Erika Wolfraven - 17:39 EST

WELL HELLO THERE! Here I am for my second run at usurping-- ahem-- borrowing the column from Matt. I wanted to start by offering greetings to all from Backlog Land, a place I know most of us who read this column have visited, and many of us currently inhabit. However, I've developed a theory that suggests that Q&A is actually in cahoots with Backlog Land. You see, since I began reading this column my backlog of games has increased dramatically. Granted, part of the blame lies on the used game store which I recently discovered is located ten minutes's walk from my office. However, this store wouldn't be such a problem if I didn't keep reading about games here which make me think "Hmm... I should try that one out for myself..." So you see the store is the enabler, but Q&A is the evil temptress keeping me forever shackled in the land of never-ending backlog!

In the past couple of weeks I've pulled Vagrant Story, LoZ: Wind Waker, Dark Cloud, and Mario Sunshine (not an RPG, but I've been wanting to try it since I got my GC last year) out of the $9.99 bin. As if the ever-present temptation of Ebay wasn't enough! But whenever I read a letter about a series I haven't tried I can't help but want to give it a whirl to find out whether or not I agree. This is in addition to the more current games which I need to play like Xenosaga II and Suikoden V. And let's not even talk about the slew of great games coming out later this year! It never ends!

Hey Matt,

Something I've often wondered about is how to correctly pronounce video game characters' names. All too often, I'll be playing a game and settle on one pronunciation, only to hear it spoken a different way in a later game that features voice acting. I know many people were surprised to hear that Tidus' name is pronounced "Tee-dus" in Kingdom Hearts. Since I had heard his name pronounced that way in a FFX trailer, it didn't come as much of a surprise to me. The entry on Tidus in Wikipedia explains that his Japanese name is pronounced "Teeda," therefore carrying over to English.

However, in the same game, I was shocked to learn that Yuffie is pronounced "Yoo-fie." Who would have thought? I've also always wondered about Cait Sith. Turns out his name is Gaelic, making it pronounced "caught shee." So I guess the rule is that they're spoken the way they would be in their source language. Voice acting is certainly a help these days, but there still reamains many names I'm unsure of. Probably the two biggest for me, especially when I was younger, are Sabin and Celes from FFVI. I've settled on "Say-bin" and "Sell-ess," but I'm probably wrong.

It always feels a little depressing when you realize you were calling somebody by the wrong name, even if they are a fictional character. Since names are drawn from every language, it makes it hard to really learn any solid rules. However, it is pretty interesting to see where they come from. Anyway, I was just wondering your take on this issue. Any names you've had set in your mind before learning what they really are?

Q&A is doing great, keep up the good work!
Chris

Actually yes I have a recent example. Sadly it's not even an exotic name. In Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance, which I polished off just last month, there's a character called "Marcia". To this day I still can't help but want to say it "Mar-see-uh", but it's my understanding that the name is usually pronounced "Marsha". So yeah forget foreign language names, I'm still struggling with the English ones! Really, though, I guess I don't feel that it matters too much in games that don't include voice acting, especially when the names are made-up ones (unlike "Marcia"-- drat drat!).

Oy! Matt!

After running all the virus and spyware-detection programs I have available, along with downloading a couple of new ones, I have determined that I have no idea what I'm doing. A friend guided me to a handy program called HijackThis spotlighting every program currently running on my computer - but can't tell me what program is doing this horrible thing to my system and many Google searches later I am forced to call in professional help. Yes, there are programs running that could be the culprit(s), but they frequently have the same names as legitimate Windows programs the removal of which would be disastrous to my system. Perhaps a running of the computer in Safe Mode (which I inexplicably forgot about until reminded by another friend) will help. Perhaps Microsoft's help service will not strand me on the line with someone in Bulgaria whose English is not fluent. And if neither suffices, 'twill be time to contemplate the dire option of reformatting. For further reference, the toolbar does not freeze until I attempt access of My Computer. Whereupon I'll usually get the endless hourglass sign to indicate loading, after which My Computer freezes and when removed from the desktop produces the frozen toolbar.

