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Kupo
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| January 13th, 2012 |
01/13- 12:00PM EST
Welcome to another edition of Q&A. I've
only got one guess at my top five Zelda games
from the last week. Are people finding this
too difficult? I'll give you all another
week or two before I post another clue. Keep
guessing and maybe you'll awaken upon the
answer!
On to the letters and tweets...
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Dungeons and ... 5th
Edition Already?
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@AskWheels Your thoughts on the new edition
of D&D?
@FowlSorcerous
Wheels
Wait,
seriously? They're releasing a
new version of Dungeons
and Dragons already? I
don't even know what to say. I
know there's been a major divide
between 3.5 and 4th editions (my
friends and I stuck with 3.5),
but are they sure a 5th edition
so soon isn't just going to
divide players further? Besides,
I don't really care to buy any
new books. I've got a bunch of
fun 3.5 books that I'd like to
be able to keep using. It's just
too soon. If 4th Edition isn't
doing well or something, then
maybe it wasn't ready to be
released to begin with? I dunno,
I just have a bad feeling about
the whole thing. I'm gong to
have to wait and see what the
final product is like. It hasn't
even been four years since 4th
edition was released though, so
this just leaves me with the
impression that they think they
messed up with 4th edition. Oh
well, who am I to say anything,
I don't even know any of the new
rules. Regardless, I hope
whatever comes out of this is a
positive turn for roleplayers
everywhere.
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@AskWheels Dear Wheels,
compare an RPG of your choice to a fruit of
your choice. Go. :D
@Severinmira
Wheels
Fruit?
Dang it, I was going to say I
could compare Unlimited
Saga
to an onion. Alright, try
this on for size: Unlimited
Saga is like a Coconut.
Large and heavy, and a bit
difficult to pick. What's even
harder is getting the dang thing
open. However, if you can manage
to get the fruit open, your
prize is an extremely tasty
treat. Is it worth the effort?
Probably not, but there
certainly is juicy fruit to be
had if you put the effort into
it. That is pretty much Unlimited
Saga in a nutshell!
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Hey Wheels,
How is the new year treating you so far? I
know I promised last time to write in more
often but I did just the opposite. So I'm
sorry man, I hope to write in more often but
I guess promising it isn't gonna help here
haha.
Wheels
No
worries! Just write in whenever
you can. My new year has been
great so far! Been playing Dark
Souls a lot even though
I've already finished it once,
and I've even been playing some
Mega Man Legends
as well as Borderlands
of all things. Hope your new
year has been good as well!
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Anyway, on to the questions! I thought just
to cover some hot topics. Number 5 totally
has my interest, since I'm a sucker for
first person dungeoncrawlers!
So, will
Western developers ever return to first
person dungeon crawlers?
No, I don't think so. It really has become a
"Japanese thing" (horrible choice of words I
know. I can't really stand the Japan/Western
RPG divide myself but understand this divide
is usefull when talking about games with
distinct features). The Wizardry
IP, a WRPG classic is now partially or
totally owned by by Acquire if I'm not
mistaken. As long as they put out games I'm
ok with it.
Labyrinth of Lost Souls on PSN was
a very nice effort and I had loads of fun
with it. It's just a shame that we don't get
the DS games localised. Because really, the
(3)DS seems to be made for the genre,
something Etrian
Odyssey and Shin Megami
Tensei: Strange Journey, kind of
prove. I love those games and would really
love if the genre would be brought back to
its former glory.
Speaking of first person dungeon crawlers,
do you have any personal favourites you can
recommend or are you not that familiair with
the genre? Know any good first person
dungeoncrawlers nobody knows of but are
must-plays?? Any system is ok by me!
Wheels
I
have a tough time with Labyrinth
of Lost Souls. It's not
bad, but it's lacking a lot of
the modern features that Etrian
Odyssey has. I also
have it on my iPhone, but it's
really tough to control that
version! Anyway, I'd have to
agree with you. I think games
like Skyrim have
kind of replaced the market that
games like Eye
of the Beholder once
served. The DS and 3DS are
perfect for them however, so I
hope Japan's interest in the
sub-genre continues!
I'm not sure I know of any first
person dungeon crawlers nobody
knows about, unless you count Shining
the Holy Ark. My
personal favorite of the
sub-genre, its a long and
challenging game that had a
decent graphical style despite
being on the Sega Saturn. I
can't say the graphics have
exactly aged well but it's still
an amazing game if you can get
ahold of a copy. Other than
that, I'd say the Eye
of the Beholder games,
while not unknown, are must
plays. What are your favorite
less known first person dungeon
crawlers?
