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Episode 21 discussion thread: http://www.rfgeneration.c...rum/index.php?topic=13677
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Both Bil and Duke are on the very edge of babyland, and we wanted to ensure that you received this episode before our big days hit. Unfortunately, to make this happen we had to shorten the episode. No small scores this time around, so we could have time to prep for our impending major scores.
The good news is that we are discussing our retrospective of 2013 in gaming. We tackle the games that we played in 2013 (regardless of when they were released) including our favorites, suggestions to listeners, and our disappointments. Did your favorites make our list? Maybe some of ours will pique your interest. Whether you agree or disagree, be sure to let us know what we got right (or where you think we went wrong)!
Show Notes
Music: Spartan X 2 (Famicom)
Topic: 4:06
Outro: 3:33:20
Here's an article I never expected to write. Titanfall has shown, or more specifically re-enforced, one of my favorite things about video games; a unique and engaging method of storytelling. Even though it's not a particularly great story, or well executed, or ever beyond standard sci-fi tropes, I enjoyed it for other reasons I'll get to in a moment.
First, let me say that as a happy owner of a Wii U and PS4, I'm not impressed with the Xbox One. I've thoroughly enjoyed the 360's run beginning at launch, so admittedly I had hoped the successor would step into some big shoes and start walking. Instead, it has tripped, fallen, and at times stumbled backwards. Frequent hard-lockups, crashes on the dashboard, features winking out without notice, and occasional trouble just signing in to the system (all with Kinect disabled) lead me to worry I received a bum system. Chatting with other Xbox One owners has confirmed that, unfortunately, this is the current reality of owning a system that often doesn't play multi-platform games with parity. I have little doubt most issues will be resolved over time and once a new Halo and Gears of War are released, I'll be thrilled to already own a One. In the meantime, let's just say I'm glad I got rid of a stack of undesirables to pick this up.
But Titanfall! Since I don't have a PC capable of running it, I'm glad I can enjoy it on a new system (when it doesn't crash.) And it really is fun, if not revolutionary. While 'twitch' FPSs aren't normally my style, somehow Titanfall invokes that old Unreal Tournament meets Tribes feel mixed with a bit of MechWarrior. It has a far lower human player count than even the first Quake, and after the massive scale of Battlefield 4 I assumed that would disappoint me, but it has actually somewhat worked in its favor. I'm not usually that great at these games and I only have a few hours a week during my workouts to get any better. Having less aggressive AI bots I can conquer lets me contribute and lessens frustration. Especially after suffering a dozen deaths from a human who can play more in a day than I have all week. Even with up to 40 bots in the match, it still feels much smaller in scale than Battlefield, and it doesn't generate that 'huge war campaign' feel that would draw me more into the game, but it's still plenty fun.
Initially the lack of single player, online-only multiplayer design greatly diminished my interest in the game. I certainly understand the design intent after reading the developer interviews; why spend thousands of man-hours of work on an experience that only lasts a few hours and many players won't bother with, instead of investing that effort on the experience most will spend dozens or hundreds of hours in? Even as the weirdo who picked up the Call of Duty games to go through the campaign and some zombies mode, the rationale made sense. When Respawn Entertainment announced the intent to actually have a story that plays out during the multiplayer matches, I was very curious how that was going to work.
Turns out, I loved how it worked.
Make no mistake; as I mentioned before, I didn't find the actual story well written. It had much more potential, and had it focused on explaining and exploring the man/machine or rebels/corporation dichotomy, it could have perhaps given something to hang its narrative hat upon. Instead the story is designed so that it is obvious who the good or bad guys are at all times, and the only motivations mentioned are greed, one-upmanship, and survival. We're not exactly expecting Asimov or even JJ Abrams here, but between the strategy guide and art book there are hints of a much greater and better told story that got watered down to the point of nonsense before release. In fact, that sums up the whole game rather well; it feels like a prologue to serve a far larger universe. It is assumed that was Respawn's intent all along, and I for one hope the inevitable sequels give better story treatment to what can be developed into an interesting sci-fi universe.
All that being said, it is the success of the narrative's transmission that surprised me. Most of the time if a video game is interested in its own story, it communicates by highjacking Hollywood's playbook of show-to-tell. Cut scenes, stilted narration, and unsubtle plot expositions are the order of the day. The player is the action star, but the attention is often yanked away from the controller as soon as 'story' has to be served. The player watches another storyboard, and is then unceremoniously dumped back into 'action' mode. The greatest and most unique feature video games offer, interactivity, is ignored as the player has to observe from a distance instead of staying in the game.
It's disjointing, and as great games have shown, unnecessary. One of the best recent examples has been Portal and its sequel. The building of the narrative is firmly established through player interaction and progression. There are no need for lengthy expositions or show-stopping cut-scenes. Such would ruin the well-constructed mood and rhythm the games masterfully construct.
Titanfall does have a few cut-scenes, but almost all of the narrative is radio chatter and in-game events. The game doesn't hijack the player's attention, even as important events are unraveling. Heroes die, armies are abandoned, and alliances change, all from the prospective of an elite but nameless soldier/pilot caught in the conflict. The delivery of how it all happens makes sense; as I read in one review, this must be how the marines in StarCraft feel as we give them marching orders to their doom. The campaign of Titanfall feels more involved, in a sense, because the illusion of player agency is not enforced. You really are just another grunt, albeit a higher-ranking grunt, fighting in a war of far greater scale than you are going to single-handedly impact. Sure, a battle's success can fall on you besting the enemy human players, but you're never the 'named' hero of either side. Those characters, shallow as they come across, are the real movers and shakers of the game's universe, and you never control them. Design parameters dictate that your successes and failures in-game do not substantially change the story outcomes. This breakdown in fundamental player agency usually works against a game, dispelling the illusion of control.
