lore: The Throne of Chaos (me, finally playing a WRPG? It's more likely than you think), but my initial attempt at it, uh, did not leave a good first impression. I think I'll give it some time before attempting it again.

Nobody expects the

PHANTASY STAR IV COMPLETE

"Whuh?" You might say. "Lem, what happened to those other games you were gonna play? And also, didn't you kinda not like the previous two Phantasy Star-games?"

First things first: Have no fear, I have not skipped any of the games I mentioned last update. They're still getting played. Just...not these last couple of weeks. Because, once I got back to my PS 3, I picked up my "Sega Mega Drive Ultimate Collection" and decided I should just give Phantasy Star IV a go...just in case I could rule it out already. It turned out to be wonderful experience, and once I started it, I really did not want to stop playing it. So, here we are.

So, Phantasy Star IV. Also known as "the good one" of the classics, or so some have told me. It's a direct sequel to PS 1 and 2 (although a whopping 1000 years after PS 2), and starts out on planet Motavia, where environmental disasters keep happening and an evil black magician is on the rise, and signs are pointing towards the mysterious towers and buildings the ancestors built.

Now, in the beginning this might sound a bit like the plot of PS 2, just with more added black magician, but the plot is quite dynamic and never really slows down. My only complaint about it is that the overarching plot itself is weak and not very original, but the characters and storytelling make up for it.

Indeed, in hindsight, it behaves a lot like another four-numbered sequel with a much improved plot: Final Fantasy IV. The story is kept going with the active use of a varied and colourful cast of characters, several of which I fell absolutely in love with during the game. In addition, the game has a quite unique use of still images and dialogue to do cutscenes, which really breathes life into the setting, plot and characters and helps give it that unique edge (although it also gives most of the main characters buckteeth for a solid half of the game).

This is also helped by the prioritizing in graphical design. Like in many contemporary games, the overworld is down-prioritized, and instead an impressive amount of detail is put into character and enemy sprites and animations as well as dungeon design. This, together with the cutscenes, works very well and helps give the more "exciting" bits of the game more interesting and fun to play.

Now, for the sound and music. Sound design gets a mention for helping in giving the game a unique PS feel, especially in more novel areas like Garubek Tower, although the overuse of certain effects get grating after a while. As for the music, it's an overall solid soundtrack with tunes that establish settings quickly and that work well despite the player having to hear them again and again. Also, excellent work in "pacing" the soundtrack so that the music crescendos alongside the developments of the plot.

Finally, the gameplay. Now, you might wonder why I've waited with this until the end. Well, it's the same reason why this is the first PS-game that I really like: because it's super good! The battle-system is fluid and innovative, exploring and navigating overworld and dungeons is easily understandable (especially with that neat little trick that lets you "slide" on soft corners, meaning you don't have to bang your head off of every wall) and the use of menus and special vehicles is very intuitive. It's everything PS 3 was not, and I absolutely loved playing it.

In a previous update, I said that the Phantasy Star-games were trying to do too much with too little and that the designers were having a hard time getting their vision across with clunky gameplay and sub-par design. But this time they've really gotten to grips with the technology at hand and optimized their use of it to produce an enjoyable game that I highly recommend. However, it loses points for its weak overarching story.

Final score: 8.5

Upcoming games are...well, the same as last time, aheh. But I've also started playing Lufia and the Fortress of Doom, so, uhm, we'll see. ^_^'

edited 1st Feb '15 4:31:53 PM by Lemurian

Whew.

FINAL FANTASY VI COMPLETED

First things first. Super Robot Wars 3 has been skipped, due to its difficulty and slow gameplay. It's a very well made game, and excellent in its welding of continuities with its own little twist. But in the end, it felt more like work than fun trying to get through the missions alive, so I ended up skipping it. Romancing Sa Ga 2, Shining Force Gaiden II, Ultima Underworld II, Eye Of The Beholder III and Ultima VII have also been skipped.

