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• Series That Have Lost All Identity

  Grandia was one of my favorite JRPGs on the original Playstation; despite the game's wonky translation and status as a crummy Saturn port, it had a certain air of infectious, Dragon Quest-y, aw-shucks adventuring that made it very refreshing. A few years later, though, I was unexpectedly disappointed by Grandia 2, which featured the evil church-iest of "evil church" plotlines along with a distinct attitude that didn't mesh well with the previous game--it wasn't too fun to play, either. So, I dropped the series in the early days of this decade and never looked back; and since then, both Grandia Xtreme (argh) and Grandia 3 have come into being, each with their own confused take on what Grandia is supposed to be (whatever that is). Read More... Posted Apr 22 2009, 12:05 PM by Bob Mackey with | with 6 comment(s) Filed under: jrpg, identity, bob mackey, shining force, jrpgs, series, grandia, franchise

• The 61FPS Review: Suikoden Tierkreis

  Let’s get something out of the way first, to avoid misunderstanding: I love Suikoden. I know that Suikoden II is the best game on the PlayStation, and that it is easily one of the two best games I’ve ever played. I left Suikoden III spinning in my PS2 for hours, and I’m not talking about playing it—I’m talking about letting the attract video repeat over and over just to listen to its score. I played Suikoden Tactics from beginning till end, and so help me, I didn’t hate it. I’m telling you this because I want you to understand the depth of my meaning when I tell you Suikoden Tierkreis isn’t for me. Read More... Posted Apr 08 2009, 09:00 AM by Joe Keiser with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: nintendo ds, konami, 61fps review, joe keiser, Suikoden ii, Suikoden Tierkreis, jrpgs

• Why Were Game Magazines So Cruel to Earthbound?

  Earthbound Central has been collecting old magazine reviews for Earthbound, circa Summer 1995. Thus far, the stable includes Gamepro, Game Players, EGM, and most recently, Video Games & Computer Entertainment. I recently blamed Gamepro for destroying any interest my fifteen-year-old self had in Earthbound, as I well should: their review was wretched. But having looked back at Earthbound Central's library of horror, I've come to realise that Gamepro is not exclusively to blame for turning me off to Ness' adventure. American reviewers despised this poor game. EGM's John Gurka reserved a coveted place beside the Throne of God for mentioning that the storyline rivals that of Final Fantasy VI, but even he can't resist sniffing at the “Nintendo-era graphics.” Every other review sneers at the very same, berating Earthbound's lovingly put-together world as “childish,” “cutesy,” and “McDonald's Playland meets Bobby's World.” (So, which ultimately endeared itself to the world? Earthbound or Bobby's World?) Earthbound is looked upon as one of gaming history's least appreciated games. The farts-n-pizza ad campaign didn't help, but the reviewers of olde probably didn't have them in mind when they snapped off the game and started banging on the keyboard. Why did Earthbound get shafted in the first place? Read More... Posted Apr 03 2009, 11:20 PM by Nadia Oxford with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: snes, earthbound, retro, gamepro, nadia oxford, egm, reviews, jrpgs

• Attention BioWare: Mid-Fantasy Is Still Fantasy

  During last week's GDC extravaganza, I listened to quite a few podcasts; on a few of these shows, I heard the BioWare guys touting their upcoming RPG, Dragon Age: Origins. My first reaction to this title way back when it was announced was nothing more than ambivalence. While I'm sure the folks at BioWare are capable of making fantastic games, if there's one setting I'm sick of, it's traditional fantasy--and we Westerners tend to make it as ponderous and needlessly epic as possible. But it's important to note that we're not the only ones with this problem; the Japanese also abuse and overuse the fantasy setting in their RPGs as well, which is why games like Earthbound and the Persona series stand out so much from the crowd. For whiners like me who are sick of swords, dwarves, and dragons, BioWare does have an answer, but it really only pays lip service to the problem of fantasy RPG oversaturation. Read More... Posted Apr 02 2009, 06:15 PM by Bob Mackey with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: bioware, bob mackey, jrpgs, gdc 2009, dragon age, fantasy

• Breaking Out of Your Gaming Comfort Zone

  Longtime readers of 61FPS should be aware of my love-hate relationship with Japanese RPGs; for as much as I hate the genre's crippling flaws, I find myself crawling back to them time and time again, because they've sort of become a "comfort food" for me. As much as I hate being strangled by the slimy tentacles of nostalgia, I have to admit that my continuing fascination with all things JRPG has to do with the fact that I was practically raised on the things--though, to give myself some credit, I can at least say that I've managed to avoid quite a few of this generations biggest disappointments, like Star Ocean: The Last Hope. This does not explain why I played through all of Blue Dragon, though. Since becoming a member of the enthusiast press, I've been trying to break away from my old tendencies to try new and otherwise scary experiences. It's safe to say that I'm most comfortable with organized, linear, Japanese game design; as a former Nintendo and Playstation (once the JRPG Mecca) fanboy, this was once the only world I ever knew. And to this day, the non-linearity of open-world games is still a bit anxiety-inducing to me. So I thought, "What better way to break me out of this rut than by playing a free-roaming game where just about everything wants to murder you?" And this is where Fallout 3 came in. Read More... Posted Mar 31 2009, 12:00 PM by Bob Mackey with | with no comments Filed under: fallout 3, bob mackey, gaming habits, blue dragon, jrpgs, rpgs

• Please, JRPGs, Let Me Run Free

  One of the Internet's favourite hobbies is complaining about the senility of the JRPG genre. The behemoth genre is in fact staggering, and it might not be long before its chest touches the ground. I think the wolves are feeding a bit early, though: JRPGs are a huge market, and it takes a long time for a disease to run its course through a big animal. Besides, there's very little wrong with JRPGs that can't be chased off with a few shots. The rambling stories can be re-written with a more consideration for subtlety, the characters can be given goals beyond being spokesgirls for moe, and random encounters don't have to, y'know, exist. Where no such improvements are possible for whatever reason (laziness, fear of change, a deal with the Devil that ended with the developer being forced to play cruel jokes on players), I would settle for just one tweak. It's not hard to implement, and it's not too scary, but it could help save the genre. Please, please, please, JRPG developers—all RPG developers—if you're going to make me suffer through random battles, at least guarantee that I will be able to run from them. Read More... Posted Mar 19 2009, 11:37 PM by Nadia Oxford with | with 7 comment(s) Filed under: dragon quest, final fantasy iv, nadia oxford, jrpgs

• Is a Game Based on Twilight Even Possible?

  I've read all of Stephenie Meyer's Twilight books—no, really, all of them—and my soul's been attempting to rebuild since then. Being dead inside has its advantages, though. I only felt a small twinge where my heart used to be when I heard the news about the possibility of an upcoming Twilight anime. As Topless Robot points out, Twilight and weepy shojo anime might actually be a match made in the fluffier, frillier circle of Hell reserved for pretty, pretty vampires: ”Unlike so many anime adaptations of American material, anime's oft-tortuously slow storytelling style and focus on relationships and repetition matches Twilight perfectly; there are already half a dozen vampire series out there which could practically be re-dubbed to be Twilight sequels anyways. What I'm saying is that it would be seriously hard to make a shitty Twilight anime, at least according to the franchise's screaming fans, and thus it would be incredibly successful.” So, we know that anime and Twilight will be very happy together if this comes to pass. The question on my mind is, would Edward Cullen and Bella Swan the idiot child be compatible with a video game? Any kind of video game? Read More... Posted Mar 17 2009, 11:38 PM by Nadia Oxford with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: books, nadia oxford, twilight, jrpgs, stephenie meyer