Retrograding MAILBAG 06.25.04

Bless you, good sir. I couldn’t agree more. The gameplay in Gears sucks as
well, and I laugh at the sucker who bought it off me for 50 bucks.

The sparse bit of gameplay in Saga isn’t bad, but you have to put up with
the terrible, long, annoying cinemas that make one long for The Spirits
Within.

The print ads make me absolutely sick and make we want to go on a killing
spree of every magazine writer that contributed those quotes. Going by
concept art, apparently the sequel involves some sort of techno-lesbian
relationship between Shion and KOS-MOS, which, if I’m correct, is creepy on
a lot of levels.

Also, funny thing–you printed the letter of me asking about Big Bang Pro
Wrestling, and I recently found one on Ebay and nabbed it. For any Neo Geo
Pocket Color fans out there, I’ll give a quick run-down. Basically, the
characters are mostly based on famous WWE wrestlers. Your lineup includes :
your Taker knockoff; a big, fat, bald Kevin Nash; a boss based on HBK; two
wrestlers somewhat inspired by the Rock; a martial artist style wrestler;
and a female wrestler with jugs that would get ridicule from Mai and the
cast of Dead or Alive. There are others but I just recently got the game.

There’s a lot crammed into two buttons, but if you get the hang of it it’s a
really fun game. I don’t know of any other portable games that have casket
matches or steel chairs. I don’t know of any other wrestling games at all
where the referee checks to see if the wrestler’s hand drops 3 times on a
sleeper. You also get close-ups just prior to a finishing move being used,
which looks pretty cool.

It’s not quite a Fire Pro, but it’s along the same lines as far as gameplay.
So if any other NGPC owners happen to get a chance, I recommend giving it
a shot, but prepare to be frustrated until you figure it all out.

Any information you have would be much appreciated, get back to me whenever
you can…

I’ve been reading your Retrograding column on 411mania.com since last October. I actually read your Halloween edition. I’ve been meaning to e-mail you about that game Hell Knight since I read that edition (I’ve just been putting it off for a long while I guess).

My copy of Hell Knight is actively collecting dust. I’ve had it for years and from what I see, I’m the only one who had it over here so I was surprised when I saw you mention it. I think I only played it a few times before I just decided it was too difficult.

I don’t know about you but I think the game is a bit unbalanced especially concerning the monster. Hiding from it in rooms doesen’t help a lot since it might still be around. Sometimes I wait in a room for 10 minutes and it’s still waiting for me outside. Also, the fact that you can get tired while running doesen’t help since this monster is the fastest one that I’ve ever encountered
in a survival horror game. Scissorman (and anything that came from RE) should definitly be ashamed of its stalking prowess when compared to this thing. Another problem is you get two hits. The monster catches you and hits you once, your companion is dead (the school girl I believe), second hit and you’re dead.

All in all, I find the story and designs pretty engaging. The Tokyo Underground is so vast and dark, it really gives off a sense of loneliness and fear. I mean, I kept asking, “Where is everybody else?”

Anyways, the main reason I wrote is because of your recent edition of
Retrograding. You finally arrived at one of my favorite games, Legend of Mana. I
was really happy reading what you had to say about the game and I got a sense of
nostalgia. Thank you for that and thank you for devoting a good amount of space
in your column for it.

Immedietly after reading your column, I started looking for my copies of old games. I was happy to discover my old copies of Thousand Arms, Guardian’s Crusade, Top Shelf and most especially, Rhapsody (All had little scratches meaning I never played them enough). I think you’re the only one that I ever heard of who appreciated the simple joy of playing Rhapsody.

Anyways, thank you for writing your Retrograding article, it’s always fun and informative to read what you have to say.

Damn you, stop telling people these things! It’s supposed to be a sekrit.

It’s nice to know there’s a good SegaCD game I haven’t played yet. Must hunt it down…

I still wish Atlus would re-release them.

Speak of the devil! Huzzah! Shining Force!