I constantly talk about Saturn titles because they're on my mind more than most lately. My Saturn backlog is larger than that for any other system and I want to whittle it down a bit. Dragon Force should be played by every RPGamer who enjoys tactical/strategy titles even the slightest. I think my feelings on Shining Force III have been made clear by this time; I'll just say that I consider it better than II and leave it there. Panzer Dragoon Saga is a beautiful example of a shooter/RPG hybrid that really shouldn't work anywhere near as well as it does (I heard rumours from Sega of a possible followup that was put on ice after Panzer Dragoon Orta on Xbox didn't sell very well. Sad).

There are some other titles in English on the Saturn that I think are worthwhile however. Guardian Heroes is another odd meshing of genres, a beat-em-up with magic and experience. I can't properly classify it as an RPG but it's very different from any other beat-em-up I've played. Albert Odyssey doesn't play as anything spectacular, standard turn-based combat that would've been very pretty on the SNES, but was granted a very amusing translation by Working Designs that elevates it to 'memorable' in my mind. Shining the Holy Ark I thought to be much better than Shining in the Darkness, its playstyle progenitor on the Genesis, the latter of which I played about an hour of before deciding to resell on eBay. I would append Mystaria to this list (vaguely Shining Force-like playstyle) but it bored me after a few hours and I haven't picked it up since. I would also append Iron Storm, another Working Designs-published title that allows deep strategic fighting in World War II, but I still haven't devoted the necessary time to make a comprehensive assessment.

Grandia. You haven't mentioned playing this one, but I have heard that Sony's version of the game was poorly ported. Thoughts? I certainly don't plan on purchasing the Saturn version of this one when a perfectly servicable English translation was made - I just wondered how much English speakers were gypped again.

Is it possible to use pop music in an RPG context? This is one of many odd thoughts banging around my head lately. Certainly, to fight against Zeromus in FFIV to the tune of something by Black Sabbath would alter it massively. Everybody, pick a good song for final bosses! If we're going the ironic route then some disco would really make for a good counterpoint! "He's So Shy;" "Shake Your Groove Thing;" "You Make Me Feel Mighty Real;" "You Should Be Dancing;" "Macho Man;" "Heart of Glass;" ah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! "Shakes head back and forth repeatedly;" wow. What was I thinking? That came out of nowhere and should stay there, apparently.

Celes in FFVI was mentioned recently, and I must say that in my (either 4 or 5) playthroughs of the title have never yet managed to keep Cid alive. Am I just a terrible fisher? Or is it an urban legend, only slightly less traumatic than the one with the hook on the car door?

On that sort of thinking: Chrono Trigger is great. Where did you leave off in the playthrough, during the portion at which the player can run about on any number of missions for a time? Best go back and finish it when able, for then you can try to find all the endings in New Game+. Good luck doing it without an online hand....

Is character design an issue for you, ever? I refer most specifically towards the artwork for any given character, although how the character looks on the field can also be a factor. My least favorite aspect of Grandia II has to be the character artwork and readings of reviews in the past seem to indicate I was not alone here. Currently in Dragon Force 2 I find myself picking the warriors who fight in my army just because of their looks (although when I have over 50 warriors at less than the halfway point some discretion must be used regardless).

On another tangentially related note; where is it written that...

This goes on? You're a crazy madman! I have to let Erika have a turn, but I'll pick up the rest of it... down the page a ways.

*gasps for air*

We will be back... after these messages?

Yes, the days get nothing but shorter from here. I'm looking forward to the nice cool air. In fact, a cold front is moving through tomorrow, we're down to a high of 108 degrees tomorrow. And I mean that literally, we're actually DOWN to a high of 108. It's already been 110 or more a half dozen times this year. At least it's a dry heat, and at least it's 60 degrees in the winter.

Well, Erika, I suppose it's your turn to weigh on on the latest popular topics. So, I'll fire away:

Are you more into gameplay or story? What is your best example of your favorite?