However, in an industry that brags about games that are shaped by the illusion of player agency, there is something refreshing and arguably more engaging about being a mostly normal guy fighting in the trenches instead of tomorrow's superhero. Sure, the AI grunts on your side can be overheard speaking in awe about the 'Pilot' ranking soldier amongst them, but the game's important characters more or less treat you as another soldier with a job to do. In this way the narrative is not embracing the idea that the player is in control, but instead using the interactive nature of a game to immerse the player in a story that is being told around him.
Of course many, many other games have taken this approach. Call of Duty sort of started to do this, but as the series progressed the named soldiers the player controlled grew into legendary super-soldiers and the story of the whole franchise grew more silly with each entry. It's no coincidence that the first Modern Warfare was my favorite; it came closest to feeling like you were a normal soldier (with, um, unexplained Wolverine-like healing) caught in a world-changing war instead of a Michael Bay movie. Even compared to the first Modern Warfare, Titanfall feels like a slightly newer progression because instead of a completely scripted, handheld single player experience, Titanfall uses the competitive multiplayer environment to the same effect. The result feels even less like watching an action movie and more like a form of virtual role-playing. The game-master has control of the story, but the players have freedom with some virtual toys within the framework.
There's also something engaging about replacing the role of hero with more normal characters caught in an epic web. One of my favorite Halo games is the underrated ODST. While it had cut-scenes and narrative shifts, it used them to tell the story of relatively normal marines and their different adventures that paralleled each other before meeting up at the end. It certainly wasn't anything new. But the noir style of the art, lighting and setting, and excellent soundtrack combined with the story of average-joe soldiers just trying to survive the invasion of Earth, made the experience far different than Master Chief's save-the-world-again-today missions. For all the players complaining that Halo's mostly-silent leading man had no personality, it seemed even more of them complained that they didn't want to play as random, talkative soldiers. While I enjoyed every Halo campaign, I consider ODST to be a very successful experiment of short-stories in a grander narrative universe.
As for Titanfall, even though the story itself didn't do much for me, the manner in which it was told allowed me to feel much more invested. In every review I've read, if the story is even mentioned, it's to reference how throwaway and non-existent it is. While I understand where the critique is coming from, I ended up with a different takeaway. It felt within context that the campaign was transpiring regardless if my mercenary or rebel cared. I enjoyed the feel of not being the hero, but someone a touch more relatable fighting alongside the heroes. As starships exploded above and martyrs changed the outcome I couldn't, it was easier to enjoy my role as a guy doing what he could. As the radio chatter provided the vast majority of narrative, it felt natural that I would struggle to catch every detail in the middle of fighting for my life, instead of pausing the action so story could be shoehorned into my experience. It felt more immersive. And in a game where my giant robot can punch into the cockpit of a rival's giant robot and toss the pilot aside, immersion is a quality I appreciate.
The Stick of Truth was probably one of the most anticipated RPGs of the year. Its based on the popular Comedy Central show known for its crude animation style, rude characters, profanity, and insightful satire. Matt Stone and Trey Parker are two of the best writers in the show business today, including their smash hit musical The Book of Mormon, South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut, and the beloved classic BASEketball on their resumes its easy to see how the legions of South Park fans would flock to a game written by the show's actual creators and lead writers.
The game was developed by Obsidian Entertainment, themselves known for being excellent writers and world designers. They also have a nasty reputation for releasing broken and buggy games. Is this true with The Stick of Truth? There are some bugs I experienced, but they didn't really hinder gameplay. A few design decisions hurt the overall experience more than a graphics bug and the one crash I experienced.
[img width=700 height=393]http://i.imgur.com/AEIyxAi.jpg[/img]
The graphics bug involves alt-tabbing without pressing Escape first. It could lead to the characters bugging in and out of existence and was fixed by quitting the game and restarting. It was rather annoying, but didn't completely break the game. The save design hurts the game more than anything. It seems to be a save anywhere type of system when it is really a checkpoint based system. So, saving right after a cutscene was usually fine, but saving halfway down the street would mean the reload would put you back at the beginning of the street.
The actual game itself is quite beautiful. The art makes it feel like you're playing through a short season of different episodes. You play through different days, with all the kids having to go to bed once the sun goes down. These days are built around plot events, not the passage of real time, which flows well with the way the game is written. The world is open, but feels more like a side scroller since you can only cross streets at crosswalks. South Park is not a large town though, its always been referred to as a little mountain town somewhere in Colorado. Some areas seem to be left out, but every building has something to do in it. Well, except the bank. And you can probably figure out what happens there if you're a fan of the show.
[img width=700 height=393]http://i1.ytimg.com/vi/WAogrsEnkeU/maxresdefault.jpg[/img]
The game's writing is spectacular, and the RPG design leaves even more room for references namely in gray junk items. Everything from Alabama Man to Space Cash is there to be found somewhere. The characters are just as they are on the show, with attacks based on their history. For example, Kyle has an Elemental Summon attack which is nothing more than Kick the Baby.
[img width=700 height=393]http://i.imgur.com/mDfkOS4.jpg[/img]
Or the most feared attack of all, Mr. Slave's ass.
The timing attacks and defenses in battle will remind long time gamers of RPGs like Super Mario RPG, Mario & Luigi, Paper Mario, and some more real time battle systems like the Tales and Star Ocean series. Combat is rather easy though. I played on the hardest difficulty and still found myself rolling through the game by spamming armor lowering attacks. I played as Jew, so my main attack against bosses and defense heavy enemies was Circum-Scythe, it was quite satisfying to use that attack against enemies such Pedophile and Meth Head.