I’m already growing somewhat jaded with FF:TA, which has proven to me that
it really is an excellent game, but I’m stuck in this muddle of nothingness.
I’ve gotten a good mix of characters with a good range of talents, but it
seems like the game has stagnated 1/3 of the way through with battles
feeling same-old for some reason. Maybe it’s the weight of school bearing
down.

I like how they’re trying to give characters more backstory when you talk to
them, but the “Hey I might as well tell you my life story” dialog is pretty
cheesy.

And for bad face portraits, what the HELL did they do to Gort and Mae? Man
Gort looked awesome in the original, now he looks like a circus dwarf.

And is it just me or did they make battles a bit easier? The first one in
particular, I remember having to level build a little to win that one
cleanly, but I could have won in this version on my first try without
breaking a sweat.

And one of the best battle themes in the game wasn’t at the right battle
(early when you get Khris), but I can live.

And I’m somewhat surprised they left in the Healer bug. It’s understandable
that healer’s don’t make bank on exp like killing a 48-xp enemy, but it more
than swings the balance the other way with the bug.

But otherwise, great to play and hear about my favorite game of all time.

“GO BUY A GAME BOY ADVANCE AND GET THIS GAME BLATHERBEARD!! JOHN WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU WAITING FOR!!”

-Aaron

Thanks, and keep up the good work.

First, a little bit of background. Most of the time I think you’re inside
my head as a gamer. Most of the games you mention or that are on your list
are games I own/cherish or that I’ve always wanted to play. I am totally in
love with both the Saturn and the psx. I may even have a few import games
you haven’t heard of. I have a Pocketstation on my keychain, played an
original version of Panzer Dragoon Saga, and I like Junon from Dragon Force
as much as you do. If you haven’t seen it, try and find an audio track on
the Dragon Force CD. You get a cute warning from the voice actors that the
dynamic data tracks can blow out your speakers. :)

And I envy your Thousand Arms drinking game. I’ve played through the
translated version of Bloody Bride. Most people I talk to could care less
about games like Power Shovel or Hyper Duel. I played through all of the
Bard’s Tale when it was new. (Now, I might think Pool of Radiance was a
better game, but that’s besides the point.) I am apparently also the same
age as you and a grad school drop-out (but recently gone back for an MBA
instead) as well.

With the bizarre coincidences aside, let me make a few comments. First, the
brief stuff. You said Tactics Ogre is the only series you know is getting
better with each release. Well, Monster Rancher is another prime example.
Every game is even shockingly better than the last. I’ve always loved it
better than Pokemon and for good reason. Monster Rancher 3 is a modern
gaming classic. If you can’t love a hare or one of those duck-things you
have no soul. Even Monster Rancher Hop-A-Bout is a bizarre but charming
game, kazoo and all. And cheap.

You also mentioned the stellar graphics in Panzer Dragoon Saga that still
hold up today. Well, in some ways yes, but the texturing and coloration
show their age. You can tell from the get-go the models are out of date and
most things are 2 or 3 colors at most. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the
game. It’s one of only three games I’ve ever played that I regard as
actually cinematic (and not a wannabe). The others are Metal Gear Solid 2
and Final Fantasy X (gasp). While I’m at it, I should mention the god-awful
clipping and graphical errors all over the place. That wasn’t just shoddy
programming, it was the technology and the state of graphics then. That
stuff is painfully noticeable. In many ways I had to get used to the
graphics in Panzer Dragoon Saga. So I suppose I disagree.

Thus, I might sound kind of negative, but there’s not that many differences
in opinion that we have so that makes them interesting. The real comment I
wanted to make is about Final Fantasy 8. Sure you love FF1, 2, and 9. I
can understand 1 and 2, and your love of 9 must be all nostlagia because it
sure wasn’t the hackneyed plot and atrociously high encounter rate (Tales of
Destiny 2-esque). Or the shit-tastic bastard son of Triple Triad (an
amazing game still played online to this day), Tetra Master.