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What RPGs
do you want to see get an HD update?
I thought about this for a while, and first,
I would like to say that concerning HD
updates, I'm totally into the idea if games
get the attention they deserve. No lazy
upscaling, but rather a remake or something
like that. I would like to see Shadow Hearts,
SH:
Covenant and SH: From the
New World, with Koudelka
as a bonus. These games had a funny,
intriguing and deep story all at the same
time. Awesome art direction that truly
deserves to be experienced in HD I think.
And of course, the ring-battlesystem is
really great, rewarding and addictive.
That said, how do you feel about HD updates?
What does a HD update have to
accomplish (in terms of upscaling, remake,
contents etc.) to be justified? Are there
any games you think do not deserve an HD
update?
Wheels
I've
actually never played any of the
Shadow Hearts
games, so I'd like to see that
as well so I can give them a
try. They always seemed
interesting and I'm not sure
what held me back from giving
them a try. As far as HD updates
go, I'm all for them as long as
they are moderately priced, or
bundled in a collection of
several games. For example,
Sony's HD collections usually
come with at least three games,
and are priced well below that
of normal PS3 games. I don't
look for the actual games to do
much other than a fresh coat of
paint. Not everyone can do an
update to the lengths of say Ocarina
of Time 3D. Extras are
always nice, for example the Ico
and Shadow of the Colossus collection
comes with free PS3 themes and
some other fun stuff.
As far as any games that do not
deserve an HD update (sticking
to RPGs so I don't complain
about Halo's
recent HD update), I'd have to
say a lot of 2D RPGs. If you
look at the updates to the likes
of Final
Fantasy I & II for
PSP, I think the sprites lose a
bit of character in trying to
update them. Sometimes the
original graphics are what fit
the game best. Also we need not
ever have an HD version of Star
Ocean 3.
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Will Dark
Souls continue to raise FROM Software's
profile, or will it fade back to niche
status?
I hope their profile gets raised, but I fear
the worst. Although Demon's Souls
and Dark
Souls have been pretty huge hits,
they are and remain typical gamers games. I
don't think their profile can get raised any
more. I do hope so though. I would love to
see the King's
Field game make a successful
return! Talking about the King's Field
series, ever played a game from these first
person RPG series? Be sure to check some
videos of these games if you are into the Souls'
games. Such a great atmosphere!
And with this last question returning to the
subject of first person RPG's, I finish this
letter!
Cheers, and I'll try to write in sooner (no
promises though, since I tend to break them
and I feel horrible about that!)
Peter/7threst
Wheels
King's
Field was actually one
of the very earliest PS1 games I
played. Sadly, it was just a
rental so I never spent a huge
amount of time with it. I'd like
to go back and give it some more
time, despite the aged graphics.
I think an RPG like that would
probably be welcome in the
market given how popular Skyrim
is. We shall see what's
next from FROM Software (after Armored
Core V).
Good to hear from you again!
I'll tweet you my thoughts about
King's Field
if I pick it up again.
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Connection Challenge Time
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Hey Wheels,
First off, another guess, I suppose.
<list ommitted>
Wheels
Negative. Looks like I may have to
give some black and white hints at
people, or no one is ever going to
awaken upon the answer!
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Next off, I really have to agree with Cara
on Chrono
Cross having the best ever music
ever created for an RPG ever (is that enough
evers?)
Wheels
It really is quite the brilliant
soundtrack. I think even people who
absolutely despise the game would
have to admit to that.
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I mean, it's far from my favourite game, it
wouldn't even make it in the top 20, I
think, but the music... was just...
Wheels
That proves my point right there.
Yeah, the music was quite amazing. I
have some issue with the battle
theme, but its more to do with
hearing it too much than it is the
quality of the theme itself.
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I will disagree with you however... That
space ship will not be carrying that song.
No sir! It will carry over (Dream
of the Shore Bordering Another World).
That song can almost make me cry.
Wheels
While that is technically the better
song, by a long shot, don't you
think it's a bit of a depressing
one? I'd prefer we send some
positive vibes into space!
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All Star Final
Fantasy, huh? Nice one. It seems
our tastes in Final Fantasy are very
much alike. I very much loved FF XII
and of course VI is my all time
favourite. I wouldn't mind it to be placed
in Ivalice, but only in the Final Fantasy
Tactics : War of the Lions one, not
the FF
XII one. Just a tad less
technological than FF VI, maybe a little more
than Tactics...