The eternal Final Fantasy debate: FFVII, great or overrated? FFX, same question. FFXII, looks great or what the heck are they doing?

And a random one: If you were making your own RPG, what parts of various games would you like to borrow/be inspired by? I'm thinking the open world of DQVIII paired with the character individuality of FFIV with the historical scope of Shadow Hearts: Covenant paired with the graphical quality of FFXII paired with the humor of Lunar. Plus, the minor detail of an epic plot.

Anyhoo, time for Sock!

236) D. Lufia II (although I debate the GS430 being sexy. The one I've been in was kind of blocky, although the A/C vents were cool in how they panned back and forth)

237) D. Sebastian Dior

Hope I got this in in time...

Thanks, both of you!
BigWook

And thank you for the great questions! I got to talk about a slew of my favourite games and what's better than that?

(continued from above)...heroes of Japanese-made RPGs must have the spiky hairdo? If I meet someone on the street with spiky hair, I do not assume heroic potential exists beneath. Instead I assume either that I am dealing with a person who wants to be perceived as a 'punk' (as opposed to a true punk - read this link ) or I am looking at someone who does not have the ability to wash his or her hair regularly. I am sure this is not the impression Japanese artists (and the Westerners who have influenced or been influenced by them) wished to convey, that heroes are consistently lacking the ability to bathe regularly. But when the hero frequently appears to be wearing the same outfit through the entire adventure, AND his hair is a disgusting, unsightly mess, what else is one to make of it? Let alone when the entire party is without a chance to bathe... but this is one reason to be glad games don't come with smells for the player to experience along with the sights and sounds.

RoboCop versus Terminator... those were the days. Filmwise it is undeniable that the Terminator trilogy beats the crap out of RoboCop (1 good RoboCop versus three good Terminators - if you liked RoboCop 2 I don't understand you). Gamewise neither of them translates to RPG particularly well, with Terminator being a better fit just by virtue of the sheer amount of Skynet hardware roaming the earth in, what was is, 2029? The versus aspect was actually explored in two mediums I've dealt with though; there was a Dark Horse comic miniseries about ten years ago postulating that RoboCop's fusion of human with machine was the spark that led to Skynet's gaining of sentience. whereupon RoboCop was attacked by three Terminators determined to make him servile. RoboCop actually triumphed over all three and had determined to destroy himself rather than let the future come to pass, except Skynet cheated and sent two more Terminators (one a freaky spider-modeled affair) after a badly damaged RoboCop. It then led to the future where RoboCop had preserved something of himself despite Skynet's efforts to rid the last of his humanity from the system and he managed to regain physical form and fight with the human resistance... been awhile since I read this so my recall isn't perfect. And there was the game on Genesis and SNES which was entertaining to the me of 12 years ago while being notable for presenting a Terminator as a boss three levels BEFORE ED-209 showed up. ED-209 took a long time to bring down, too, for such a stupid robot.

Portables. A friend of mine is currently lamenting his overhasty purchase of a PSP last year. While a sometime-RPGamer, he's not one who would peruse RPGamer. Thus his use of the device is limited to Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories and probably the upcoming Metal Gear Solid game, the title of which escapes me (he also uses the PSP to transfer TV programs onto and watch in short bursts - but does not buy UMD movies). His roommate just offered him 5 DS games and the wi-fi adaptor for $30, which he is finding an impossible offer to turn down. This in turn requires that he own a DS to enjoy these items, and compiling a list of DS titles has in turn driven him far from the necessary activity of studying for economics finals. Poor fellow.

That didn't deal with me at all, did it? Anyway, if I were to buy a new portable it would be the DS. And watching movies on the PSP seems like far more eyeglass-prescription-altering pain than it's worth. Seems Sony made an overhasty move with the UMD....

All interested in George Carlin from my mentions and Matt's familiarity with his very un-PC brand of humor should check the original performances. They lose a LOT in translation to text.

