Games you're playing: The 2009 edition.

[SnowFire]

Re FF6: Well, there are certain risks with diving too deep into games whose scripts leave some things unsaid and left to chance, which I will admit is an issue here.  Not going to hold it against a game to not spell EVERYTHING out, but this is a case where the dividing line doesn't fit.

I'm willing to hand-wave Kefka's powers to some extent, sure.  Problem is I don't buy the idea that the burning of Vector was "part of the plan."  Sure, the Empire wanted to capture some more Espers, hence letting the party go to the Sealed Gate...  but they underestimated the power of the Espers.  I always assumed that they beat up the equivalent of "civilian" Espers in their original foray (You CAN just beat up Ifrit and Shiva without magic, it's just hard), and "battle" Espers came out of the gate (yes, there's nothing in the game to say this, but it kinda makes some sense that the Empire would have the edge in the old surprise attack, while the Espers would have the edge when they're prepared and also berserk).

Vectory-was-intentional just doesn't ring true to me - and even if we can't trust Geshtal's statements, others in Vector are pretty clear about "The Power of the Espers...  unbelievable," etc.  If they really could have just had Kefka say "Let's neutralize your powers!" followed by insta-killing all the Espers from long-distance, then zapping up a bunch of Magicite, and gaining ultimate power, why not do that?  It's what he did eventually anyway.  I fail to see the usefulness of the "trick the Returners" thing here.  Admittedly, if we're in "let's intuit / fanfiction up an explanation..."  I can maybe buy that the Espers "used up their energy" in their berserk rage, which is why they weren't defeatable in their attack on Vector, but went to go bask in magic power to recharge.  Then sending Terra to find them so that Kefka could gank them while they were weak and recharging would make sense.  Of course, this still doesn't explain the later Esper attack being so easily defeated, but oh well.

The treachery / possibly capture the Returners thing strikes me as trying to make lemonade out of lemons, because again I don't really buy the idea that Vector burning was part of the plan and it was all a really elaborate setup.

Interesting comparison to BoF1, Meeplelard, just wished that they'd been a bit clearer on what it was that changed that allowed Kefka to "counter" the Espers.  Finding such a counter in the short time period I described would in fact make the plot be more seemless to me, certainly.

[Meeplelard]

Vector itself was them being caught off guard; after that, though, they used it as an opportunity to feign peace with the Returners, so they could take advantage of Terra to calm the Espers, then attack them when they were down.  Kefka actually states "Lets Neutralize your powers!" in game, when he's attacked; its likely to assume Kefka had such a trick in case the Espers got out of hand (maybe not those behind the sealed gate, but still.)

Again, you're really delving way too deep into this.  The time thing alone is kind of irksome you keep bringing it up.  Is it hard to believe the Empire actually had such a trait?  I mean, consider that  they had to keep the Espers in tact for 16 years without them rebelling.  They obviously had a means to neutralize their abilities so they couldn't fight back.  In the case of Vector, its easy to hand wave it as "Caught of Guard, not much you can do"; anyone unprepared isn't going to deal with a scenario very well.  In the case of Thamasa, it almost seemed like Kefka was HOPING something like that would happen (while not sure if it would), so he planned around it.

Again, I think you're just overlooking some factors.  You're just going "How'd they gain such an ability in such a short amount of time!?" when its conceivable they had that ability.  They've been studying Magic from Espers for 16 years; the one thing they didn't figure out was Magicite cause none of the Espers actually died within those 16 years, so they didn't have a sample.  Is it really that hard to believe they found a way to neutralize their abilities?  While it might be 'lol gameplay' Celes DOES have Runic which evidently absorbs Magic, so I don't see why the Empire having other Anti-Magic based abilities is so hard to stomach. 

[Sierra]

SoA: So, the nature-loving primitives reward our assistance by...doing something incredibly reckless and dumb. Nice. No, it is cool to see our allies be capable of douchebaggery as well. Evil empires don't have a monopoly on stupid behavior, after all. Also, Vyse is Peter Parker.

Anyway, new ship got. Enrique might be kind of a weenie, but at least he knows to defect in style. The Delphinus is swanky, man--it's even got its own bar! Thereafter, we set about recruiting crew members, establishing a headquarters (it's like we're suddenly in a Suikoden game) and making a new banner. Valua will behold our kitty and crossbones flag and despair.

Those splash screens you get when Aika hears about someplace new and imagines it completely wrong are pretty amusing. Kind of wish there were more like that (though I guess it would be easy to overdo it). It reminds me of Yuri crayon drawings in SH2.

There are a couple moonfish I can't seem to get for some reason (the pyramid and Rixis). I'm sure I'm in range, but the crosshairs just don't pop up.

[Anthony Edward Stark]

The thing is, Vector was expendable. We didn't think it was, because it was the seat of their power, but they were planning to relocate anyway. And it's the freaking Empire, they specialize in generic evil actions.