[img width=700 height=393]http://i.imgur.com/FhCuHCR.jpg[/img]
As a whole, The Stick of Truth is a very well done game. If you're not a fan I would still recommend it as the writing is absolutely hilarious and vile at times. I found myself laughing hysterically at certain events, and smiling through most of the game as a fan. This game should go down in history as one of the best licensed games out there. Stiff competition in that category I know, but it really is that good and probably the best overall game in terms of technical issues, writing and story, and overall gameplay polish that Obsidian has released so far.
As a video game collector, I have to admit I'm somewhat accustomed to picking up a game I'm not necessarily expecting to play. Oh sure, it usually won't be more than a dollar or two, but I'm guilty of spending (very little) money on games I consider duds such as Bebe's Kids or RapJam Volume One simply because I love the Super Nintendo and collecting for it. The same goes for many game systems, and even some eclectic oddities that I like to play around on more than play on, such as the CD-I or N-Gage. When it comes to modern games, the fact that most are more than a few bucks means I don't do the same, and I don't have a desire to grab a (as close as possible to) complete collection like I do for my favorite pre-PlayStation oldies. While seemingly unrelated, this brings us to:
When Titanfall was shown, I was not star-struck as many in the industry was but I have to admit the ol' Mech-lovin', giant robot-stompin', sci-fi buff in me was piqued. Interested, but not entranced. Other announcements such as system exclusivity and an online multiplayer-only design all but killed my immediate interest. Even the 360 version failed to appeal to me, especially since the 360/PS3 ports of Battlefield 4 felt so watered down from the PS4 port I enjoy.
However, when I found a window to acquire a Titanfall Xbox One bundle by a combination of trading off a stack of broken devices and redundancies in our collection and finally cashing in on all the Gamestop points we've amassed, it just made sense. Despite not having much interest in the system or library at the moment, it's a game system we don't have, acquired without much of any loss from us, and I know by the time another Halo or Gears of War comes out I'll be much more interested. And since it's the same price to get the system with a digital copy of Titanfall that it is a normal one, it just makes sense.
And don't get me wrong; I'm sure I'll enjoy the game. While I've never been an avid Call of Duty multiplayer fan, I enjoy many online shooters like the aforementioned Battlefield and Halo. And I've liked mechs since the Battletech board game days in my youth. Perhaps I'll be as charmed as the gaming media once I load it up and indeed have a 'genre-redefining' good time. I hope so!
But I'm more that fine right now with some excellent games that have perhaps gotten overlooked in the last several months of new system releases and Titanfall hype. Here's what I've been playing lately (instead of, oh say, writing for RFGen as I should.) 
Bravely Default (3DS)
I can't say the Final Fantasy name brand is dead to me like I've heard others say. I also can't say I get that old excitement whenever it's name-dropped either. Seeing as how Bravely Default began development as a Final Fantasy title, released as a new IP, and has been better received critically (and personally) than the last several Final Fantasy games, I sure hope the series continues. The story is naturally cliche to a fault and I have to say I endure the characters instead of being endeared to them. But the art is fantastic, the music beautiful, the gameplay fun, and the mechanics interesting. It's also rather addictive; I haven't carried my 3DS around everywhere this much since Soul Hackers.
Plants Vs Zombies: Garden Warfare (Xbox 360)
This just shouldn't have worked, especially as well as it does. Essentially a scaled-down Battlefield mod using the Plants Vs Zombies universe, Garden Warfare excels because of a humorous art design, decent and varied balancing, and the prevailing sense of quirkiness that the original PvZ games did so well. Perfect for those who tire of the gritty combat of modern shooters, Garden Warfare is smart in its focus of pure zany fun; kills are 'Vanquishes' and player deaths aren't even counted on the final tallies. The cartoony style is well realized and detailed, and the lack of gore and heavy atmosphere makes the whole thing so playful it's hard not to come away smiling. C'mon, you get unlocks by opening sticker packs! Unfortunately being an EA game, there's no LAN support and the only bots are in the Horde-mode like Garden Ops mode, but other than that it's about perfect for $30.
TxK (Vita)
If it weren't for the NSFW and completely unnecessary vocal effects during the bonus round (which I think were toned down with the latest patch), this game is the perfect successor to Tempest 2000 and Tempest X3, two of my all-time favorites.
Puppeteer
I'm not too far into this yet, but if the rest of it is as magnificent as the first few hours, this game is criminally unknown. I made the mistake of initially assuming this to be something of a modern Clockwork Knight: Interesting visually, but otherwise an average platformer.
Wow, was I underselling this game.
If we gamers mean it when we say that art, sound design, and originality are of supreme importance in a game, it's criminal that no one talks about this one. The first few hours I've put into it have shown more attention to detail, fascinating world construction, and inspired design choices than anything since the storied Journey. This game has, thus far, been quite the diamond in the rough and I intend to give far more attention to it soon. Here's the trailer, if you forgot about it or never heard of it:
Whether or not you're expecting Titanfall to soon eat up all your free-time, try giving one of these a shot; aside from possibly Bravely Default, they're likely to disappear under the shadow of higher profile releases, sort of like grunt soldiers under the massive metal feet of a-
Sorry, too easy.
After my first post announcing my intent to reclaim (or mostly reclaim) the portion of my collection I sold off in 2007, I really began pondering the sanity of this choice. As I've said before, my collecting instincts tend towards the chaotic, where I wander the thrift and garage sale landscape picking through boxes and endless shelves of junk for something new or at least something that looks interesting. Stalking ebay, Craigslist, and forums for stuff I wanted (instead of stuff I stumbled upon) was strange and a little uncomfortable. Sure, I could do it (I did it with the C64), but could I sustain the momentum over a long period of time? Could I be happy with this? I suddenly regretted my announcement. Just looking over the pricing of some of the titles in my list made me cringe and a little claustrophobic. How was I, one of the cheapest gamers on the planet, going to get out of this?
