Apparently none of you guys took advantage of spring break this year and decided to instead stick around rfgen submitting to the database. We had quite an impressive month in March with 9 different members making 100+ submissions for the month. It’s especially nice to see some members from the PAL region working hard on filling in those gaps. So let’s give a special thanks to the top 5 submitters of this month: Bildstar, Fragems, The Razemeister, Apolloboy and Sirgin!!
And don’t forget about the amazing approval staff we have. Shadow Kisuragi and Paully3433 were prolific this month and took on the brunt of those submissions approving well over 600 of them each.
Just as importantly though, we want to thank all of you for having a good sense of humor. It seems that many of you guys forgot, or were just unaware, of how important April Fools is to us here at rfgeneration. This year’s April Fools Blog suckered in quite a few of our members Luckily the staff here are as honest as they are humorous and disabled the donate button for the day so that nobody was duped into donating under false pretences.
It’s great to know that so many of the members here are willing to pony up for our services, but rest assured that won’t be the case. Rfgeneration has always been a community driven site. It was founded with the idea that site can be, and so far always has been, supported by its members. Every year you guys have stepped up and donated enough to keep the site both free and ad free. So even though you don’t have to worry about being forced to pay to access our database we are always accepting donations to cover our server and other costs. That donation button at the top of the page should be functioning properly again now 
With all that said there was a kernel of truth in the April Fool Blog. The Collectorcast has been successful and because of the size of the episodes we are quickly running out of space on our podomatic account. The cost to upgrade to the next storage level is quite sizable. To help out Duke, Bil and myself with this financial strain the benevolent staff here have offered to host some of our older episodes through the site so that we can lower our storage on podomatic. A landing page for the collectorcast is also in the works.
So in summary, thanks to everyone for supporting the site with your time, generosity, knowledge and support (except for Zagnorch of course )!!
[img width=606 height=550]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/games/U-071/bf/U-071-S-02460-A.jpg[/img]
I know I've talked on this blog more than once about how Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 was my first introduction to the Dreamcast more than a decade ago. In fact I was so enamored with that game that when my college roommate moved out (and took his Dreamcast with him) I had to get my own copy along with its prequel. Though at the time I had a PlayStation 2 rather than a Dreamcast of my own, so although I was more than familiar with the original Pro Skater, it would be quite a few years before I got to play this particular version. And just recently I decided I was due for another race to the end-credits.
[img width=575 height=465]http://i.imgur.com/JHuaJLH.jpg[/img]
There's a lot to love about Pro Skater. It's got an excellent soundtrack (I really wish an official soundtrack had been released), it's got a pick-up-and-play quality to it, and plays great. That said, it's always slightly tough to go back to the original game because it's easy to forget that manuals weren't introduced until the second game. This means that chaining combos together was actually a far more difficult affair back then. But once you get over this small snag, it's easy to see that the first game was already pretty close to perfection.
[img width=575 height=465]http://i.imgur.com/SclmdA0.jpg[/img]
The original Pro Skater is also the hardest game of the series, at least as far as I'm concerned. Perhaps it's because there are actually less goals per level, and they can often be tough ones. Take for instance the Downhill Jam. This level is probably the one I'd consider the hardest of the entire series. But of course some of that could be my own personal play style. But what was fun about my recent playthrough of the game was that I purposely forced myself to patiently complete every single goal in the Downhill Jam. That definitely made it feel like a bigger accomplishment than just coasting to the final tournament by completing goals in other levels instead.
As you all know, we recently held our annual donation drive, which was a huge success, meeting our goal to have enough funds to pay for the server throughout the year. However, something has changed here at RFGen. The Collectorcast has been a runaway success, and while that’s awesome for Duke.Togo, Crabmaster2000, and WildBil52, its putting a strain on our servers. Due to the increased traffic and bandwidth use, our host is requiring us to upgrade to a bigger and faster setup. This as I’m sure you all can guess, means a heftier price tag. Which means the funds we raised earlier will no longer suffice. But we won’t be holding another donation drive this year; instead, we’ve decided to change our business model a bit. Don’t worry, we’re not going to going to be adding ads, we would never resort to that...