[Scar]

It's all Cid's fault anyways. He made Kefka into the deranged crazed goofy looking clown we all know and love.

[SnowFire]

Meeplelard: Eh, I already said it was a random thing that bugged me that I didn't hold that greatly against the game.  I'm more than happy to expound on why for those curious, but if it's getting ikrsome, then no need for drama - this is hardly an issue worth that.

Anyway, I was responding more to Rob's comment that it was *all* a trick.  If you're saying that the Esper attack on Vector wasn't part of the master plan, sure, I agree that the game seems to support this theory.  "Could have counted them but caught off guard" is better, but...  the "16 years of research" thing is exactly why I'm complaining, really.  If the Empire had some secret anti-Esper tech for a long time, then why didn't Kefka use it when you opened the Sealed Gate?  Why didn't others in the Empire use it when they attacked?  Maybe there were special factors at the Gate and only Kefka could do it, sure.  Like I said before, there are reasons we can intuit / fanfiction up to explain it, but they don't feel overly satisfying to me.  If they work for you, then great.

[DomaDragoon]

Pokemon Platinum: Two gyms cleared. Party is currently Luxio/Staravia/Grotle.

Left 4 Dead (360 version, sorry guys): Beat No Mercy and Death Toll on Easy. I'm starting to get the hang of how to play, though I still greatly prefer TF2.

[Dark Holy Elf]

Kefka was surprised at the gate. The empire was surprised at Vector. Kefka was prepared at Thamasa. There is a large gap between what one can do when prepared and what one can do when surprised. I dunno, this seems a perfectly satisfactory explanation to me.

[VySaika]

FFTA2: So the toro is pretty much an expert at this game, and chatting with him about it renewed my interest. Playing it some more, and unlocking more shiny classes to play with, made me realize just how fun the game is once it gets rolling.

Up to the "A Requst" story mission, though I'm pretty overleveled from all of the sidequests I keep taking on. Recently picked up two Gria and a Seeq(sp?), the latter of which I promptly turned into a Ranger for hilarious Mirror Item shenanigans.

Also, this game has absolute tons of fodder for ideas to convert to DnD. Already wrote the Gria up as a d20 race and am now working on a Paravir PrC(based on the Book of Nine Swords stuff, of course). Also considering something to swipe the Magic Frenzy ability for, among other ideas.

[Grefter]

The whole caught by surprise thing pretty much explains it unless the thing that stops Esper's was some innate talent Kefka had and not something that needs to be prepared and put in place before hand.

Which of course the game never says.

[Sierra]

SoA: Conquered the Negative Space Air Wedgie. Which was a pretty cool dungeon, aesthetically. Really captured the whole exploration theme the game's (partially) shooting for. Wandering into the eye of the storm and being dwarfed by the immensity of the structure, with this gigantic black vortex lurking beneath you, was a pretty effective "Whoa" moment. It makes me think of trying to navigate the Great Red Spot or something, realizing how much of the world is taken up by a perpetual hurricane. Maybe Arcadia takes place in the upper layers of a gas giant with a breathable atmosphere? The map would have to be much larger for that, of course, but hell, it's not like most RPG worlds come anywhere close to having the proportions of even a terrestrial planet. (Which is partly why I like to see RPG stories that work on a smaller scale, say one or a few countries).

Then Yafutoma. Not much to say here, beyond the fact that two incidents of moon crystals being immediately stolen and misused made everything that happened here extremely easy to call.

Also, paraphrasing here, but...quoth Enrique: "There are some people who think that the world is a sphere. It wraps around both north to south and east to west." Silly Enrique, only donuts wrap around along both axes. Planets do not work that way! But then, SoA is hardly the first game to make that mistake. Possibly in the name of navigational convenience, I am never sure. It makes me wonder which programmers work that way without thinking, and which ones know the difference and just don't care. Incidentally, SoA is one of the few games I can think of that scoffs at the law of cartographical elegance: the frozen continent here is bisected by the edge of the map.

[Cmdr_King]

I'm still waiting for a game that, in fact, makes a donut-shaped planet.

[Dark Holy Elf]

Such a planet would exhibit very bizarre gravity, in that it would pull you sideways slightly on anywhere but the inner and outer rim. The strength of gravity would also vary considerably.

It'd be cool if someone wanted to explore the consequences of that. Damnit, game designers, you owe it to us after all these doughnut-shaped world maps!

[Cotigo]

So, met up with an old dorm mate and borrowed some DS games.

Contra 4: This game is hard.  I played too much contra as a child and still don't have the skills to get past the game on normal.  On the flipside, easy is so easy that I don't really care to beat it so I haven't gotten very far.  