Continue reading 2007 Collection Revival - A Great Start
It doesn't matter what I write. As long as I type it with passion along with a certain researched and practiced intellectuality. I don't want to play unless I'm hooked like a fish. Dangle an action packed introduction that serves as a focused crash course on the basic game mechanics like I'm a catfish hungry for Kool-Aid dipped hot dogs. Also big words. Long sentences. That's no lie. The hook brings you back. Press that power button and pick up the controller. Now for the harmonica solo.
Where is the best place for a game to dangle its bait soaked hook in front of the player? Well, at the beginning of course. Great designers know this, so in more linear gameplay and narrative driven games some of the best writing and content occurs in the first few hours. How often have the guys at the newly departed Irrational introduced a deep mystery to the player only to give them a satisfying bread crumb trail that gives them detail after detail at an almost agonizingly slow pace. But you keep going. You have to see how this crazy tale of this megalomaniac Andrew Ryan ends! You have to stop SHODAN!
[img width=385 height=414]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/55/SHODAN_hires.jpg[/img]
How many people got hooked to Final Fantasy VII as a result of its action packed intro, essentially putting all the story and character development on hold for the first hour while you infiltrate the Sector 1 Reactor and blow it to smithereens. The rest of Midgar can get quite strange, from Wall Market crossdressing to a talking dog like creature. In FF8 you watch a nice swordfight, and it can get you pumped up if its your first time playing. Unlike the predecessor you watch the action, then wake up and spend a quiet day at school before doing anything based on action, and then you're rudely interrupted by tutorials! Its quite a contrast compared to the sudden, jarring start of FF7.
[img width=400 height=300]http://24.media.tumblr.com/fc46a822040994b1be81e5660768314a/tumblr_mp5suyONMn1r9zabzo1_400.gif[/img]
Shut up!
Shigeru Miyamoto has said that the most important part of a video game is the first thirty minutes. There needs to be something in the first few minutes of a game to really get the player pumped up and eager to play. Pick up almost any game designed or lead by Miyamoto and you can see how true he sticks to this philosophy, from Donkey Kong, to Star Fox, to New Super Mario Bros.
For a game designed around fast and precise gameplay this seems a bit more simple, just let the player play the game. A long, narrative based game like an RPG presents another challenge though. The story might not really kick in for 10 to 30 hours, maybe not until the final act. An action packed start such as the one I mentioned in FF7 or the slaughter of the Unicorn Brigade at the beginning of Suikoden II can really get the player on the side of the protagonists, or questioning them. A slower paced character driven introduction can be just as effective though. If you're playing an RPG you're probably doing it for the story after all.
Some games have been so painfully slow for me that continuing would probably leave me with a perpetual scowl than any sort of accomplishment. Yes. I am looking at my copy of Grandia III. Three hours and nothing has happened. Nothing! I haven't even left town yet! Grandia II is much quicker in comparison, with action in the first half hour and great character introductions.
Even the first two Fallouts have introductions that can almost cause ulcers, and those are two of my favorite games of all time! In the first one the first thing you do once you've left Vault 13 is kill a bunch of rats while leaving the cave that Vault 13 is in. Good for experience, but dull from a player's perspective. Fallout 2 isn't much different, except switch rats out with little radscorpions and giant ants inside the Temple of Trials. The first thing you do in the Fallout universe is play exterminator.
[img width=640 height=480]http://img3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110117230303/fallout/images/4/4c/FO01_NPC_Ed_2.png[/img]
One thing that bugs me about games anymore is the inclusion of a mandatory tutorial. They have been around for some time, but they serve no narrative purpose and always break the fourth wall by telling you what button to press. I know what the X button does! I've been playing Playstation since before they were numbered! I remember a time before analog sticks and Dualshock! Get off my lawn! If I need to know what the buttons do then I'll read the manual. But they don't make those anymore, now I'm looking at Tales of Xillia.
When a game like Thief: The Dark Project makes the tutorial an option on the main menu its quite refreshing. You know it exists seperate from the game world because you don't play the tutorial after selecting "Start Game". Besides, a mandatory tutorial kills replay value as it is a guaranteed 20 minutes to an hour of just sitting there mashing the buttons to make the text go away. Final Fantasy VIII is an example of hellish tutorials. That time could be spent on an excellent cinematic scene that blows the player away from the moment they select "New Game". A tutorial is not a hook. It is not bait. It is boredom. Don't force us to keep playing tutorials. They should always be optional.
So what are some of your favorite gaming introductions and hooks? Least favorites? Have any gripes about modern games that you can't avoid? Rant about them here!
[img width=343 height=250]http://www.zwani.com/graphics/thank_you/images/8.gif[/img]
Two months into the new year and the community never fails to impress. Last month we received a slew of submissions and database edits.
In total we saw an outstanding 2994 submissions which comprised of 2880 game submissions and 114 hardware additions.
You guys also put your cameras and scanners through the works because the database now includes an additional 756 images.
Last month six members broke the 100 mark with their submissions. Monkees19 made 256 database entries and Sauza12 contributed 163 additions. The other four to add over 100 submissions were staff members: ApolloBoy (1383), Shadow Kisuragi (380), Tynstar (153), and CoinCollector (115).
The top 5 image submitters for February were: monkees19 (253), Sauza12 (150), Tynstar (84), Raidou (65), and Sirgin (62).
Great work everyone!
Thanks again for continuing the improve the rapidly growing database and getting involved in this supportive community! Everyone deserve a round of applause!
NOTE: This is a rewrite, due to the original not publishing correctly. Some sentences may have changed.
