To Ethos and Back Again
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November 30, 2008
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Ethan Pipher - 03:17 EST
In a flurry of controversy, Ethos has returned for the second time in this fine month of November to present you fine readers with a Q&A column. As I predicted, Oliver the Montok publicly denounced my hilarious and entirely appropriate most recent column in which I hacked and slashed all the letters to pieces.
The case is, however unfortunately, that Riddles Montok is still my superior in rank and so I must tone down that particular trick. Not to say you should expect your letters to be in their full form, but I will be approaching edits with far more...erm...tact...for the time being.
LUCKY FOR YOU ALL is the fact that I have more up my sleeve than just edit jokes, and my narcissism will never decline as Riddles so accurately pointed out last column.
Anyway, I haven't received all the letters yet at the time of this writing, so that's the extent of my introduction. Onto what will hopefully be songs of praise or odes to Ethos!
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In which Ethos strokes his over-stroked ego
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Yo Ethos wassup!
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Ethan
Hrm....wassup indeed, Anonymous. It is worth noting that the subject of this e-mail read: "A True Dedication to the God known as Ethos". Truly. I didn't even make that up.
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I'm just writing to see how refreshing it is to find someone else who agrees FFIX is truly one of the great RPGs in the franchise of FF series. Love your editorials and your too few Q&A's lol, later.
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Ethan
Well this an incredibly lovely length! Short, full of wise words, and an appropriate number of compliments paid to methos. Unfortunately, I have never written an editorial for this site, so I haven't the foggiest where that compliment came from.
I've made a number of Head To Heads...I've written a few reviews...I go on RPGCast...
If you have any idea of what he's talking about, fine readers, please e-mail me using the link at the top of the page. The one that reads "Send Ethos a Letter"
Also, although you pay tribute to myself and to the marvel that is FFIX, you don't really ask a question. We can work on this together, loyal readers!
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In which Ethos keeps an entire JuMeSyn letter intact.
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Lord Ethos, store until needed.
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Ethan
Hey JuMeSyn! I did as you requested.
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Your thoughts on Fire Emblem are?
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Ethan
Are unfortunately incomplete. I have played very little of the series. Largely because strategy RPGs and I tend to not get along. BUT, my brother adores the series, and the first GBA title is one of his favourite games of all time, and I hold his opinion in high regard. So take that as you will!
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Your least favorite RPG score would be?
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Ethan
Good question! You weren't entirely specific, so I'm going to assume you're okay with me talking about competitor sites as well.
I'm extremely disappointed in the recent IGN review score given to Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia. I feel like Jack (the reviewer) entirely missed the mark and didn't give credit when Nintendo finally gave proper attention to a sequel and enhanced it in an impressive number of ways. But my review will be going up a few days after this Q&A column, so you can read all about my thoughts on the matter within.
I just realized you may have meant musical score. As a musician, I'm surprised that wasn't my first thought. If that's what you meant, then write me again!
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You will attain Platinum review status when?
Your most hated title is?
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Ethan
The Bouncer. The Bouncer. The Bouncer. The Bouncer. The Bouncer. The Bouncer. The Bouncer.
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Concision being necessary, I produced this.
JuMeSyn
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Ethan
And it is greatly appreciated! If I detect a hint of snark in there, I dare say I deserve it, but I do thoroughly enjoy these snappy questions as opposed to an epic essay. I can only hope to hear from you again!
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In which Ethos tries to properly respond to a letter.
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Hey Oliver,
After listing to this week's 'cast, and considering this week in gaming in general, I thought it was appropriate that someone should come to The Last Remnant's defense. It's my understanding that your in-box isn't exactly filled to the brim with letters, but if this one is just one too many, you have my apologies. Now...
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Ethan
You don't have to apologize to me for over-filling my inbox at any rate. I have no moral qualms with not letting every single letter make it into the column.
What then would you folks strive for?
Only brilliance and hilarity (intentional or not) should make it into this fine column. At any rate, I'm all for defending games for getting a terrible rap whether or not I particularly have an opinion. I don't in this case, but I'm interested in yours.
It's worth noting that I may be partial to the defense of hated media because of my unabashed defense of the amazing new Star Wars trilogy which so many fools love to hate because it's the cool thing to do.
BUT PLEASE CONTINUE...
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Despite all my wariness, I decided to buy TLR anyway. On a whim. Most of the bad reviews I read about the game, curiously, only enhanced my interest in it - mostly because a majority of the criticism came down solely on the game's embarrassing technical oversights. Most of them ignored other elements like story and music and battle system; some even praised them outright. Thus my purchase.
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Ethan
Fair enough. In fact I have a similar anecdote. I had absolutely no interest in Infinite Undiscovery, but a lukewarm video review for it actually made me consider buying it. I trust Adriaan, however, and let his review sway me from that decision.
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I'll tell it to you straight, Oliver: It's all true. TLR is marred by technical issues such as texture pop-in, in-battle stuttering and slowdown, and numerous loading screens. It's also true that most of these issues can be lessened by copying the game onto your 360's hard drive via the NXE's new game install feature. From personal experience, I can tell you that the HDD install mitigated all these technical problems to such a degree that they were very manageable.
Indeed, hearing about the HDD install option is the only reason I took a chance on the game at all
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Ethan
I know for a fact that Oliver bought this game and then returned it before even opening it, so hearing you say all that might ease his mind even more.
Other than that I don't really have much to add, I just wanted to give you the chance to defend the game, which you didn't entirely do.
Do you any of you readers actually like The Last Remnant? E-mail me and tell me about it! I may just give you the forum to properly defend the title. But please keep it at a reasonable length!
I will also take this opportunity to say that if for nothing else, the "New XBox Experience" is fantastic for the installation feature. It's nice to be able to turn off my 360 without feeling like I just powered down the tractor beam in the Death Star.
...must be a Star Wars kinda day...
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In which Ethos continues the tradition of pasting IRC conversations
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[17:36] Kiro> Also, who thinks Home is going to rock :O
[17:36] @Ethos> No one.
[17:36] Kiro> Oh good, I was worried.
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Ethan
Just needed to put that out there.
Again, disagree? If you haven't e-mailed me yet, then here's another opportunity!
Wanna ask a question via IRC? I seem to be making a habit of stealing material from the chat room, so take your chances!
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Huttah!
See! Look at those short letters! I love it! I'm with whoever that person was who wrote Oliver last week. More letters and shorter letters. I believe in you folks, it's why I do so much for you guys.
Speaking of, I should probably finish a review or make a Head To Head or something. What are you guys playing? Satisfied with this year's Christmas rush of games? Are you as INCREDIBLY EXCITED about the release of Prince of Persia as I am? If there's one thing Oliver and I can truly agree upon, it's that nothing looks more amazing than that game.
That's all for now, hopefully see you all in another fortnight!
_ethos
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1. Prince of Persia (SO CLOSE)
2. Anything Kingdom Hearts
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4. Final Fantasy XIII
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