Phoenix Wright:  I am trying very hard to give this game a shot.  Up to the third case.  It... is a game that relies heavily on its plot, characters, etc. This is good! We need games like this to further mature the medium so it becomes more and more of a legitimate storytelling medium.

If you were reading close you can probably guess what my opinion of it is so far.  The characters are all extremely one dimensional (to the point of absolute stupidity.  The Judge has to be one of the most oblivious simpletons to preside over anything, and Edgeworth's characterization is a hilarious flanderization of prosecution attourneys that makes my eyes roll so far back into my head that I had to lay down before they fell faceside again), and neither of the cases have been particularly clever.  This manages to be the first game that I've played that makes me feel guilty while playing it--how exactly can I justify playing a game like this when I have a bookshelf full of far better written works sitting untouched.

But, I do see some hope for the game.  I can see the possibility of each character's overflandersized traits becoming endearing and entertaining instead of simply annoying, and I see potential for a good story to be told in one of the chapters.

I can see it, but I don't think it's likely.

I'll try to finish the game.  If I'm not more impressed with it (very soon)... well, I'll probably just stop playing.  

MM9:

I've gotten ~60% of the achievements unlocked.  Currently trying Eco-conserver (get through using the least amount of power possible.  Gonna have to do some plotting when I get to the Wily stages...), while my friend is trying for Peacekeeper (get through only killing bosses and mini-bosses).  Not using any powers has made me really appreciate how good the powers in this game are:  5 of them (Trident, Plug ball, Satellite, Magma cannon, Black Hole) are useful in most situations, and even the other 3 have niche uses.  The only one I'd venture to say is worthless is Concrete shot, but given that you're forced to use it a few times, that's not entirely true.

Other achievements that I'm working on getting: Galaxy Man in under 10 seconds, buy 30 items at the store.  I have absolutely no idea how to get that first one, honestly, but hey.  

[Jo'ou Ranbu]

Such a planet would exhibit very bizarre gravity, in that it would pull you sideways slightly on anywhere but the inner and outer rim. The strength of gravity would also vary considerably.

It'd be cool if someone wanted to explore the consequences of that. Damnit, game designers, you owe it to us after all these doughnut-shaped world maps!

We all know how much effort a videogame writer would pull even bothering with expodump for such a thing. It'd just end up being a donut-shaped planet that acts exactly like Earth because doing otherwise would require actual thought and research. =\

EDIT: I'm obviously not even slightly bitter.

[hinode]

Besides, that would require RPG creators to actually pay attention to gravity's scientific properties and account for them properly, instead of randomly ignoring them for the sake of making an attack animation look cooler.

[Cmdr_King]

Not necessarily.  Ignoring the general principle of gameplay and story segregation, if you want to make a flashier attack and feel it's flashy enough to endanger your local laws of physics, you just make a point of defining the nature and limits of the phlebtonium powering said special attacks.

[Jo'ou Ranbu]

Not necessarily.  Ignoring the general principle of gameplay and story segregation, if you want to make a flashier attack and feel it's flashy enough to endanger your local laws of physics, you just make a point of defining the nature and limits of the phlebtonium powering said special attacks.

That's fine within the rule of cool's boundaries (although still not always satisfactory, but cutting corners is hardly a fault in and out of itself), yeah. My bitterness tends to come when the writing doesn't bother with even -that much-.

[Dark Holy Elf]

Zenny: While I understand where you're coming from with your criticisms of PW, I do think you're missing the point a bit. Phoenix Wright is a comedy, so yeah, obviously characters like the Judge, Edgeworth, Gumshoe... actually pretty much everyone... aren't meant to be taken too seriously. I personally feel the writing is very clever for what it tries to be, and certainly ranks among the best writing I've seen in a video game, but yeah, if you're looking for serious storytelling, you're better off playing something else.

[Jo'ou Ranbu]

Man, playing PW for serious storytelling has to be one of the most insatisfactory experiences ever. It'd be like watching Hamlet for a breezy summertime romance.

[hinode]

Not necessarily.  Ignoring the general principle of gameplay and story segregation, if you want to make a flashier attack and feel it's flashy enough to endanger your local laws of physics, you just make a point of defining the nature and limits of the phlebtonium powering said special attacks.

If you're going to bring segregation of plot and gameplay into the mix, there's no point in complaining about doughnut shaped maps in a first place, since they exist for pretty obvious practical reasons (flat map more convenient for player than spherical map, maps not wrapping around would be annoying when flying around).

[Cmdr_King]

I tend to think that, due to the nature of a video game, the Rule of Cool should always be high up in the list of design mantras (in particular, it's closely related to the Rule of Fun, since if you're doing something cool it's probably more fun >.>).  But, if you're doing something experimental like this, where the premise is very closely tied to the special physical laws you're employing, you should really take the time to at least handwave why it's not breaking the rules you're exploring the whole time.