Whew...Things have finally calmed down around here, so I've had plenty of free time for gaming. Here's what I've been going at.
[img width=260 height=315]http://s3.postimg.org/3te2kjyr7/Sonic_R.jpg[/img]
Sonic R is a Sonic the Hedgehog Racing Game. Hated by many, I actually enjoy it a lot. I've been playing the PS2 Port on Sonic Gems Collection, an Import Collection of Sonic Games. This game is hated so much by everyone, that there is actually a myth that if you use a certain character in it, you will die. This is crap, of course. It's a fun game with some Characters not seen in any other Sonic game, and it also has catchy music. It's well worth any Sonic/Racing fan's time.
[img width=256 height=327]http://s3.postimg.org/575pfuy0j/P4_G.jpg[/img]
Persona 4 Golden is a remake of Persona 4 for the Vita. Originally released for the PS2, it has new content on the Vita. It is a School Sim/RPG where you have to solve a Murder Mystery while living life as a High School Student. Unlike actual High School though, this is fun, and, you know, NOT LAME. Since you've all probably played Persona 4 on the PS2, there isn't much more for me to say about this one, other than should you be looking to play Persona 4 again, play this version.
[img width=256 height=325]http://s3.postimg.org/hbkywuawj/VK3.jpg[/img]
Valhalla Knights 3 is an RPG for the Vita. It's the sequel to the 2nd one on the PSP, as well as the Spin-Off on the Wii. It's quite challenging, and described by many as a chore to play. That being said, stupid critics constantly give the games bad scores, and so naturally, people agree with them, and they sell poorly. Still, there are true fans, and while the game can be hard to play, and there really is nothing new here, it's still a fun game. It's definitely not for everyone though, due to some suggestive material (It's rated M for crying out loud!).
[img width=256 height=362]http://s3.postimg.org/4gcza2vn7/AC4.jpg[/img]
Assassin's Creed IV is...actually pretty cool. Initially, I hated the series, but this one really fixed everything. It's open world, it's about a Pirate turned Assassin, there's plenty of things to do, and what's more, it's all based on historic events. Not much more to say here, as you've all probably played it. I've been playing the Wii U Version.
Well, that's all for now. See you all next entry.
[img width=700 height=429]http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MyaqTmKqbQo/URH_ESOqSBI/AAAAAAAABIA/n5ahJw3K57Y/s1600/NiNoKuniLogo.jpg[/img]
I am unsure if Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch is the RPG I would use to introduce the genre to a child or not. I was planning on showing my eventual offspring the classics first, maybe start with some Dragon Quest and lead into some SNES Squaresoft. I am still leaning towards Ni no Kuni as a launchpad as it throws Dragon Quest, Monster Rancher, Pokemon, and My Neighbor Totoro in a blender and just lets it all puree for hours. Glorious hours. Level-5 and Studio Ghibli have crafted a beautiful world with wonderful characters that show a child's journey from the worst circumstances you could imagine into a strong and independent leader.
Oliver is a resident of the post-war Americana inspired peaceful town of Motorville. Early on in the game Oliver's mother dies, saving her son from drowning after he test drives his friend Phillip's hand made car. He holds onto a stuffed animal that his mother made for him and begins to cry on it. When his tears hit the stuffed doll Studio Ghibli happens and the stuffed animal is granted life, becoming Lord High Lord of the Fairies Drippy. Drippy gives a bunch of information to Oliver about another world where people's hearts are connected. If somebody exists in Motorville, they will exist in this world, so his mother could still be alive there!
Not long into the adventure in this new world Oliver is granted the spell to create a familiar from the power of his heart. Oliver creates the Milites Mitey Mite. You as the player have the ability to feed and grow your familiars as you see fit, and get the ability to catch your own once Esthar is recruited into the party later. Swaine has the ability to steal items and cause status ailments with his gun. Marcassin is recruited late in the game and is another powerful spellcaster to add to the mix of Oliver and Esthar.
[img width=620 height=310]http://www.destructoid.com/ul/233374-40926img0009%20copy.jpg[/img]
That's a tidy pose, ent'it?
You'll really get your power from familiars, as they can take up roles that just don't fit your main characters. Early on Mitey is a pretty good tank and does decent damage, but attacks slowly. Mitey is not very useful after the halfway point, his stats start to flatten. There will be plenty of options for a replacement though, assuming you've been singing to catchable familiars with Esthar! This is a Level-5 game, so expect item alchemy as well.
Combat itself is fairly straightforward, attack, use skills and magic, and you can stagger your enemies and cancel their attacks with proper timing. Familiars with fast attack speed are better at staggering and canceling than slow attackers like Mitey. Staggering can lead to a possible golden glim, which gives the familiar a form of super ability. It could be an offensive ability, healing, or a buff. The combat is turn based, so the feel of attacking and the experience gains give the feeling of Dragon Quest influence.
The music is fantastic, being composed by Studio Ghibli veteran Joe Hisaishi and Rei Kendoh. All the music was performed by the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra. The music was first compressed so it could fit on a DS cart, a 4 gig cart though. The PS3 soundtrack is the full orchestral performance.
The world really feels like an old school RPG world though. For every kingdom or large landmass there only seems to be one town to visit. There you stock up on items, move the story forward, run errands for people for items and money, and take monster bounties. For the most part of the game I found the errands and bounties to be the best way to stock up on money, as monsters just didn't seem to drop enough. It really felt more balanced around the fact that you do run all the errands while playing through the game.
This really slows down the midgame, as you end up devoting entire play sessions, multiple hours each time, to simply running errands and taking out bounties. Otherwise you can't afford new weapons and armor and lag even further behind! Eventually the errands start to bottleneck as you're running out of new pieces of heart to take and give to other people, so it doesn't take long towards the endgame.
