Matt Demers - 22:45 EST

I'VE DONE IT! I've lasted for an entire year as an official RPGamer Q&A host, and what a ride it has been. After winning that little competition, I wasn't too sure that I'd be cut out for the job, but as it turns out, I guess things have gone all right!

Let's look at how this column has changed over the past year, shall we? When I walked in here, I decided to introduce a few personal touches. Some of the ideas were decent, and others were, well, kind of stupid. Does anybody remember the random nonsensical cookie recipes I used to have in the right-hand sidebar? Coming up with those became such a chore, and a bore, that I decided to axe them altogether.

SOCK, of course, also turns one year old next Tuesday. Yes, I've been running this competition, frighteningly, for more than 4% of my entire lifespan-to-date now, but it's been a lot of fun! It was so cute in the beginning, though, wasn't it? Questions were worth as little as 5 points, and the consolation points were a measly 2! Almost all of the questions at the beginning were completely arbitrary as well; can you imagine me asking you guys "What is my middle name?" now? What a joke. Prizes were obtained at point benchmarks instead of items, and you didn't have to spend points to obtain them; they only consisted of cookie recipes and co-hostings, generally. Oh, there WAS that horribly embarrassing chipmunk-sped-up Final Fantasy soundtrack that I recorded, if anybody remembers that. What in the hell was I thinking?

In any case, the contest has grown and evolved with the rest of the column, which I've been able to keep up pretty well, despite my ability to keep up some sort of social life, academic woes, and trips to nameless video game expositions. This column has really grown on me in the last year, and it's hard to imagine not being in charge of my half. It gives me a chance to escape from the grips of reality for a few hours every day in order to be excited about one area that I'm really passionate about: RPGs. And my belief is that there hasn't really been a more exciting time than the present.

Here's to another year!!

Howdy Matt,

I'm very excited about Contact for the DS. I don't quite get the same vibe as I did from Earthbound, but trailers for the game highlight its quirkiness. So,while it won't be the EXACT same, I'm hoping we'll see the start of a great new series! Plus, if it does become a series, I think we'll see developers creatively adapt modern pop culture into the games. I guess we'll have to see! What do you think: new classic or Earthbound clone - or both?

Some other games that I'm looking forward to playing are VP: Silmeria and Okami. Silmeria has received pretty good reviews so far (especially here at RPGamer.com); the only complaints I have heard are that dungeons are flat and two-dimensional at times, treasure chests can be hard to find without the mini-map, and some of the characters' voices are recycled. That's pretty minimal.

I plan to use plot-only characters anyway, so I'm not worried. I think it should be fun; what do you think?

Okami is also pretty, and I can vouch for that since I saw my friend playing it. Transition to and from battle mode is seemless; thank goodness, since graphically-taxing games usually have higher load times to match. Battles are also fast-paced and enjoyable. The gameplay itself is a LOT like the Zelda series on Nintendo 64 - run around, fight bad guys, help people, enjoy their unique personalities and do side quests - and enjoy the lovely hand-drawn scenery. The "magic brush" is well-implemented; they really did come up with clever ways to help the heroine get through the game.

I won't ruin what I've seen, but Okami is DEFINITELY worth a rent.

SOCK!:
#330: E (IceBolt)
#331: C ("The Rainbow Connection")

Toodles,
- waterfiend

It sounds like a neat little game, that Okami, and I know for a fact that some other readers have glowing things to say about it too. Of course, I think your description of Zelda could pretty well fit just about any non-sports, non-racing, non-puzzle, non-cooking mama games out there.

Anyhow, fiend of water... thanks for your lovin'. I hope to hear from you again soon!

Hi King Slime Matt,

First I would like to start my letter by giving kudos to all people who are trying to get the 'old generation' RPG. It seem that more and more 'New RPGamer' are trying to play the old ones (not necessrally the remakes one but the original too) without giving a though about the outdated graphics. As an old-school RPGamer, I am delighted to hear this. I for myself, remember the excitement when I finally got to beat the Dragonlord in DW1, (on the NES plz), and I was exited when my generic fighter (who had only a 4-letter name) turned into a knight in the original FF. Heck, I was even scared when I first took a look at Ganon. Does that mean that we, old-school, are finally adknowledged as the 'Original RPGamer'?

What do you think of the outrageous number of RPGs that were release the last years? It seems to me that I had to make a choice between two or even three great games because they would all be release the same day!. I remember last year when DQ VIII came out on November 17, there was something around 5 or 6 that were release the same day and most of them were from long-running series, or the month Xenosaga II came out, there were so many game I busted my budget on that. Yet I usually want them all...

One of the series I remembered playing some game was the Mario RPG ones. I remember trying to figure out why I played them and found no answer on that... The story is usually simple and really linear, the games are most likely the easiest ones and have little or no customization at all, yet, for some reason, they were so enjoyable that I would just keep on playing for hours. Do you think they put drugs on the boxes?

Another serie I love is the Shin Megami Tensei. If you didn't try any of the game, now's the time to do so. The atmosphere in those game is so creepy it gave me the chill when I played Nocture. Got any though on that one?

To finish, let me give you the names of some old RPG that people ough to try. Robotrek (one of the early RPG that had robots), Star Tropic (a NES adventure RPG with a quirky sense of humor), all the original Dragon Warrior (the remixes are pretty good but nothing beats the original feeling of the game), especially DW4. If you're not too reticent to useQ&A emulation, I recommend DQ5 and 6 and the original Star Ocean. Just to mention a few.

Keep on answering...

The guy only known as D.

OK, Mr. D: You definitely don't have to tell me to play the original Dragon Warrior games. They're absolute classics and I've played them more times than I could count; in fact, I've even been replaying Dragon Warrior II lately!

