Games you're playing: The 2009 edition.

[Grefter]

If Dragon Quest is like a fairy tale it is the most incredibly boring fairy tale ever.  The hero went to the village and found the pearl so that he could unlock the bridge to get to the next village to get a horse so he could ride to the next village to buy some rope to go back to the first village to build a bridge to go to the next village to get a magic carpet to go to the moon to get to the next village to buy a sword to kill the monster in the dungeon which will unlock the next village where you can buy a new sword and kill the zombies so you can go to the next village and so on.

Lufia 2 did the same thing and managed a more compelling plot than DQ has put out and Lufia 2 plot ain't great.

[DjinnAndTonic]

I thought we were specifically talking about DQ4 here...

[Jo'ou Ranbu]

I doubt it, given how it was more about DQ5 than DQ4 to begin with... but then, DQ plot is pretty uniformly bland. DQ8's difference lies more in the presentation of the package and the style, but the content is, at base, pretty much within typical DQ molds.

[DjinnAndTonic]

Good point, but I think that most DQs after 3 would actually make rather entertaining fairy tales. I mean, if you cut out most of the fetch-questing and grinding, you have, at best, 30-minute story from each with rather colorful, though simple/straightforward characters who don't do all that much speaking (well, they speak a lot more in 8, admittedly).

Apart from being basically the same fairy tale (though arguably 4-5-6 could be one long fairy tale in themselves), they wouldn't be bad fairy tales. And 4, at least, wouldn't even fall under 'bland' to me.

[Taishyr]

Devil Survivor: Mrf at some of these fights. Mrf at needing money. Mrf at world. Mrf, I say!

[Anthony Edward Stark]

Good point, but I think that most DQs after 3 would actually make rather entertaining fairy tales. I mean, if you cut out most of the fetch-questing and grinding, you have, at best, 30-minute story from each with rather colorful, though simple/straightforward characters who don't do all that much speaking (well, they speak a lot more in 8, admittedly).

Apart from being basically the same fairy tale (though arguably 4-5-6 could be one long fairy tale in themselves), they wouldn't be bad fairy tales. And 4, at least, wouldn't even fall under 'bland' to me.

Cutting out the fetch quests and grinding from a DQ game is like removing all energy and mass from an enclosed system.

[Taishyr]

You get something of extreme use to physicists?

[DjinnAndTonic]

Good point, but I think that most DQs after 3 would actually make rather entertaining fairy tales. I mean, if you cut out most of the fetch-questing and grinding, you have, at best, 30-minute story from each with rather colorful, though simple/straightforward characters who don't do all that much speaking (well, they speak a lot more in 8, admittedly).

Apart from being basically the same fairy tale (though arguably 4-5-6 could be one long fairy tale in themselves), they wouldn't be bad fairy tales. And 4, at least, wouldn't even fall under 'bland' to me.

Cutting out the fetch quests and grinding from a DQ game is like removing all energy and mass from an enclosed system.

Meh, I'm playing the game now. I didn't make the statement lightly. There's enough 'rescuing missing children' and 'seeking revenge for their father' left in DQ4 that if you cut out all the inane fetch questing and grinding, you'd still have a nice (and short!) fairy tale left behind.

I understand what you're getting at, though. Yeah, DQ4 is still 90% or so fetching/grinding. Luckily (or unluckily), the game is long enough that cutting it down to 10% leaves something worth reading to your kids at night.

[SnowFire]

Re DQ plot chatter: Yeah, the comparison of DQ games to fables seems on-target.  I'd definitely say it's better than your average fable though, or at least more suited to modern times.  Go read some actual fairy tales;  they often are *extremely arbitrary* in how they work.  There's not really any world-building behind WHY this witch wants to eat children, or how come fairy curses work like so, or why the spirit of the woods ordered the forester never to chop that one tree.  This is probably a reflection of the world as it was to a German peasant for whom both nature and society's whims were bizarre and you had to follow certain procedures exactly to stave off badness, but the point is it's aged strangely.

Re DQV specifically...  notably the end of the first gen...  okay, a few early Gen II spoilers here, too, until the Coburg situation is resolved.  Similar to an issue that Miyazaki has in some films, they let off Wilbur's mom waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too easily.  Okay, aside from indirectly killing your father and selling the prince and you into brutal slavery while you grow up, they burn down your home village too!  Granted, it's not clear if she was already in prison by the time that happened, but it's clearly a direct result of her cavorting with evil to gain power for her son.  This is *high treason*.  And...  you just let her back with no particular comment from either you or Harry one way or the other?  I'm not saying redemption isn't possible, or "unfortunate but necessary alliance," or unasked for forgiveness from Harry.  But...  the game needs to do one of these things.  Ignoring the issue is quite impossible!  That really annoyed me, if you're going to make me so pissed off at her, you better let me do something about it, be it revenge or forgiveness or a choice or both or hahaha neither.  Not nothing.