Of course, the additional challenge in something like this is how to explain the rules differences to the player.  Aside from being some very technobabble-y exposition, barring having characters from a spherical planet for contrast, the differences between gravity as we know it and gravity on a donut-world would be complete gibberish to people who have always lived on a donut-world.  Though certainly there are databases.

hinode: I'm not dissing the donut-maps for nominally spherical planets.  I just think there's potential in actually making one and drawing attention to the differences therein.  But just because you're exploring these differences in a story sense isn't a good reason to abandon Gameplay/Story Segregation due to afforementioned Rules of Fun/Cool.  At the same time having some sort of explaination is generally preferable, as long as you aren't derailing the narrative for it.

[Cotigo]

Zenny: While I understand where you're coming from with your criticisms of PW, I do think you're missing the point a bit. Phoenix Wright is a comedy, so yeah, obviously characters like the Judge, Edgeworth, Gumshoe... actually pretty much everyone... aren't meant to be taken too seriously. I personally feel the writing is very clever for what it tries to be, and certainly ranks among the best writing I've seen in a video game, but yeah, if you're looking for serious storytelling, you're better off playing something else.

Indeed, and it hasn't aroused much more in me than maybe one chuckle.  Comedic storytelling shouldn't be excused from being bad because it is comedic.

Then again, perhaps the comedy just doesn't appeal to me.  Heavy emphasis on anime tropes, random WTF really fanservice, etc... not exactly my cup of tea (anymore).  It strikes me as decidedly less funny than Disgaea, though I can't put my finger on what really differentiates the two types of comedy. 

Regardless, the third case has raised my opinion of the game quite a bit, but still not enough to really make me like it.

[Dark Holy Elf]

Yeah, if the comedy doesn't work for you, I can't really argue with your reaction. Agreed that 1-3 picks up considerably (1-2 is one of the weaker cases in the series IMO). A point of disagreement, though: I actually find PW's humour decidedly non-anime-like.


Anyway!


VPDS - B ending completed. Weirdly, the game just got easier and easier as it went along. Aside from the eternal annoyance of the snow map (lowering your movement in VPDS is extremely annoying, as well as non-threatening since being slowed isn't actually bad!), which was mitigated somewhat by Dash, I basically just steamrolled the rest of the game. Roiebourg or whatshisname deserves credit for one-rounding a PC through Defiance. Weirdly he has more ATK than the final bosses unscaled, and no, they don't seem to have anything that gives them more damage to make up for this. However he was dead easy to one-round, like almost everything else. Nothing in the game has more than 20k HP until the final bosses, and very little breaks 12k. The final bosses have 60k HP. I did 80% to the first (though she used First Aid to reduce this to 40%, this didn't prevent a two-rounding), and 90% to the second, while he failed to two-round back EVEN THOUGH HE GOT A SOUL CRUSH on one of the attacks (a second one would have done it!) and he died on the resulting counter. Defiance is stupidly game-breaking, but I don't enjoy the combat of the game enough to play the game without it. Also, second-to-last boss doesn't want that form in the DL ever. God, I think she 6HKOed or so, although I didn't see the Soul Crush, which I imagine raises her to 2HKO territory based on extrapolating the stats of the other endgame bosses I did see Soul Crushes from.

Major spoilers from here on!


Anyway, the B ending really drives home that Wyl is meant to be detestable. Taking up arms against the final boss of B route is... well. Neat idea, and I really, really, REALLY wish the game had writing, because it is truly a downfall of Shakespearean scope. Heck, that's VPDS for you. The plot concepts are Shakespeare, but the execution... the game is best compared to Macbeth, if Macbeth were reduced to half a dozen scenes each about two minutes long, and the script itself was written by an average high school English student (with better spelling/grammar <_<). It's a crying shame. Last scene of the ending was good, ties in with VP1 very elegantly.

4/10 game I think. Could change if the other routes wow me. I'll probably do A next? Despite the awful writing the concepts are good enough for me to want to check them out, and the game is pretty short. Dunno if I'll NG+ it or not. Probably not.


EDIT: Oh right. The party I used was Wyl (with Gleipnir's Bonds), Phiona, Lockswell, and Lieselotte. Mages are great in this game, using two seemed a no-brainer to keep the Reinforces and Sap spells coming. Wyl is forced, and Vali's Awakening is good enough to make you not feel bad about this. Phiona is pretty cool, greatswordsmen feel good in this game despite move/range concerns because base Strength matters way more than weapons and they have the Strength; she in particular was a good comboer and knocked out lots of gems, weird for a greatsword type.

EDIT2: Game was 13 hours long. Probably an overestimate, since I did spend some time with the game on while chatting on the internet. I did almost no optional stuff; just one and figured out they were basically a waste of time since the game hands you more than enough money as is.

[Jo'ou Ranbu]

TWEWY - Week 2, Day 6. What the hell is wrong with Joshua.