More importantly, I also skipped Megami Tensei Gaiden: Last Bible II. Which was a very tough decision to make. In a lot of ways, it did a good job trying to improve what its predecessor had left for it. However, these improvements ended up making the gameplay clunky, the story jumbled and had an adverse effect on certain elements. In the end, I could not take any more (I got about two thirds through it) and decided on skipping it.

So, since Breath Of Fire 2 was moved to the SNES because of a fan-translation, that meant FFVI was the next Gameboy-game on the list. And once I'd had my latest exam...I decided to treat myself a little. So some weeks later, here I am.

Let's get to it.

The time is right now 2 AM on a Tuesday night. I sat down with this game about 8 PM, planning only on doing some last preparations for the final dungeon. I ended up finishing it instead.

In many ways, this last phase is very representative of my entire experience with FFVI. I spent a long time reading guides, comparing stats, planning equipment and distributing magicite...and then it all came together in one magnificent attack on Kefka's Tower that was so fun that I was completely incapable of stopping.

FFVI is perhaps the point where we can say that instead of improving on the base formula, it instead starts experimenting. The core gameplay and a myriad of familiar elements have been set in place by its predecessors. But with VI, the developers let their imaginations run wild with storytelling, innovating gameplay and a ton of ways to make optimizing and hunting down everything you want so much more difficult. But more about that later. Let's break things down a little.

The plot of FFVI starts out with the first protagonist Terra in a Magitek armour attacking a mining village. Terra can use magic, and has been enslaved by the Gestahl Empire to do its bidding. However, when she chances upon the Magicite that the miners found and that the Empire wants, events start to unfold...

The story in FFVI is very emotional, and stakes a lot on its ability to pull off several scenes aimed at moving the hearts of the audience. And for the most part, they work very well. While not all characters get the full package for displaying their backstories and some of the developments are somewhat superficial, the main story and the greater sub-plots feel very well written and greatly entertaining.

It's important to note that Terra is far from the only protagonist in this story. There are in total 12 main party members plus two bonus members (and some of the "main" members can in theory be skipped). There are a myriad of large and smaller storylines through-out the story that happen individually and converge, and the splitting up and rejoining of the grand party is a large part of the storytelling.

In some ways, it's like an expansion of the FFIV formula which again built on the idea of changing party members from II and was played with in III. However, VI does a tremendous effort into not only giving each character a backstory and personality, but also making the characters feel differently in gameplay. One can compare it to Dragon Quest IV, where you also had independently acting characters or character groups, but when they came together only felt like light variations of each other. It's very telling how each character in FFVI does not have a "class". They have a "title" of sorts, but it's unique to them in the game (and in most cases, unique in the whole Final Fantasy series) and instead of playing a thief, a magic knight and a blue mage, you play Locke, Celes and Strago. This individualizing of joining a character's gameplay with, well, it's character works very well, and stands in contrast to FFIV, where the characters in greater part represented the character classes as shown in III and later in V, and V, where the classes were interchangeable.

The gameplay in FFVI is very varied and has a lot of fun trying to come up with new elements and innovations. Some character skills are familiar (like Locke's Steal, Mog's Dances and Strago's Blue Magic), while others are unique, like Sabin's fighting game-inspired Blitzes and Gau's enemy-channelling Rages. Adding to that the Relic system that can make great changes to a character's setup or fighting-style, the game becomes very varied.

However, this also leads to complexity and a lot of things are hard to figure out without guides and similar. Items often do more than they say that they do, and certain things are very hard to track down or easy to lose if you don't know what you're doing.

This is all complemented by a very well-thought out difficulty curve that makes sure that the game evolves nicely in accord with the rising complexity. There were times where I'd just thought "things are getting pretty easy now" only to be pulled back down to earth by an enemy with a whole new trick it wanted to show me. Also a lot of the not strictly necessary content is hidden behind quite daunting skill gates which truly keeps you on your toes.

Now, for graphics and music. The reason why I start off talking about them together is because of how much it really gets from the SNES hardware. There is hardly a resource left unspent when it comes to the level of detail in the graphic design, sound design and of course the legendary soundtrack crowned by one of the most magnificent and memorable final boss themes in video game history.