We’ll still be funded solely by donations, but instead of the few paying for the many, the many will now be paying for the many. In other words, RFGeneration.com will now be a pay-to-use site. I know, I know, it sounds bad, but here’s the good news, you only have to pay once and you’ll never have to pay again, and you get to choose how much you pay. So click the Donate button in the forums and set your payment amount. Once your payment is verified, you’ll be allowed to access the forum and all those wonderful collection tools you know and love.
We'll still be allowing current members to access the site today so they can make this transition and get their payment in as soon as possible.
And remember, even though we keep it on Channel 3, we’re more like HBO now.
[img width=610 height=550]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/games/U-071/bf/U-071-S-01560-A.jpg[/img]
Hi. My name's noise. And I'm a PSO addict.
I'll be completely honest here: I never thought I'd see the allure of Phantasy Star Online. In the past I'd heard fellow gamers refer to the game as "video game crack," in which every session left you wanting just a tiny taste more. But to me it just sounded pretty unappealing. For one thing I'm not a fan of extremely long games. So something like PSO with its online world which makes it something of a never-ending game was a turn-off. I'm also not all that interested in hack-n-slash battle systems within RPG settings. Nor have I ever found myself drawn to games that focus on hoarding loot. So while I was certainly a fan of the Phantasy Star brand, I just couldn't see myself interested in an MMO.
But one night several months ago while browsing the Dreamcast-Talk forums I thought it might be fun to get my console online and test it out with PSO. After spending some time Googling for free dial-up ISP's in my area, I was able to configure my conole's modem and get connected to the Sylverant private server. Of course I had never played Phantasy Star Online before, so once connected I hadn't the foggiest clue what I was supposed to be doing. So I just sort of walked around and marveled at the excellent graphics and music.
[img width=571 height=472]http://image.gamespotcdn.net/gamespot/images/screenshots/dc/pso/phantasystaronline_0130_screen029.jpg[/img]
And then soon enough I noticed two characters just standing and talking to each other. Right away I realized that I was seeing actual players since everything they were saying was being typed into word-bubbles above their heads. I admit that for a moment I was severely intimidated. But i approached, introduced myself and warned them that I was a total n00b. "Wait... right now is your first time playing PSO? You mean, like ever?" And these guys were nice enough to then spend the next hour or so giving me a crash-course in the basics. They had my back with monomates to heal me and watched me hit level 2 while playing the game online.
All in all the experience was fun, but I knew I'd need to spend some time offline with the game to really grasp how things worked and try to get myself to at least a respectable level before attempting to seriously play online. So basically the game sat untouched on my shelf for the next several months. Sure I had a good time messing around with it online that night, but it would be a serious committment to play a game so demanding. Hell, you can't even pause PSO!
A few months later we got hit with a pretty impressive snow storm, and I found myself with one of those lazy snow days that gives you an excuse to dive into a game you normally wouldn't have the time for. Immediately I thought of PSO and popped in my copy. The version of I've been playing by the way is Ver. 2, which is (as I understand it) the same exact game as the original Dreamcast release, but with some bug-fixes and some additional quests.
And so I spent that afternoon going back and forth between shoveling and and exploring Ragol. At first my progress seemed slow and I'd find myself consulting the manual often to try to figure out what all the buttons did and what my objectives were to begin with. But once the ball started rolling I was making my way through quests and getting myself familiar with the Forest and genuinely having a great time to my own surprise. In fact I was having so much fun with the game that as my wife and I packed up all of our belongings to prepare to move into our new house, I spent most of February with Phantasy Star Online being one of only two games I left accessible (the other being Sega Smash Pack).
[img width=568 height=468]http://image.gamespotcdn.net/gamespot/images/screenshots/dc/pso/pso_0103_screen020.jpg[/img]
Which reminds me, I should take a moment to point out that over the months I've spent with PSO, it became a big enough part of my gaming habits to actually justify some further purchases. Perhaps the most obvious is the official Versus Books strategy guide. This book is definitely very handy to have around for reference on such confusing matters such as what to feed your Mag, and of course maps are excellent to have around if you don't want to tie up a big chunk of your screen with the in-game map. PSO also make my decision to obtain a large lot consisting of both the Dreamcast VGA box and Broadband Adapter a much easier one to make. Let me just say that this game looks stunning in VGA mode (though in fairness, so don't most Dreamcast games that take advantage). And although I haven't had the time to hook up the pricey BBA yet, it's certainly nice to have the option to do so.