[Shale]

Tales of Monkey Island: Rise of the Pirate God - is awesome. Yeah, I know, contain your shock. Still in the crossroads, having a blast. Insult swordfighting!

[Shale]

....and done. Gameplay wasn't so great; second third of the game was another shopping-list puzzle, which was the weakest part of Chapter 4, and the last battle, while loaded with good moments, got repetitive because you couldn't go where you needed to on your own terms. Still, I loved the first part, and the story and presentation were top-notch all the way through. Particularly the final puzzle. Overall, it's what I said when the first episode launched - a real, honest-to-god Monkey Island game. Superb.

Plus it's apparently the best-selling Telltale game yet, so a sequel is entirely possible. Probable, even.

Oh, and for the grefters: www.samandmax2010.com

[Jo'ou Ranbu]

Wait a minute, Monkey Island franchise being revived for real? Man.

[Shale]

We're all but guaranteed to get a remake of the second game either announced or delivered next March (LucasArts promised "something special" for MI fans then), and Tales ends with a sequel hook, so...yeah.

[AndrewRogue]

Silent Hill: Shattered Memories: Purty cool so far.

This is probably the most Wii-mote waggling I have ever done, but functionally, the idea is fairly sound (and, to some degree, it really does add to the immersiveness). Flashlight being mapped to the Wiimote is awesome, but occasionally awkward (especially given I blow at keeping it steady).

Psychiatrist stuff has been cool. Answered a primer quiz and got to color a picture and nodded out some answers to questions. I do wonder what responses are automatically generated and what might be responses to the manner in which you answered. For example, I took a while answering a question because I was talking with Ash, and Dr. K asked me if that was really the truth (and didn't sound particularly convinced by response).

Exploring is cool. Lot of stuff to look at in the world. Snow is nice. It is REALLY dark though. Also, I've had some issues finding the interactable objects, which annoys. The notes so far have been nifty, but I'm not sure of their general storyline relevance? For example (not really a spoiler, I don't think, but we'll hide it for... Alex's sake, at least):

As you approach a log cabin and the phone on the outside, the cover suddenly bursts off and the phone falls out, with you acquiring a new voice message. The message is a girl out in a party in the woods calling her mom to come get her because what the people have been saying is making her uncomfortable and she really wants to leave. Later on, when you find a jacket laying on top of a rock, you get a text from a couple of guys talking about how they spiked a girl's drink just as a joke, and they thought she was okay and swimming but then they noticed she wasn't moving and... complete with a picture of a dead, drowned girl in the water.

Eerie and unsettling and unpleasant? Sure. How it ties into the larger game on the whole I'm curious. Might be pure environmental stuff, might be something else. Who knows!

Nightmare sequences... I see where the complaints are coming from. I've done one so far and it is VERY hectic, quite easy to get turned around in and the Raw Shocks are absolute bastards. Still, I like the feel of the scenes. Frustration aside, it gets the blood pumping and has a pleasant "OH SHIT" factor to break up the soft unease of exploring.

[Jo'ou Ranbu]

We're all but guaranteed to get a remake of the second game either announced or delivered next March (LucasArts promised "something special" for MI fans then), and Tales ends with a sequel hook, so...yeah.

You're never changing that avatar again.

[Sierra]

KOTOR: So, I bought the Baragwin heavy repeater for Canderous (because he was still using his starting weapon) and the blade for Zaalbar because Jesus that's a ridiculous jump in offense. He's now running around shredding Jim Henson's Rancor Babies with single attack sequences.

Intended to try to get the Rakat tribes to work together but the One's group declared that I was an Elder spy and attacked as soon as I returned from talking to the other group. Oh well, their funeral.

[DomaDragoon]

Dissidia: Only heroes without L100 are Zidane and Tidus, cleared six Story Modes and unlocked some sort of female furry Niu, as best I can tell. I've mainly been using OK for the battle coliseums, what with his jump and press Square to win plan.

Brutal Legend: Just survived the (first?) Battle of Bladehenge. The game has style, I'll give it that. Driving is fun, combat notably less so.