The areas are varied, and monsters well designed. The graphical effects for spell animations and the great use of Mode-7 are at times awe-inspiring even by today's standards, and although some monsters still are recolours, there are so many new and interesting enemy designs that I'm not complaining.

And the soundtrack...gods, so many excellently crafted tunes. Instantly recognizable character themes, dungeon and area themes that in time will make you think back about the last time you heard it, fighting themes that make your heart race and last but not least several very emotional overworld themes that get the message across about what the characters at the current point in the story. The developers were also kind enough not just to pause area music for battles (letting you enjoy every detail of the soundtrack), but also at several points the area music play also during the battles, giving an added emotional effect to the fighting scenes and using the battles just as much as an arena for storytelling. A very bold move that pays off immensely.

It was hard for me to pin down exactly what had been the design philosophy. When I started out, it seemed to me that gameplay had become a vehicle for the storytelling, in contrast to V where gameplay played the leading role. However, as the game progressed, the gameplay deepened and opened for more experimentation and exploration while the story also became more and more heartfelt. In the end, I was left with the impression that the game had decided to do everything and do everything well, taking full advantage of the console's technical possibilities as well as the JRPG as a platform for storytelling. The efforts of the designers, writers and developers shine through very well and I think it's more of a badge of honour than a demerit that the only thing I can truly fault them on is doing too many things when not one of them feels particularly underdone.

In the end, FFVI is a timeless classic and milestone in video game design that holds up even today.

Final score: 10/10

...

...whew. I'm exhausted, physically and mentally. It's now 02:45 AM and real life is waiting for me to get up next morning. I'll go back and finish the games I've put on hold (doesn't that sound familiar :V). I've made good progress in Lufia and the Fortress of Doom and also Dragon Quest V, so next update will probably be on one of those. After that awaits more SNES RPGs, a couple of PC attempts and another stab at Shining Force II. Stay tuned~

LUFIA & THE FORTRESS OF DOOM COMPLETED

Whew, been a while since last update, yet little progress. Real life has kept me busy, but I've been trying to wrap up the older ones that I'm currently playing. I've made lots of progress in Dragon Quest V, but I need a break from that now. Lands Of Lore: The Throne of Chaos has officially been skipped, though I'll give the sequel a try when I get that far.

So, I've playing Lufia. Lufia And The Fortress Of Doom (or Lufia or Lufia 1) is a nice little JRPG developed for the SNES by a slightly obscure developer called Neverland who these days probably is better known for making the Rune Factory-series. Lufia was their first game, which later got a sequel.

The story of Lufia goes that 100 hundred years ago, 4 evil gods known as the Sinistrals ruled the world from their fortress of doom. But the hero Maxim and his three companions defeated them, saving the world from darkness. Now, 100 years later, the descendant of Maxim must also gather friends and allies as monsters start returning to the world.

The eponymous Lufia is a childhood friend of the protagonist and throughout the game, the storytelling is lightened by the sweet and humorous interactions between the protagonist, Lufia and the other party members. The multitude of small cutscenes help give the game that special something that separates Lufia from being just another generic JRPG.

Because the gameplay and story by themselves are somewhat lacklustre. Neither gameplay nor story is particularly deep, and few of the game's characters get any real depth. There is little variation when it comes to dungeons and enemies, and quite frankly a lot of the elements of Lufia are somewhat generic and borrow heavily from older JRPGs. The menus and gameplay orientation can be quite frustrating, in particular the magic, where the naming of the spells is very confusing.

Indeed, Lufia 1 teeters on the edge of being just another generic JRPG without any particular defining attributes. But what saves it is the all-overpower feeling of heart and soul that the game embodies. The story, while simple, is heartfelt and well told, and the characters and character interaction truly speak to the heart of the player. This is all helped along with an excellent soundtrack that adds feeling to the cutscenes, mystery to the towers and caves, and adrenaline to the fights.

So yes, Lufia is a simple game. But while it's plain, it is emotional and sincere and I was personally washed away by its simple charms. Oh, and while it's simple, it's in no way easy. The difficulty is evenly spread out, with some optional challenges for those interested. Adding to that a dynamic and well-planned soundtrack, you have a nice steady increase in excitement all the way to the conclusion.