The game quickens pace towards the end and leads straight to the final showdown with the White Witch. After completing the game the player has the option of creating a cleared save file and returning to the world to complete more errands, bounties. You can also do some more side quests like win stuff at the casino, finish the Solosseum, and make all the hidden and powerful alchemy recipes. As sweet and magical as this game is, this post game content might just be hard to resist.
I would give a strong recommendation to this game for anybody that is an RPG fan and has been looking for a classic styled game that is just modern enough, challenging, and tells a strong enough story to keep you hooked. The characters in this game are not the same tired clichs that have been running rampant in the genre for the past decade, so their performances and development should leave you satisfied.
[img width=700 height=393]http://i1340.photobucket.com/albums/o736/Fleach/phantasystarlastofus_zpsda63b7ee.jpg[/img]
Science continues to run out of control and the altruistic hero returns in March's RF Gen Community Playthroughs.
This month in the Retro Community Playthrough we're going back to the grandfather of Sega consoles, the Sega Master System. Take control of Alis and her band of adventurers to avenge her brother's death at the hands of an evil tyrant in a far off world. In this science fiction adventure you will embark upon a grand quest across the stars in the RPG classic Phantasy Star!
For the Modern Community Playthrough you must test your will against man and beast in The Last of Us, swan song of the PlayStation 3, which changed the relationship between narrative and gameplay. When human nature is pushed to violent and desperate extremes every day is a fight for survival. The ability to endure brutal circumstances will carry you through a journey that is both terrifying and rewarding. Endure and survive against all odds in the March Modern Community Playthrough.
Retro Playthrough Discussion Thread
Modern Playthrough Discussion Thread
Hey Everyone!! Well it's been a long time since I have done a blog on Game Hunting. For a while I was just posting in the Small Score's Thread, I might still occasionally post in there but probably not often. A few reason I have been away for a while is well got to have cash to spend which I didn't have much cheap but the best news is my brother Steven is back at collecting 100% as he was finally able to pay down some of his debt. Me on the other hand I got my taxes back and finished paying off all but one bill I have yet to get the total on as it's getting adjusted (but no need to get into details about that).
As you saw on the promo on this blog that it was under construction and coming soon with a Sega Saturn and Nintendo Logos :-) Well there is definitely more Sega Saturn in this month's score than anything. First thing is first this year I am taking a little break from NES unless I get some stuff cheap and I decided I am going to go CIB from here on out a little pricey you say? Yes it is but I also decided there is going to be a couple of titles IE Flintstones 2, Little Samson and probably Zombie Nation that I will not go for CIB.
I have been talking with a fellow member on here for a while about his Sega Saturn stuff as he has always had an impressive collection especially teasing me with photos of everything ;-) I want to send a shout out and a VERY VERY BIG THANK YOU!!! To TYNSTAR!!! This guy rocks buying a bulk lot of Sega Saturn Games is fun --meaning yes I am buying more :-) But for starters I got some of the big hits out of the way. SO this year I am totally focusing on a Complete Sega Saturn Set (Except for One game for now---although he does own it). Again Thank You Again Tynstar very much and can't wait to keep working with you!!!
The other member I have been talking to and have done dealings with in the past Shadow (Just plain Shadow :-) not or fearless leader Shadow Kirsuagi. I bought a ton of Nintendo Powers, books and strategy guides from him. Note I did buy a bunch of NP's that I already have BUT the reason I did is because I can use these ones to thumb through instead of the nice minty ones I picked up last September :-) Although these ones I bought are also in very nice condition as well :-) THANKS SHADOW!!! It has been a great pleasure hope to continue working with you too :-)
There is a ton of more stuff mostly of which either my brother grabbed or I grabbed. There is a ton of photos so hopefully everything will fit in this first blog OR I will just post another blog in continuation of this one :-)
Let's just start with the Sega Saturn Games from Tynstar to be Safe!
[img width=700 height=933]http://i.imgur.com/9d6omRN.jpg[/img]
BIG BOX HUH!?!?! Biggest box I have ever had.
[img width=700 height=525]http://i.imgur.com/OBH8fvZ.jpg?1[/img]
[img width=700 height=525]http://i.imgur.com/vNQn8jz.jpg?1[/img]
[img width=700 height=525]http://i.imgur.com/1RH7xAM.jpg?1[/img]
Some of my favorites and another picture of the Boxed System and Demo Discs!
[img width=700 height=526]http://i.imgur.com/Kr1uSbp.jpg[/img]
Looks like I have more room :-) Next set of photos were either pick ups from my brother or me at a local store or on eBay. We did take a little trip to Lincoln and my brother was in his glory for big box PC Games. Me I just picked up another Saturn title to scratch off the list. We both picked up Xbox One's (sadly I am not enjoying it as much as I hoped at his point...needs to be a Halo soon!!!) Also I won't be giving it up as I know there is some good games on their way :-) ALSO KEEP IN MIND this all took place over the whole month of February as we both got our many at different times.
Little Brother's Grabs:
[img width=700 height=526]http://i.imgur.com/mQ7j7iG.jpg[/img]
[img width=700 height=933]http://i.imgur.com/Z0Lmf3s.jpg[/img]
**He Bought Tailspin - CIB - Very Minty**
[img width=700 height=526]http://i.imgur.com/Kymucr1.jpg[/img]
[img width=700 height=526]http://i.imgur.com/z1mxp9I.jpg[/img]
(I bought Galaxy Fight for Sega Saturn)
[img width=700 height=526]http://i.imgur.com/oqc7EIE.jpg[/img]
(I bought Shin Megami Tensei IV - The game is Sealed sadly the rest is open)
[img width=700 height=526]http://i.imgur.com/jLTwwtv.jpg[/img]
The Rest of the Grabs Mixed my brother and I:
[img width=700 height=526]http://i.imgur.com/FszVoxC.jpg[/img]
[img width=700 height=525]http://i.imgur.com/smDkJUT.jpg[/img]
**The Bravely Default CE - I had this thing on Pre-Order since the game was announced glad I did--and yes as with most of CE's it's staying sealed. ---The Panzer Dragoon Orta is the Demo Disc from Hollywood Video.