At any rate, I'm currently making my way through The Mines. I'm now at level 19, and have put about just as many hours into the game. And yet my addiction shows no signs of slowing down. Perhaps the absolute sickest part of it is that I keep thinking that once I get through Offline Mode, I can actually start to play Online. And hey, perhaps I can start a second character when I pick up a copy of Ver. 1...
Episode 13 discussion thread: http://www.rfgeneration.c...rum/index.php?topic=11616
Get the show at http://www.collectorcast.com
Follow the Collectorcast on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Collectorcast
Like us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Collectorcast
On Stitcher (enter Promo Code RFGeneration): http://www.stitcher.com/RFGeneration
On iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/u...collectorcast/id524246060
On YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/DukeTogo74
Think you know your composite input from your component input? How about your SCART from your VGA? What the heck does the 7.1 mean in your audio setup?
This time around we will explore various video and audio setups that span the length of gaming. We discuss the different setups most commonly available to us gamers, explain a bit of the tech behind them, and offer up our favorite ways to get the most out of your consoles.
So whether you are the type who has been trying to perfect a set of Quadraphonic headphones, or don't even know what Quadraphonic means, it might be time to optimize your audio and video options in order to get maximum pleasure when using your collection.
Show notes
Links mentioned in the show:
Rock Band setup tutorial: http://youtu.be/-GZdZX9f_-U
Music: Jackal (NES)
9:28 Small Scores
2:02:18 AV
5:05:47 Outro
Microsoft Xbox LIVE Games on Demand has now been added to the database with support added for Australia, Europe, Japan, North American and South America. We'll be moving the few titles that slipped through into the Microsoft Xbox 360 database into that database, and the few titles in the review queue will be switched to the new console. I've already moved one of the more prominent titles, Deathsmiles II (which was only released via Games on Demand in North America).
This database will support only the titles released via Microsoft's Games on Demand service. This does not include DLC or other releases on Xbox LIVE Marketplace. XBLA and XBLIG will still have their own sections.
Feel free to let the flood gates open now on these releases.
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After pondering the merits of the various paddle titles out there for the Atari 2600, I started thinking about other games that I would recommend for the system. When it comes to Atari 2600 games, value (monetary and fun) or "bang for your buck" is an important factor for beginning collectors and others who primarily collect for other or multiple systems (i.e. without a specific Atari 2600 focus). I tried to narrow the cost down to games that I typically find in the wild for $10 or less, so it will not include those loose $20 copies of Star Raiders that you see on Craigslist.....sorry to disappoint some of you.
I am beginning with a list of my top 25 "bang for your buck" 1-player games and following that up my favorite 10 multi-player games for the system. Multi-player games were the best when I was growing up; back then, we didn't have the internet and I have fond memories of going over to friends' and relatives' houses to play. But,........I digress.
I am also including a list of few other harder-to-find, or more expensive games (yet most of them are still around $20) that I really enjoy playing should you be so inclined to shell out more cash or sweet tradez. None of these recommendations are in any particular order of my preference, I simply compiled this list while going through our database and looking over my collection.
Continue reading Banana's Best Bang For Ya Buck 2600 Games
As most of you know, I recently sold a large lot of Atari 2600 games to help raise a little funding for the site. Our own Razor Knuckles was the proud recipient of this lot and I am happy to say that it greatly bolstered his 2600 collection and has sparked what I have seen as a genuine interest in the system. As an Atari 2600 collector, it makes me smile knowing that others (especially those much younger than me) are still enjoying this system, even though is greatly.....er......"graphically challenged" when compared to more modern systems.