An author I read quite regularly is Harry Turtledove, whose area of expertise is historical fiction - frequently alternative historical fiction. For those not familiar, this involves taking an event in history, changing it, and following the result. This brand of thinking seems to possess excellent potential for transition into the RPG realm. Have the Nazis win, and be a party of people who are either marked for slavery or extermination under Hitler's dogma fight against the swastika-ridden world! Have Stalin not be so timid, conquer Europe for the forces of the proletariat everywhere, and be people who still believe in the capitalist system coming forth to unfurl the red flag! Have Pol Pot be ambitious in addition to completely insane, conquering the entire southeastern Asian landmass, and stop his lunatic ambitions to revert everyone's lifestyle to the Dark Ages! Mao Zedong wasn't satisfied with Communism in China and tried to conquer the whole of Asia! Napoleon beat Russia and Great Britain, becoming an indomitable titan! Aaron Burr succeeded in his plot to fracture the U.S. by allying with Spain, and must be brought down in the aftermath of the War of 1812! Emperor Pedro II of Brazil did not abdicate, bringing a civil war in Brazil that spread throughout South America and necessitates brave adventurers to bring it to a close!

Of course Turtledove's books don't really follow the scenarios I just threw out fancifully, and depend upon the actions of thousands if not millions in armies to enact goals - just like real life where one person against a gun is usually dead. His current series deals with the CSA defeating the USA in 1862, then defeating it again in 1881 with the aid of Great Britain and France, causing the USA to make fast friends with France's bitter enemy, Germany. 1914 comes along and US troops invade the CSA and Canada, eventually winning after three very ugly, very bloody years of war. Same with Germany, where Russia, France and Britain all go down. It's currently up to the winter of 1943 with a Confederate revenge invasion of the US coming to grief in Pennsylvania after splitting the US in half via Ohio, and rebellions ripping through occupied Canada while the Confederates are pursuing a Final Solution-esque activity against the people they blame for everything (guess what group this might be...). I just cut nearly 5000 pages of material down to a paragraph; is it any wonder it reads oddly? But that precise scenario doesn't make for a good RPG unless tinkered with quite a bit or I'm missing something important.

Even by my standards, this one's kinda verbose. The reasoning is twofold: I'm not sure how long it will be before I can use the computer to its fullest again, and in a week I'm going to Disneyland, so no messages may be forthcoming for many days (dull hurrah from the glazed readers). I anticipate no significant RPG playing while at Disneyland. So sorry.

SOCK speculation: 222)a. 223)b.

My internet browser is currently the only open window, eliminating my...

OK, actually, why don't we break it off there and continue it in a little while! Consider it another Erikammercial break, yes?

*insert Gilette ULTRA SEVENTEEN seventeen-bladed shaving "system" advertisement and accompanying background music*

Hi Matt, Ed wrote a well thought out letter recently about why people shouldn't use the term "overrated", and no one seemed to listen. "Overrated" isn't an opinion word, it's an insult. When you say, "FFVII is overrated" you're not saying FFVII is bad, you're saying anyone who rates FFVII highly is stupid. That is insulting and untrue no matter how many times or in what context you say it.

I dislike FFVIII and feel FFX-2 was a complete waste of code, but it's perfectly ok if other people like those games. The fact that I don't like those games doesn't make me smarter than those that do; it just makes me different from them. For example, the part of FFX-2 I hated the most was the battle system. I felt combat oversimplified and gimmicky, and that the costumes were mostly meaningless fan-service born of simple laziness. Others probably feel differently. So what! That's what gaming is all about. Finding the things you like and things you hate.

So please people, let's keep making constructive criticsm and stop taking "overrated" shots at each other.

cap

You may well be preaching to the choir around here. I've only been reading the column for the past six months, but I've found it to be one of the most civilized forums around. Matt's kept the place pretty clean and I think the fact that we can talk about potentially dicey issues like "overratedness", girls in games, or console wars (things which can lead to flame wars in less well-maintained forums) is testament to the quality of this column.

.......

No, Matt didn't offer me extra SOCK points to say all that. Why do you ask?

0:-)

(continued from above) ...incentive to delay the pain. And every other program that I have closed hasn't disappeared, but instead has an endless hourglass over it whenever I move the cursor there... oog.