[Niu]

Dissidia: Only heroes without L100 are Zidane and Tidus, cleared six Story Modes and unlocked some sort of female furry Niu, as best I can tell. I've mainly been using OK for the battle coliseums, what with his jump and press Square to win plan.

You don't mean Shanttato do you?

[DjinnAndTonic]

Shantoto, female furry Niu... I can see it.

[Excal]

It's certainly the most amusing description of her I've ever heard.

[Cotigo]

* Makkotah googles Shantotto. 

I... er... ... huh. 

[Niu]

If this is the case... I must say no.

I am no where near as potent as the on true destroyer of the universe. A low life such as I cannot even be graced to kiss her foot.

[Clear Tranquil]

Shantotto's CT bait =-)

SO4-Wandering dungeon reruns. Switched in Reimi for Bacchus, equipped her with good gear and she's over L100 now from the exploration I've done. I've been controlling Reimi, experimenting with her move pool, decided Crescent Wings and Savage Sparrows were awesme. I wasn't so sure about Heavenly Flight, it seemed awful but I asked at the boards to check if there was anything I was missing but no. Too bad, Heavenly Flight's an awesme name. Crimson Squall is also supposed to be good but the start up annoys me. I have been using it though. Sonic Thorns too for a cheap CP move. Got lots of trophies with Reimi, mainly thanks to Crescent Wings. Meracle's been on the AI with Drill Spike > DS > DS > DS > Ripper Pounce + ATK Boost + Critical Hit. I stuck two Stallion Snaps on her and she's seemed quite happy, drilling away. Switched back to her for Manifest redux though I was getting owned trying to blindside her with Reimi >.> Oh and I used tried out Lymle with Trinity Blaze > TB > TB for Imperfect Amaros. Holy smokes 50/70/99'999 battle trophies and lots of 99'999s everywhere ;ooo

Just picked up Hidden Claws "Crimson Falcons" for Meracle (I had my eye out for them) which boosts her ATK from around 5000 to over 9000 and another Absolute Protecter which also goes to Meracle who's been using a Laser Suit and Reimi already has an AP on~

[Magic Fanatic]

DDR Supernova:  Okay, the method to unlocking songs here is absolutely RETARDED...  Yet I'm doing it anyway with a controller.  What kind of idiot am I?


Grim Grimoire:  Okay...  Day 1's second battle.  More boring tutorials on how to use Fairies this time.  Got bored, and then realized I have BONUS levels unlocked somehow!  Okay, I try one out on Normal (the other two difficulties are Sweet and Easy), and...  It takes me half an hour to beat.  What's most fun, though, is that I actually start out with something resembling power without needing the plot boosts.

This bonus stage has shown a weird revelation, however:  I need to learn how the different creature types interact with each other for the greatest prize.  So far, I only really have the creature->Attack buttons down, but the Healing from the elves MIGHT be good, and the alchemy gatherers have this neat slow-down goop.  I'm already enamored with the game.

It's pretty to look at, and can seem intimidating if you let yourself get overwhelmed.  I find it annoying that parts of the map re-darken if you don't keep a unit near there, but eh, such is life.  I'm early on, and I already enjoy how the characters are being built up, at that.


Disgaea 3:  Still trying to see how powerful I have to get my Red Mage before she can one-shot HoO4 with no Stronger Enemy Bills without a weapon.

[AndrewRogue]

Silent Hill: Shattered Memories

Got through the forest after some stupid wandering due to missing a ledge I could hop down. That was annoying. Orion Lodge did a pleasant job of being creepy. Messages continue to be pretty awesome. Forest Nightmare Sequence is brutal. You have very little idea of which direction you are running, it is very dark and getting turned around is pretty easy since there isn't much in the way of identifying markers. The game does give you a big clue about the right direction to run, though. Raw Shocks are assholes. Mine also look like they were mangled in industrial accidents. Got hugged to death twice before finally getting a good run.

Made it to Midwich Highschool.

More therapy! Have I mentioned Dr. K makes me uncomfortable? Because he does. A lot. This time around he wanted to talk about highschool and asked me to nod or shake my head to match how a word described me in highschool. I started to get a little concerned at the point that he asked "Sluuuut?" and, then, after a few more questions, nodded and asked, "Mmmm.... Virgin?"

School has been fun, although seeing the choking game referenced in a game is weird. I hadn't heard of that in a while. I'm definitely seeing the influence some of my answers are having on the game (a lot of the memos have revolved around date rape, failure to put out, break-ups and the like in this sequence) and it kinda bothers me. >_>

Also. Why the hell is there a whore house within walking distance of the highschool? What sort of city planners are these people?