[img width=700 height=933]http://i.imgur.com/fkacXQP.jpg[/img]
[img width=700 height=933]http://i.imgur.com/vCEA3EJ.jpg[/img]
Stuff From Shadow
[img width=700 height=525]http://i.imgur.com/3aujxIr.jpg[/img]
[img width=700 height=526]http://i.imgur.com/Up1elk3.jpg[/img]
[img width=700 height=526]http://i.imgur.com/97QSd2d.jpg[/img]
[img width=700 height=526]http://i.imgur.com/ECe3rDK.jpg[/img]
[img width=700 height=526]http://i.imgur.com/KKMTdWD.jpg[/img]
Won these on eBay Cheap - mainly for one Box Had a blockbuster sticker on back got it off without any problems - The wonders De-Solve It and a hair dryer can do.
[img width=700 height=526]http://i.imgur.com/v4iMcNQ.jpg[/img]
[img width=700 height=526]http://i.imgur.com/XakkUc7.jpg[/img]
Monster in my Pocket & Racket Attack Manuals to complete the boxed copies in the earlier photo.
[img width=700 height=526]http://i.imgur.com/9UqRC2u.jpg[/img]
FINALLY GOT The last Working Designs game on Saturn we need - I have one or two better condition copies of a game or two coming from Tynstar in the next Lot I am buying :-)
Again I want to THANK a ton to TYNSTAR and SHADOW!!!
I was going to make a video --still might but please leave your comments below :-)
In looking at my YouTube channel's suggestions for "sprucing things up" a little bit, they suggested I create a trailer (of sorts) to tell people what the channel would be all about. After going through some old home movies to see just how video games had an effect on me growing up, I had some fun in creating this. I also had some help from my friend Jordan (who also participates in the Nostalgicast episodes), who provided the killer soundtrack for the trailer.
Enjoy!
In 2007 I sold off a portion of my collection to fund my exit from Ford Motor Company. Part of the reason was due to the impending loss of over 50% of my wages as I went back to college to better myself (courtesy of the Ford Glass House). I remember the process being very easy and clinical. I pretty much cherry-picked most of the expensive stuff in my collection and sold it in a combination of ebay and to employees at the assembly plant I worked at. At the time selling that stuff was necessary, so I didn't let it bother me much. However, some of it was... painful.
Well, all that is past me now. I've thought long and hard and I've decided to try and reclaim part of it. I say part because I don't have any accurate records of exactly what I sold off, so I don't have any real idea of the scale of what I am getting into. Sure, I remember a good chunk of it, but I'll never remember exactly what games I had for the original Xbox, SMS, or PSX, but I do remember the big stuff (as well as some of the little stuff). Due to my inability to remember everything I'm going to treat this as a living document, and add to it as I remember, which is an almost daily occurrence.
Okay, enough of the why. Time for the how. I've set to compile a spreadsheet showing which games and consoles I remember having, how much they go for now, and if I want to pursue acquiring them again. My plan is to replace as much as is feasibly possible that I have listed on my 2007 spreadsheet, with some changes allowed here and there that will hopefully reduce some of the cost (getting Dragon Quest IV on NDS instead of Dragon Warrior IV on NES, for example). Some things I just won't be able to get back due to rarity (the Funcoland SOTN pre-order Music CD) and some of it I just don't feel the need to acquire again (Timex Sinclair 2068)
Outside of that I really don't have much of an idea how to progress. When I normally collect I don't do it with anything in mind. In fact, until I went on my hunt for C64 stuff most of my collection gathering was done by casually wandering into a game shop, thrift store, or garage sale with the goal of maybe buying something related to gaming. Now I apply what I learned during my sales stint with my current employer: gather pricing information in a targeted market, create fair market value statistics for that market, and purchase. On ebay there is a great deal of patience needed, as price fluctuations occur for seemingly no reason. One can view an item that sold for only a few dollars and only a few moments later ten or twenty times that price.
So what am I up against, you ask?