But I think you must have missed something in FF8. Let me try and convince
you, the anti-Square person you claim to be. Let me first make a list of
common misconceptions about the game:

1. You want to be as high a level as possible

2. Summoning Guardian Forces is not only preferable, it’s the best way to
fight battles

3. It wasn’t innovative

The first two claims are cut-and-dried. Most people will never know this
(and it’s never in FAQs), but the monsters actually level faster than you
do. I ended the game at Level 13, as low as you can nearly manage. That’s
why all the boss battles don’t give you XP, only AP. Levels are bad, and
they had to cap them at 100 so you didn’t royally f*ck yourself. Not only
that, but the strongest party in FF8 was one making full use of junctions,
magic, and melee weapons. Not only was summoning GFs not necessary, it was
often weaker in many circumstances. And of course, you can’t really use GFs
at the end anyway. This dodges the issue of the painfully long GF
animations, which I agree can suck hard after you’ve seen them a few times.

Maybe you’re with me so far, but you directly called FF7 and 8 derivative
pieces of trash that only innovated in graphics. The latter is certainly
true, and FF8 is still one of the only games for the system to overlay
playable areas on top of FMV sequences. FF8 had actual actors map out the
motions in the CGI and I’m pretty sure that was not the norm back then.

But what I think you’re missing is how FF8 stood nearly every traditional
turn-based RPG notion on its head. I may as well make a list to avoid
redundancy:

Most RPGs Final Fantasy 8
Earn money from monsters Get a salary from SeeD
Buy weapons and armor No armor, weapons put together as
junk
Separate systems for money, items Completely fungible commodities of
cards,
magic and whatever else items, magic, and money that
interrelated in clever ways
Save the world, become a hero Mostly a love story (still rare in
RPGs even today,
and a huge risk even
then)
Magic points or meter Drawing of magic as a commodity
and junctioning tool
Mostly male leads, mostly male cast, Nearly every main character is
female, most are realistically
male villian, flat female characters portrayed with semi-realistic
proportions; Main villian is female
included for fan service/looks
Likable, flat main character Main character that develops
and isn’t likable at first

I could certainly list more but I think you see what I’m getting at. It’s
like Square decided to thumb their nose at nearly every traditional
turn-based RPG concept. That’s why all the fanboys and Square nuts didn’t
like it. It was different, and not really geared to a young male audience.

Moreover, themes explored in the game were very mature and I very much
enjoyed the love story. Few scenes touch me as much as the space rescue
scene in FF8. It’s a shame you pan the game so much because the story and
art directing have never been better in the series. The combat system was
immensely deep with any number of possible takes on combat and the junction
system was outright complex yet rewarding, a rarity these days in video
games. Add that to a 19th century feel in the cars and building which I
have yet to see used well in another video game and a curious dual plot
structure (between Squall and Laguna) that interweaves and I think we must
have been playing a different game.

I can see hints of misunderstanding by you saying the mini-games took up
more of your time than the game itself. I suppose you’re referencing
Chocobo World, a goofy side quest that was by no means necessary. Or Triple
Triad, which I may have spent 15 hours on, but I spent 60-65 on the game
itself. So, I spent 80 percent of my first playthrough leveling and playing
the main game, and 95 percent of my second (the rest playing Triple Triad).
Besides, you have to give them credit for the only real stateside
implementation of Pocketstation support to date (Ridge Racer and Street
Fighter were jokes).

You tell me one thing about FF8 that was typical. The most I can come up
with is that it’s linear and you still end up saving the world. There’s
some continuity in the music and gameplay, but you can hardly fault them for
that. Now FF7, ok I liked that game but it’s vastly overrated. FF9 was a
throwback that everyone said they really wanted but no one really played.
But FF8 is the real jewel in the crown of the FF series. Only X-2 compares
in my mind. I’ve played them all (to some degree or another) and FF8 is
still the best one I say.