Recently, Razor Knuckles picked up a few more games and some paddle controllers, which he proudly displayed in the "small scores" thread. I asked him to PM me if he wanted some paddle recommendations, but after thinking about it for a bit, I decided that since it had been so long since I posted an Atari review (and to get Zagnorch off my back ....see I did the wink thing, so it's cool), I would give some opinions on paddle games for the 2600.
Continue reading Up Crap Game Creek With A 2600 Paddle
[img width=640 height=361]http://i1029.photobucket.com/albums/y359/necrom99/Mario_zps42802d94.jpg[/img]
Well.....the new year is upon us and time is quickly moving on and due to illness and other such circumstances, sadly, we here in the Thank You Department have gotten a little behind. Though it's been a while since we've posted our monthly shout out to all of you who contributed to the site, we wanted to assure you that your efforts have not gone unnoticed.
First off, I wanted to recognize a few members of our community who have been promoted here at rfgeneration and their new titles. Congratulations to the following members:
Fleach (Blog Contributor)
Duke.Togo (Blog Contributor)
CoinCollector (DB Contributor)
Bildtstar (DB Reviewer)
Nice work guys were are looking forward to good things from all of you!
Continue reading January & February 2013 Thanks!!
[img width=550 height=788]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/games/U-060/bf/U-060-S-00300-A.jpg[/img]
When I was in Junior High I had a neighborhood friend who had the NES port of Bubble Bobble. And it had remained pretty much my sole exposure to the game until just recently. In February the Together Retro game club over at Racketboy.com had Bubble Bobble on their calendar. I was actually pretty excited to delve back into this one. The NES game was a really solid puzzle-platformer that offered an excellent co-op experience. Indeed I remember spending many hours as either Bub or Bob and capturing enemies and bursting their bubbles as my friend Jason and I traversed our way through those hundred levels. But this time out I’d be delving into the Saturn port which promised to be much closer to the original arcade experience.
Here’s what I found out: Bubble Bobble is really hard you guys. Compared to the NES version the computer AI was extremely aggressive. And though I didn’t spend a massive amount of time playing, I did put a fair share of effort. No matter how much I tried I could never seem to beat level 15 by myself. Although “by myself” probably illustrates the biggest issue I took with this game. Bubble Bobble is the sort of game that begs for co-op. Unfortunately my wife and I were gearing up for a big move, which meant we had pretty limited time for things like video games. And never once did we get to give this game a go together considering I wasn’t even sure which box my spare Saturn controller had ended up in. So more than anything I just found Bubble Bobble really frustrating. Though you can’t hate on the music which is still stuck in my head a month later.
[img width=640 height=480]http://img.gamefaqs.net/screens/7/d/7/gfs_88267_2_1.jpg[/img] [img width=640 height=480]http://img.gamefaqs.net/screens/d/f/f/gfs_88267_2_10.jpg[/img]
Luckily enough the Saturn release of Bubble Bobble also includes the sequel Rainbow Islands. I had actually never played this one before, and was actually pleasantly surprised by this one. Instead of dragons you play as little humans (who I think I’ve read are actually Bub and Bob in human form… or something?) who have the power to make little rainbows. The rainbows can be used to contain enemies much like the bubbles were used in Bubble Bobble, but they can also create little platforms for you to ascend each stage. The whole thing is really colorful and bright and just a whole lot of fun. Though I didn’t have as much time as I would have liked to spend on it this month, I’d gladly re-visit Rainbow Islands again in the near future.
[img width=640 height=480]http://img.gamefaqs.net/screens/e/9/f/gfs_88267_2_12.jpg[/img] [img width=640 height=480]http://img.gamefaqs.net/screens/a/f/1/gfs_88267_2_26.jpg[/img]
This disc also contains a third game. But the third game is also my major complaint about this particular release. Bubble Bobble Also Featuring Rainbow Islands includes a sort of remake of Rainbow Islands. But why? Why bother with such a superfluous inclusion when the compilation could have been made totally amazing by adding in Parasol Stars? For those who aren’t familiar, Parasol Stars was the third game in the Bubble Bobble series, and to this day my favorite of the trilogy. Parasol Stars was one of the few TurboGrafx-16 games I owned back in the day and it sort of combined all the good stuff from both Bubble Bobble and Rainbow Islands into one incredibly awesome game. Sadly, it’s nowhere to be seen here though. Oh well
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Square Enix and Level-5, two well known JRPG developers. The games of these studios are household names to almost any gamer and collector, but what about NIS or Atlus? Here at RF Generation those who focus their collecting habits on RPGs or are more open to different genres are likely to be familiar with the more obscure side of Role Playing games - the niche RPG.