Oh
well...
Wheels
I'd be fine with the Ivalice of Final
Fantasy Tactics' time
period. There's a lot more they
could do with the setting, so
there's lots of possibilities.
Perhaps have the story involve
rediscovering airship technology? So
many different possibilities, not
enough time!
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So, a story that feels like FF VI,
with a battle system and general art style
of FF XII,
but set in a (much less technologically
advanced) world like that of FF Tactics'
Ivalice. And just a tad less
complicated than Tactics, mind you.
Musically, it would have to be the a team
effort between Iwata, Sakimoto, Uematsu and
of course Mitsuda.
Wheels
Sounds good by me! That's pretty
darn close to my All Star Final
Fantasy so I'd be more than
happy to take it. VI
is my all time favorite as well, and
I love XII, so I'd love
to see some kind of amazing
combination of the two. Stranger
things have happened! Also your
musical team is even better than
mine.
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So, I have been working extremely hard on
that silly tabletop RPG thing I call Chronicles
and I can send you a link with a playable
test version soonish! But, I have been
stalled (and inspired) a little by an older
game I found in this little treasure trove
of a game store I found. They had all sorts
of PS2 RPGs that I had never been able to
find before. I told you this before, Europe
isn't exactly kind with RPG releases...
Wheels
Yes! Though thankfully that seems to
be turning the other way now. Let's
see what gems you found..
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Valkyrie
Profile 2 : Silmeria
My my, what a nice game. Have you any
experience with it? The gameplay is
extremely refreshing... Never expected a
platformer, and the battle system is fast
and furious, just the way I like it
nowadays. The Einherjar thing is pretty cool
too. The scenery is simply jawdropping.
Since you can only go left or right, they
could really go to town on the things you
COULD see, and they did. Truly beautiful!
The only gripe is the voice acting, which is
pretty bad, but I can live with that. I
played Covenant
of the Plume a little but thought
it an extrehemely hard game, and the moral
choices too much for me to make. I might get
back to it after I finish Silmeria.
I am enjoying it greatly. Once I finish it,
I am definitely heading back to that store,
buy myself another PS2 game... It has aged
well enough to be considered old school now,
and that's the only way I roll!
Wheels
I don't have much experience with Valkyrie
Profile 2, other than
knowing it shares staff with the
team behind my favorite game in
recent years, Resonance
of Fate. I plan to play it
after finally playing the original.
I have played a bit of Covenant
of the Plume which I
thought had a very interesting
concept. Struggle through the game,
or murder characters to make it
easier? Such a nasty choice. There's
plenty of classics on the PS2 so I'm
sure you'll find some more on your
return visit!
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And on that piracy thing... I can just say
this... “Ho ho ho, a pirate's life for me!”
How else can I play obscure Japanese SNES
games that only recently got translated
through the HEINOUS act of piracy? No but
seriously... I own 3 different copies of Final Fantasy
VI, two copies of Chrono Trigger,
two copies of Breath of Fire, but if
the creators can't be arsed to make it
possible for me to buy a legitimate copy, I
will have no other choice. Three of those
copies are in fact US, which is officially
illegal as well, but what can I do? There, I
said it.
Cheers,
Daniel Brouwer
Wheels
Is importing a US copy really
illegal? Anyway the kind of "piracy"
you're talking about is a pretty
gray area, so I wouldn't feel bad at
all. Especially when region locks
are involved. I just thing region
locking is really stupid, especially
when you don't plan on releasing a
game in all regions. Why cut away
those import sales? Ordering things
from other countries is so easy now
so I just don't get the point of
companies doing that, and I'm glad
Sony at least has refrained from
doing so. Why give players a reason
to hack your consoles? Anyway, as
always, thank you for the letter, I
look forward to seeing that test
version of Chronicles!
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That's it for this week, get those Zelda guesses
in!
See you next week... (did I just completely
reuse last week's outro?)
-Wheels
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What I can't wait for:
1. Mass Effect 3
2. Tales of Graces F
3. Final Fantasy XIII-2
4. Grand Knights History
5. Tales of the Abyss 3D
On my Playlist:
1. Mega Man music
2. Mega Man X music
3. Zelda music
Hot Topics:
1. With Tales Studio no longer a separate
entity, what will this mean for the series?
2. How do you think XSEED was able to succeed
with Falcom games where others failed?
3. What franchise needs an RPG?
4. What RPGs do you NOT want to see get an HD
update?
5. Will Western developers ever return to expand
beyond typical fantasy and sci-fi settings?
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