A2600
Blueprint
*Demon Attack
GB/GBC
*Final Fantasy Adventure
*Link's Awakening
*Metal Gear Solid (GBA)
GC
The Legend of Zelda Collector's Edition
GEN
Might and Magic: Gates To Another World
Outlander
Todd's Adventures in Slime World
Warriors of the Eternal Sun
N64
?Conker's Bad Fur Day (N64, getting XBOX instead)
NES
Blaster Master
Destiny of an Emperor
Dragon Warrior III
?Dragon Warrior IV (Replacing with Quest IV on NDS)
*Final Fantasy III (JP)
Ghengis Khan
Guardian Legend
?Hillsfar
*Hydlide
*King's Knight
?NES Top Loader
Nobunaga's Ambition
Shingen the Ruler
Spelunker
PS2
Dark Cloud
Dark Cloud 2
Document of Metal Gear Solid
*Dropship
Gungriffon
I-Ninja
?Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence (Metal Gear Collection might be a better choice)
?Namco Museum (Getting 50th on XBOX instead)
Romancing SaGa: Minstrel Song
*Seek & Destroy
PSP
Activision Reloaded
EA Replay
Legend of Heroes
Legend of Heroes II
Legend of Heroes III
Namco Museum Battle Collection
Popolocrois
Sega Genesis Collection
Silent Hill Experience
PSX (looking over PS lists for additional titles)
Alundra 2
Arc the Lad Complete
*Blaster Master Blasting Again
Bushido Blade
Dragon Warrior 7
Front Mission 2 (JP)
Front Mission 3
Legend of Mana
Lunar The Eternal Blue Complete
Lunar The Silver Star Complete
Metal Slug (JP)
SaGa Frontier
SaGa Frontier 2
Threads of Fate
SAT
D
Grandia (JP)
King of Fighters '96 (JP)
Shining Wisdom
Three Dirty Dwarves
SMS
Sega Master System (Original)
(going through the VG Bible now to determine games)
SNES
Dungeon Master
?Earthbound
Inindo
Lagoon
Outlander
Populous
Soul Blazer
U.N. Squadron
Uncharted Waters
*Zelda: A Link to the Past
XBOX
*Breakdown
Conker Live & Reloaded
*Gunvalkyrie
MechAssault
MechAssault 2
Mercenaries
Metal Arms
Otogi
Otogi 2
Panzer Dragoon Orta
Simpson's Hit & Run
ToeJam and Earl III
The asterisk is there for games that I've already purchased or will be soon (I've been slowly adding to this article for a bit now), and the question marks are things that I may not get. Also, I don't necessarily want everything in that list, but rather just copied and pasted it from my spreadsheet. I'm going to create a new folder in my collection that will house the final list of games, then add and cull from at my leisure (also extremely useful while on the go with the RFG app). I might keep the spreadsheet for cost analysis, but I doubt it.
Now the acquisition. The cheap, low hanging fruit seems the smartest to get first (NES, Xbox, PSP, Gen), although I am trying to keep a close eye out for good deals for some of the pricier games (the Working Designs games, for example). What do you guys think?
[img width=497 height=698]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f4/Hotline_Miami_cover.png[/img]
Hotline Miami is the game that got me to pay attention to the current indie scene. I had played some recent indies beforehand such as Minecraft, Geometry Wars, and its ilk, but this game really made me watch avenues such as Steam Greenlight and Kickstarter for indie or crowdfunded games. Hell, there's even a Suikoden fangame that I'm watching at the moment (are you even surprised by this?)
I've seen Hotline Miami described as a top down 'fuck'em up' by Eurogamer and that description is quite accurate. You play as a nameless character that the community has named Jacket as he wears a letter jacket. The gameplay revolves around slaughtering everybody on the floor you're running around on to a kickass soundtrack. Jacket wears a mask to disguise his identity, but each mask has a certain feature that changes gameplay slightly.
In terms of style Hotline Miami is a modernized version of the Playstation game Loaded, but with pixel based graphics and an even better soundtrack. You could point out elements to even old top down arcade shooters from the mid-late 80s like Ikari Warriors, Commando, Iron Tank, and many others as inspiration for some elements of design. Hotline Miami is more of a free roaming game though, with full movement and with the ability to scroll any direction you desire.
In terms of story this game can only be described as a stream of consciousness descent into sanity. The music is right at home in a dance club but some just feel deeper, and with all the face stomping and brain bashing it creates a unique dynamic.
The game even goes into a spin based on alternate timelines and how the story evolves from there. At a certain point in the game there's a confrontation between Jacket and a man wearing a motorcycle helmet. After completing Jacket's story the game switches perspective to the slain motorcycle man and lets the player control him, following the events until the confrontation with Jacket and showing what would happen if the motorcycle man won that fight and killed Jacket.
This version of 1980's Miami will leave you craving more. With a sequel on the way I am anxiously awaiting this follow up to a wonderful indie game that took some old ideas and made them stylish and new. It normally retails for $9.99 on a variety of platforms, from Windows, OSX, Linux, and with Crossplay support on PS3 and Vita. On the PC front it often goes on sale for $2.50, which is the price I paid for it. It was worth every penny.
[img width=700 height=719]http://i1029.photobucket.com/albums/y359/necrom99/EBF6D9BB-3057-4E5A-8F1A-EE77DE043053_zpshmvlgagz.jpg[/img]
SPECS:
Game: Road Runner
Genre: Action
Year: 1989
Publisher: Atari
Developer: Atari
Designer(s)/Programmer(s): Bob Polaro
Rarity (according to AtariAge): 6 = Rare Plus
Controls: Joystick
Number of Players: 1 - 2 (turn-based)
Average Cost: approx. $10-$20 loose depending on condition
Also Available On: Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, DOS, Sinclair ZX Spectrum, NES, and Atari arcade cabinet.
Tagline/Description: "Imagine yourself as the Road Runner in a Saturday morning cartoon. You are happily whizzing across the desert, racing along that black ribbon of highway. It's glorious! But the cunning Wile E. Coyote is out there somewhere. So watch out! He is planning to smash you to smithereens. He is also scheming to blast you with his ACME cannon in a very sneaky way."
Continue reading Road Runner
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We are a community of collectors, gamers and the likes, and some of us enjoy to let the world know what is on our mind. For those members, we have the community blogs, a place where they can publish their thoughts and feelings regarding life, universe, and everything. Some of those members might even choose to write about gaming and collecting! Whatever they write about, you can find it on their blog. You can either see the latest community blog entries in the feed you see to the left, or you can browse for your favorite blog using the menu above. Interested in having your own blog hosted on RF Generation? It's rather simple, first be a registered member, and then click the "My Blog" link that you see in the navigation above. Following those two steps will certainly get you on your way to blogging.
Sit back, relax, and enjoy our entries, rantings, and completely unrelated series of thoughts. We write for you to read, so we certainly hope that you enjoy our material.
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