Have you considered sunscreen when outdoors? Melanoma is nothing to take lightly.

[In addendum, nine days later:] The computer difficulty has seemingly resolved itself, and it was linked to some unfortunate file on my external drive anyway. The first English Fire Emblem I will wax poetic about some other time when I am freer to write, given the hours I spent on it: but I will say that if you have managed reasonably few resets thus far in The Sacred Stones the first English Fire Emblem will require more: it was harder. Oh, and you have to play The Sacred Stones again for the different tangent on the story you'll get by either Eirika or Ephraim's path from chapter 9 (or maybe not, but I certainly did and the differences are quite noticable particularly in the middle portion of the game). Disneyland is very enjoyable, although quite crowded and hot in the middle of the day; thus the brief break now.

It's good to hear that your issues have been smoothed over! You're lucky that things didn't just turn uglier all of a sudden, because that's what happened with me once; things started going crazy, and then my system decided to, uh, reformat itself (essentially) before I had the chance to do anything about it. It was a grievous loss, but I have learned a lesson.

I've loved Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones so far; it's a game that is absolutely oozing with replay value, and it makes me delightfully woozy whenever I think of it. It's gotten to the point where I'm actually applying it to my real day-to-day activities, which is just friggin' weird. For instance, when I was doing some programming for my thesis last night, I'd have the destinyish "Player Turn" music playing through my head as I'd tweak my C++ code and write new lines, etc; but then I'd hit "COMPILE" and then the music in my head would change to the "Enemy Turn" music, which would conclude when the Compiler finished, returning the 2958235-or-so errors in my work. The mind-music would then return to the "Player Turn" theme once again, as I tried to make corrections, and so on. Computer, evil! Matt, good! I hate programming! I love Fire Emblem!

JuMeSyn, you are the most long-winded writer-inner I've ever known. However, you write a mean letter, and I hope you take the (massive amount of) time to do so again sometime soon!

Anyway saw this topic in the forum and thought I would ask you here! What would be your 6 member party if you could use any RPG character from any RPG!

Mine

(Team 1)
Precis (Star Ocean 2) (Hard Hitting Fighter)
Humphery (Suikoden) (Defence Machine)
Link (LOZ) (Swordsman Extreme)

Yuna (FF10) (Healer/Summoner)
Vivi (FF9) (Black Mage)
Kid (ChronoCross) (Theif)

Bainick, the dual weiding half shouvles. Slash and Bash my way to Victory

Thanks for the cool question! I had fun running through my mental rolodex of characters and trying to come up with a few interesting names to add to the party.

I've come to expect great things from Erika, and she certainly delivered today! I hope you all enjoyed reading what she had to say, and I only hope that we'll get the chance to see more from her again one day. Thanks for a job very well done!

***Answers to June 22nd's Questions***

#236. d) Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals - 350 points (Yes, it's Lexis! Lexis Shaia!)

#237. d) Sebastian Dior - 330 points/660 for Bucket (Thanks for the submission!!)

***Today's New Questions***

#238: Which of the following attacks would be 4x as effective as usual against a Torkoal? (350 points)

a) Earthquake
b) Ice Beam
c) Focus Punch
d) Muddy Water
e) None of the above

And... as of today, SOCK has expanded enough that it's time to also expand the Top Scoreboard! Now, the top THIRTY-FIVE will be featured on the board, all susceptible to item use as well. If you have a problem with that, too bad for you!

• none to speak of!

That's all for this week! I know that there is a lot more mail waiting to be answered, so if you're one of the people eagerly awaiting an appearance in Q&A, just be patient and hopefully I'll get around to it next Tuesday. Get involved in the SOCK if you haven't thought to yet, because there are some really cool prizes on the line, and anyone can win them, even if you're just starting now; believe me.

If you'd rather just keep reading the column for the sake of reading, then of course that's fine too! I only hope that you'll join me again next week as I continue to answer your very best questions. Until then, have a great weekend.

***Matt is sick of programming! *barfs*