Niche games are made with a specific target audience in mind. Whether its rogue-like dungeon crawlers, stories of cute alchemists, or the adventures of high school kids with supernatural abilities these RPGs are not destined to be million dollar blockbuster games. On one level this is likely because Role Playing games are much more popular in Japan than they are stateside. North American gamers should consider themselves lucky to reap the rewards of the successful Operation Rainfall campaign.
The primary demographic of niche RPGs are the otaku - anime enthusiasts. These people are more likely to pick up on the unique style of Japanese humour that would be lost on the typical North American gamer. While not a Role Playing game, the Katamari series is a perfect example. The Disgaea games published by NIS use the anime art style and feature many gameplay elements that naturally appeal to fans of Japanese animation. Fan service is another aspect of the niche RPG with the otaku in mind. Often sharing similarities to these games, though not always, are the rogue-like RPGs.
[img width=600 height=200]http://darkzero.co.uk/asset/2010/03/disgaea-2-psp-header.jpg[/img]
In a word a rogue-like games can be described as unrelenting. All items and progress are lost should the player fail to clear the dungeon safely. This is hugely frustrating of course, but if successful the reward is sweet. To add to the complexity and difficulty these game occasionally feature randomly generated levels. Shiren the Wanderer (Wii) is a modern dungeon crawler.
Crafting, weapon customization, and alchemy are also common elements of niche RPGs. The Atelier game rely heavily on these game mechanics. Sorting through submenus to find the optimal combination of items may not be for everyone, certainly not for someone who just wants to embark upon a journey of grand proportions.
[img width=700 height=393]http://andriasang.com/con0gd/atelier_ayesha_screens/23vc2.jpg[/img]
Because these niche games seem so unusual according to North American expectations they are often never released in the west. These really are games that are not specifically made for North American audiences though some of the more accessible titles have been translated and redone for English-speaking gamers. Knowing that only a select number of people who make up the intended market demographic will purchase these games publishers typically have lower retail forecasts and thus these games will see smaller print runs. Though the other side of the RPG scene is weird, difficult, and complex it is still worthwhile to experiment with these games. And as a collector why not add some quirky titles to your shelves?
Episode 12 discussion thread: http://www.rfgeneration.c...rum/index.php?topic=11496
Get the show at http://www.collectorcast.com
Follow the Collectorcast on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Collectorcast
Like us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Collectorcast
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On YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/DukeTogo74
With RFGeneration's 2013 successful donation drive being done and over, this episode is dedicated to the generous donors that helped keep the site afloat. The small scores section will be dominated by the finds from our benevolent donors that gave through the end of the drive (Feb. 1). Feeling left out this time around? Too bad you should have given us money!!!
In addition to the sites donation drive us podcasters held a little auction to raise some extra RFGen fundage for a guest spot on the show. Our lucky (that's debatable) winner was Nupoile!! His fearless and charitable spirit saw him talking with the 3 of us about what drives him to collect, how he goes about it, and why the Odyssey 2 is so amazing.
Thanks so much to everyone who chipped in in any way (not just financially) to keep improving the best gaming database on the net. This year's donation drive was successful because of the amazing community that supports RFGeneration and keeps it growing and thriving. I know were not alone in looking forward to many more years to come of sharing our fascinating hobby through the medium of RFGeneration!!