Final score: 7.75/10

I'll now start playing Secret Of Mana, which I've really been looking forward to. I've also started poking Shining Force II, which I'm cautiously optimistic about. But next update is probably gonna be Dragon Quest V when I manage to pick it back up. So yeah, catch you later~

edited 10th May '15 7:53:51 AM by Lemurian

In just three weeks, it's

SECRET OF MANA COMPLETED

Whee, that went fast! Secret Of Mana was so fun, it left the other games in the dust. However, I've also started playing Breath Of Fire 2 and I can finally report progress in Ys The Oath in Felghana.

Like I said last time, I've really been looking forward to Secret Of Mana. Easily the most well-known entry in the Mana series (or Seiken Densetsu-series, if you prefer), it is known as a great SNES classic. So let's have a closer look.

Story starts out some years after the great Mana Fortress was created by an Empire and destroyed by a Mana Beast. In its time, the Mana Fortress threatened to destroy the world because it drained the inherent Mana power in the planet, and left unchecked it would bring all life to ruin. Our story begins when a simple village youth takes the Mana Sword and has the plight of restoring balance to the world entrusted to him at a time when monsters start reappearing.

The more keen-eyed of you may have already spotted the similarities in story with Lufia 1, which came out the same year. And both games also do an inspired effort to make the story feel personal, through a hefty use of cutscenes. However, Secret of Mana lies more heavily on the serious side, and has a more dramatic feel to it than Lufia, which keeps the two apart.

Secret of Mana does an excellent job of painting a picture of adversity and danger, and there is a good feeling of pressure that lies upon the player that I personally have been missing in many other games of this period. You are always chasing something, and it's always personal on one level or another. It's easy to get sucked into the protagonists' personal situations as well as their greater aim to save the world.

This feeling of pressure is helped along by challenging gameplay with a steep difficulty curve. Monsters get vicious quick, and will not hold back when it comes to stun-locking, comboing or showering you with status effects. So, you have to learn to give as good as you get.

Which brings me to the battle-system. Secret Of Mana has what I'd call a...floatier battle-system than previous Action RPGs, with lots of invincibility frames and a large focus on timing and crowd control. This gives the player plenty of challenge, but can also easily get frustrating when you're comboed into a pack of enemies, slapped with an immobilizing damage-over-time status effect and mercilessly beaten to death.

However, the weapon and upgrade system requires special attention. During the adventure, you receive Energy Orbs that let you upgrade the eight different weapons that you can use. By upgrading the weapons, your own level of expertise with the weapon increases, making the characters more accurate, powerful and capable of unleashing powerful charged attacks (though the charging isn't always worth it). This balances out the gameplay while at the same time giving an incentive to training with different weapons. Magic, on the other hand, suffers from a lack of balance (overpowered spell chaining meets few ways to efficiently train it) and never gets as useful as physical combat outside of boss fights.

Graphically, Secret Of Mana boasts an excellent variety of scenery, with a kaleidoscope of overworld areas, unique dungeons and towns that are easy to become familiar with. Exploration never gets boring, except when the AI gets your party stuck on corners, which happens just enough times to make it annoying. Animations are colourful and precise, and gives all characters and enemies a surprising range of emotions and reactions.

Musically, Secret Of Mana is a wonder to behold. A rich soundtrack with many exquisite themes amplifies every emotion tenfold, and the variation gives each and every area the attention it deserves. I truly lack the vocabulary to express the beauty of this soundtrack, and leave you with this sample and a hearty recommendation.

To summarize, Secret Of Mana packs an excellent atmospheric experience with exciting gameplay. However, a lack of variation when it comes to enemies (in particular bosses), certain gameplay-related grievances (magic grinding and AI pathfinding) and a story that doesn't hold up on its own means it's not going to get a perfect score.

Final score: 8.5/10

Now then, looking ahead. Ogre Battle March of the Black Queen has been skipped because of frustrating gameplay, Romancing Sa Ga 2 has been skipped because of no translation and Ultima Underworld II has been skipped because of Ultima. I have started playing Breath Of Fire 2 like I said, and will probably not start with Earthbound until I'm done with that. Hopefully I'll finish Ys 3 and Dragon Quest V soon.