I only bring up all this since you’re really into games and you’ve actually
played the games I’m talking about with a critical eye. Maybe then you’ll
be convinced by what I said. In my experience I’ve never had an FF8
convert, only several attempts. Most get hung up on GFs, drawing, and
leveling. If you can see through all that you’ll see a game that’s every
bit as good as a classic RPG like Magic Knight Rayearth. Maybe.

Anyway, sorry about how long this e-mail is. You said you like getting mail
so I’m guessing it’s no big deal. Let me conclude by saying that Valkyrie
Profile better be your number one game in the countdown. Right? RIGHT?
Ah, who am I kidding. That’s me and my twin brother’s favorite game of all
time, and we’ve played a metric f*ckton of games between us. I saw you
mention it in your top five though. I know it’s possible. It certainly
deserves it. It marks the turn of modern gaming in my mind. Games 10 years
from now still won’t play like it does. It’s not a video game, it’s a work
of art. If you want a downloadable calendar, they still have it up on the
official site if you haven’t seen it. They also add some backstory and
details that didn’t make it into the game to help clarify things a bit. The
manga also helps (some really cool dude scanned and translated it online).

If all that didn’t seem too foward or weird, feel free to shoot me an e-mail
if you ever want to chat about old or weird games. I’m sure I’ll be hard at
work beating Shining the Holy Arc. :)

“I was seriously disappointed with Ninja Gaiden. One of the worst camera systems ever. It sits too low and too close to Ryu. Plus the whole DMC-like gameplay is getting cliché. First Konami tries to tack it onto Castlevania, now Team Ninja tacks it onto Ninja Gaiden. The whole “get graded on how big of a combo I can rack up” aspect to it sucks. What’s next? A combo system in the new GTA? Ooooooh, a groin shot with a triple head tap finish, you get an “A” bad boy.”

Anyway, I’m a big fan of your columns and reviews. Even if I don’t agree 100% with everything you say I still respect your opinion.

I just thought I’d write and quickly harass about 2
things.

The first is that dastardly ratings system: I like it the way it is. What so many people don’t seem to realise is that a rating of 7.5/10 is the equivalent of 75%. It looks low compared to something like C&VGwho hand out +90% ratings all the time, but what’s wrong with rating a game at 75%? Don’t they realize that’s only 25% away from utter perfection? That’s like turning down a rich, witty and beautiful woman because she’s wearing a tracksuit. Well… No it isn’t at all, but I just came up with that analogy and I didn’t want to waste it.

The second point is to recommend (again?) a game called Anachronox. The graphics are Quake2 era; the game play is like watered down Skies of Arcadia; it was a touch unstable. I totally loved playing it though, just to find out what happened next. To miss an opportunity to play this game would be like turning down a rich, witty and beautiful woman because she’s wearing a tracksuit. Mmhhn.

Thanks for your time.

After the Ninja Gaiden “7.5” debacle, have you considered just dropping the numerical system? Personally, I’ve always thought it weird that people want to see a reviewer’s enjoyment quantified to a simple number, because things just aren’t that simple. It’s good shorthand, but it gets harder when you compare two completely different kinds of games, like that one guy attempted with the NG-PokeChan comparison. And it’d make me grin at least to see people forced to, you know, read through the review for the writer’s feelings on the game. Most reviewers may be spouting the same paid-for opinions over and over again, but finding an articulate one that shares similar tastes is invaluable, particularly if that similar taste happens to be Clock Tower. And I thought I was the only one who knew that game.

By the way, since this is my first time writing to you, I felt obliged to thank you for all the great games you’ve led me to…Lunar and Persona alone make up for my junior high-era Resident Evil fandom. Realizing I actually had alternatives to the EA/GTA/Halo wasteland was eye-opening, and I’d imagine the sentiment’s shared by many. Man, I sound like a fanboy.

And finally, I wanted to know what you thought of a few games that I don’t think I’ve seen you mention, so here goes…Rival Schools & Project Justice, Tsugunai: Atonement, Shadow of Destiny, Ring of Red?