Sites mentioned in the show:
Arcade Gear: http://www.arcade-gear.com/
Music: The Guardian Legend (NES)
2:04 Intro
8:18 Small Scores
4:02:03 Interview with Nupoile
5:27:09 Outro
The 2013 Donation Drive has now concluded. Our goal was to raise $1000 in just over a month's time. But were we successful? Well, yes, but not quite technically. In the time frame of the donation drive, we received $995.78. But, we also received an additional $40.75 from the auction of the guest interview spot on the Collectorcast. And another $6.00 from some Atari games I donated to the cause. And then we received an additional $60 donation just after the deadline. So we did receive enough to keep the site alive for another year! But since we didn't reach the goal within in the time frame of the donation drive, there won't be an all-expense paid trip to Hawaii for the donors like I was planning. Oh well, guess there's always next year.
Seriously though, I'd like to thank everyone who helped us out this year, it really is greatly appreciated. Just like we rely on members for our DB information, we also rely on our member donations to pay for our server. We really mean it when we say we wouldn't be here without our devoted members.
So thanks to all these people who donated this year:
- Sack
- Engel 762
- OatBob
- Bildtstar
- Razor Knuckles
- nupoile
- Techie413
- slackur
- moonraker_fats
- bum-man
- CoinCollector
- singlebanana
- Wempster
- RetroRage
- Sauza12
- ryanflucas
- ericeskapade
- Johnny Nintendo
- fatken53
- monkees19
- Barracuda
- DaveMMR
- Silver80
- pwpcody
You 24 may now proudly tell everyone that you helped support THE Classic and Modern Video Game Databases financially.
And of course, there are the matter of some prizes to be handed out. First off, if you've been listening to the Collectorcast, you've been hearing all about the donors as they donated, and there's still plenty more to come in the next episode.
If you've been keeping up on the Podcast section on the forum, you've probably already heard that nupoile won the auction to be on a future episode, so we've all got that conversation to look forward to.
And the biggest donor we had this year was Sack who donated an astounding $200! This awesome donation entitles him to have his choice of any two items from the RFGeneration Store.
Again, thanks to all who donated this year, and in past years. If you wanted to donate but didn't have the extra funds to do so, don't worry, you can donate at any time. Just click on the little "Donate" toward the top of the forum page. Or you can shop at our store, each sale price includes a percentage that goes back to us.
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There was a time when I thought that the shoot-em-up was the dullest video game genre out there. I'm serious. I'm not afraid to admit my ignorance. It's totally true. But there was a chain of events that led me to discover three very important games (at least to my own gamer development). Games that caused me to fall deeply in love with the genre. Not surprisingly all three games were very different from each other -- but those differences caused me to realize that shmups were not the boring "everything is just Space Invaders with different sprites" that I had originally thought.
The first game that led me to this conclusion was Galaga and I was introduced to it as part of Racketboy.com's Together Retro game club back in early 2009. I remember dreading the thought of playing such a game for a full month, but then getting completely sucked into it for 30 days. To this day I consider Galaga one of my favorite games of all time. It's the one game that I seek out the second I find myself inside an arcade. I love the rare chance to get to play this masterpiece on original hardware. And I've since purchased way more Namco Museum collections than I care to admit.
The second game was Chaos Field -- introduced to me here on RFGeneration all those years back when Crabmaster2000 was still doing his "Unloved" series of blog posts. I remember him comparing it to Shadow of the Colossus in space -- a description so odd that I had to look into it. And really the game is odd, or rather unique in that it's basically just a boss rush with stunning music, incredible visuals and a solid dual-field mechanic that is addictive as all get-out.
But the third game I discovered totally on my own.
[img width=700 height=471]http://image.gamespotcdn.net/gamespot/images/2006/012/reviews/919402_20060113_screen001.jpg[/img] [img width=700 height=466]http://image.gamespotcdn.net/gamespot/images/2006/012/reviews/919402_20060113_screen008.jpg[/img]
Shikigami No Shiro II (or Castle of Shikigami II as it's known in America) is a truly unique shmup. Rather than space ships you've got tiny little flying characters, all animated so impressively. The characters are definitely something that the developers Alfa Systems obviously cared a great deal about. Unlike most shmups which offer you three or so ships to choose from, Shikigami II gives you eight. And each character has an insane storyline to play through. Of course if you're playing the DC port it won't matter if you're an English speaker. But the translation (available on the PS2 port) proves that the story is so bat-poop insane that it doesn't even matter if you're following it or not. In fact, you have the option to turn off the dialogue which is often helpful as it can actually interrupt the flow of things.