See you later~

And in rapid succession, it's

Breath Of Fire II completed!

Yeah, that went fast. This is a game from my childhood, and one of the first RPGs that I ever played, so I really enjoyed playing it again. I just couldn't stop playing, so, uh, here we are.

Breath Of Fire II takes place a long long time after Breath Of Fire I, and follows the adventures of Ryu Bateson as loses the place where he belongs and must uncover a grand mystery that has the whole world in its grip. It is tempting to divulge more about the overarching plot, but the storytelling in this game is so excellent that it would do it a disservice to try to summarize it in a simple paragraph.

What I can say, however, is that the story of Breath Of Fire II is one of, if not the darkest and saddest stories thus far encountered in the project. Unlike many contemporary games, Breath Of Fire II is constantly keeping secrets, making you question the true motives of those you meet and in certain cases out-right lying to the player. Over the span of the game, the player characters will be framed, poisoned, betrayed, swindled, solicited, buried alive, experimented upon, forced to eat bugs, imprisoned, cure obesity, hunt endangered animals...and those are just the light-hearted things the game has in store for you!

Through-out the game, it's impressive how the game manages to keep most of the characters relevant, not only gameplay-wise but also story-wise. This not only counts for the player characters, but also for quite a few NPCs whose lives you intersect with at different stages. The individual characters' backstories and challenges come across as heartfelt and genuine, and most of this is thanks to a very well-planned story and excellent writing.

...though, I should make an important note here. The only reason why it's possible for me to give the game's story such a high degree of praise is because of a fan-translation of the SNES version. Now, for the more learned RPG fans out there, this might strike you as odd. Because, surely, this game was translated and localized in the West, both the SNES and GBA version? And it was. And Capcom did a horrible job of it. So many important elements (names, descriptions, dialogue, spell names) were lost in the original translation that fans eventually took it upon themselves to display Breath Of Fire II in its original glory with an excellent translation-patch that I recommend to everyone out there. Thank you, Ryusui and d4s, for your contribution to RPG history.

Now that I've praised the story to high heaven, let's have a look at the gameplay. Well, it's mostly just a direct and streamlined improvement of Breath Of Fire I, and plays much like an ordinary turn-based RPG. However, the high level of customization when it comes to the Shaman fusion system, the surprising depth of the cooking system and the easily navigable world map deserves a special mention.

So does the difficulty curve. As you may remember, back in Breath Of Fire I criticized the game for panning out too early and the last bit of the game being almost a formality. Not so in the sequel. The difficulty curve is steep, meaning that you'll always be facing strong enemies as you progress, and it stays that way all the way to the final boss. Taking good care of your levels and equipment is necessary, and the game really rewards you for your efforts.

With the dark story and sharp difficulty curve, let's talk graphics. Breath Of Fire II impresses with crisp and clear area design, excellent animations and a distinct atmosphere. However, the dungeons (while already quite short) have a bad habit of resembling each other and the game turns to gimmicks in certain places to give them an individual feel. The level of success is...variable.

However, the music is top-notch. While not the most impressive use of the SNES soundchip, the composer delivers a varied array of themes and tunes that really nail down the atmosphere and enhance the gravitas of the storytelling. I counted about four individually different tracks that worked as various "sad" themes, which really says something about the effort put into the ambience. Although, some of the themes are reused quite heavily, which again isn't making the most of the situation.

In conclusion, Breath Of Fire II is a game that boasts an excellent atmosphere and a unique story and tone. In hindsight, Breath Of Fire II is one of several contemporaries (FFVI, Secret Of Mana, Earthbound) that dared use the RPG as a vehicle for a solid story, prioritizing storytelling and atmosphere in a time where the RPG gameplay had stabilized into familiar forms. And for this it deserves high praise.

Final score: 9/10

My god your list makes me realise how the uk got shafted of so many rpgs...

We only got chrono trigger when it was released on the ds...

You're still luckier than me.

Well, unless you take piracy into account.