What really matters is the game. And the game is just incredible to look at. Though the sprites are tiny they are well detailed. And the Dreamcast version does in fact offer a tate mode for those of you (like me) who are deranged enough to have monitors that you can rotate. And trust me it's totally worth it. This game looks incredible in its original vertical display mode. And audio-wise the game offers up one of my absolute favorite shmup soundtracks of all time.
[img width=689 height=480]http://image.gamespotcdn.net/gamespot/images/2006/012/reviews/919402_20060113_screen013.jpg[/img] [img width=700 height=466]http://image.gamespotcdn.net/gamespot/images/2006/012/reviews/919402_20060113_screen017.jpg[/img]
The gameplay is incredible though, and that's why you're really reading this. You've got this tiny little character with an even tinier hit box. Each character (remember there's a lot of them) plays completely differently -- with different "Shikigami Attacks." Believe me when I say that each character can feel like you're playing completely different games. It's a very deep system. But what's even more intense is that you get far more points if you kill an enemy when grazing bullets. This alone adds an insanity to the game that is riveting. It's a truly unreal risk vs. rewards system where you must put yourself in constant danger in order to score higher. And this system alone means that once again, playing the game for score or playing the game for survival are two totally different games.
Though Shikigami No Shiro II is not the true bullet-hell that games (such as releases by Cave) would be later, they are also not quite as borderline old-school as say Psikyo's (Gunbird, etc.) would be. In this sense it's a similar bridge-game from old school and bullet hell though leaning far more toward the latter -- and of course you've got the crazy grazing dynamic to consider. This game is intense, and incredible and highly, highly recommended.
In Part 1 of my critique on video game categorization I posed the question "Can the Zelda games be considered RPGs?" My stance is that these games cannot be labeled as Role Playing games on the basis that they do not depict the character growth, statistic building, and depth of narrative required of games of the genre.
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The Zelda series no doubt presents many enthralling story lines, but the characters are subject to the direction of the narrative. Consider these games to be akin to a Greek myth in which the hero is a victim of the fate determined by the gods. Like Odysseus, Link must take up arms, embark upon a journey of epic proportions and cope with an unalterable destiny. The characters of Adventure games are driven by the story. RPGs display the opposite. The characters push the narrative forward.
Despite this critical fact that separates Adventure and Role Playing games one cannot argue that both involve playing the role of a hero on an adventure. This is why I am not comfortable with the term "RPG." Modern video games, and even many retro titles, cannot be pigeon holed into just one genre category. A game such as Secret of Mana is rooted in the RPG basics and incorporates gameplay elements from the Adventure genre. Titles that merge these two genres are too conveniently labeled as Action RPG. This does provide insight on the game's play style, but does not accurately identify the game as a whole. My solution to this is to look at the adventure itself, the context in which it takes place, and whether characters grow as the game progresses.
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Narrative Adventure
This is the typical RPG whether it is turn based or played out in real time. These games depict stories which are driven by the protagonist and his or her companions. Character development is illustrated via statistics, but more so in the dialogue or cut scenes. As the characters grow the story becomes deeper much like a film or novel. These games tend to be longer as more time is spent allowing the player to experience the characters and setting. The structure of the narrative often follows Joseph Campbell's Monomyth.
Fantasy Adventure/Action Adventure
The story is set in a fantastical world which has power over the hero. The protagonist's shortcomings do not impact the story; in this case the story predetermines his or her weaknesses. The focus of these games is directed more to the player having to adapt to and overcome challenges presenting by in game obstacles. These games also follow the Monomyth structure, but take the shortened path which is shown in the upper portion of the diagram.
I've enjoyed looking at what constitutes an "RPG" and like that there is no definitive answer. My solution for the categorization problem uses the characters and storyline of the games, as I feel they are integral to a great gaming experience. What are your thoughts on these labels? How do you identify what is and isn't a Role Playing game?
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