On the other hand, Robotrek and StarTropics are games that I unfortunately never got the opportunity to play, but there are so many older games out there (the original Zelda, Crystalis, Wizards and Warriors, Maniac Mansion, Shadowgate, just to name a few) in the adventure or RPG realms that it would be difficult to be familiar with them all! To the few people out there who sneer at the idea of looking into the past for entertainment: It's possible that you're missing out on some fantastic things, and that's my honest opinion!

Thanks D! I'm a D too, kinda. That used to be my nickname in highschool, in fact.

Mr(s?). Lazzie got me thinking, as I am oft to do, on the "definition" of an RPG. Any game that has a sweeping epic story, or well developed characters, or "equip" options or experience points has people wondering, "Should this be considered an [whatever]/Rpg?" And then I wonder... these are things all games have nowadays... maybe the term "RPG" was just in the right place at the right time?

Let me explain. When I first played Super Mario 64, walked up to a pink Bob-omb and talked to it, I was amazed. "This is just like an RPG," I thought, because up until then only RPG's had you talking to other characters like that. Now every game does it. Every game also has developed characters and sweeping epic storylines. Even Dead Rising has experience points! In that way, the RPG is the ancestor of all modern games, is it not? That makes all games children of the genre. So yes, Advance Wars DS is an RPG; Halo is an RPG; Grand Theft Auto is an RPG; in the same way that I was not born in Italy yet I can be considered Italian, and German and French and Welsh and what have you. The RPG was just the first genre to create and combine all these now essential game concepts that have been passed down and spread throught the blood of all games.

--

Alexander M. DeMichiei

That's a very interesting point to bring up, Alex!

I first noticed it myself a long time ago. The year was 1996, and my favourite puzzle game of all time was released that summer: Tetris Attack. (For those of you that are puzzle-game fans that haven't played this... well, you're not a puzzle-game fan. To everyone else save my brother, I could kick your behind so hard in that game, I could send you into Mercury's orbit.) I got to the last level of single-player mode, and found myself competing against an evil Bowser, complete with a life gauge labelled "Bowser's HP" in a silly font. I was like: "Score one for RPGs!!" That was well before Final Fantasy VII ever hit the stores, too!

Nowadays, it isn't uncommon to find RPG elements present in all sorts of other games, and not just in full, fleshed out, deeper storylines. Gaining experience or money in sports or racing games in order to better your capabilities is nothing new at this point. Customizing characters, exploring vast worlds and using greater strategy in battles that might take place are another elements found all over the world of video gaming now, even though the seeds were sown in games like the original Final Fantasy almost twenty years ago. In a way, you're right: RPGs are ancestral to a wide variety of today's video games.

Clearly, though, that doesn't make a skateboarding game into an RPG. I think that the definition needs to be narrowed a bit if we're going to have any hope of classifying things. Of course, the question comes to mind: "Why bother classifying? Why can't a game just be a game?" But then we've come full circle, because that's been a topic that's resurfaced time and time again over the past couple of weeks!

In any event, Alex, I appreciate the letter! To everyone else, what IS the definition of an RPG in today's standards, anyway? I vocalized my opinion a couple of weeks ago, but does it line up with your viewpoint?

Hi Matt (and Leaper)!

The only problem with Xenosaga Episode 3's music is that it's not loud enough. Someone decided that the annoying sound of Episode 1's footsteps were much more important and hiked the volume to maximum while the music was only at 30% or less. Whoever that person is needs to be SHOT. I do not need (or want) to hear Shion's heels clip-clopping like a horse on the stone floorboards of a church, dammit! It's a shame, because some of the boss battles on disc 2 have some great music, and you can't hear it because it's muffled by the overly loud sound effects. If Episode 2's town music suffered from this problem instead, Second Miltia would have been a lot more tolerable.

What do I want to see on the new consoles? Vagrant Story 2. They can put out all the Final Fantasies and sockless men (the hero of FF Versus XIII has no socks) or Zeldas they want, but there will be no joy until a Vagrant Story game is announced.

#328: (a)
#329: (e)

DMJewelle

Oh, maybe you just can't see the socks because the "in" thing right now for guys are those stupid socks that only go up to the bottoms of your heels. I dunno, but I like my socks like I like my Dragon Quests: Old school! I don't roll them up, or anything, but I think those mini-socks look retarded. :P

Anyway, the other possibility, as you say, is that no socks are being worn at all. But considering the amount of running around that is apt to be performed by the hero of any Final Fantasy game, I sure hope he has some Febreze stuffed into his item bag.

Merci beaucoup, and come again!

How would you fill in the following variables: "I feel a little cheated if I take fewer than X hours to complete an RPG. I feel like it's dragging too much if I take more than Y hours." For me, X would be about 40, and Y would start to set in over 60, I think (although Dragon Warrior VII didn't have that problem for me, for some reason I can't figure out). Of course, that has a lot to do with how I'm spending that time. If it's fun, the shorter time will be more forgivable, only kicking in when I finish and look at my clock time.

Also, seeing Grandia III on your list leads me to want to warn you: it's a good game, but it's distinctly lacking in subquests, which is an area I personally enjoy. But if you don't mind just having the main story, for the most part, it should be okay. Do you?

SOCK:

330: (e)

I'm a little worried now that no one will get my question right! Oh, well, that's what Haste/Quick is for, I guess.

Actually, it seems that a fair number of people have seen through your piece of trivia. I'm pretty impressed!! Your Scroll is going to be widely contested; that's for sure!

Thanks, Leaper! And thanks again for the great job, yesterday!

Hey there, Matt!

Is there one thing you wish the Dragon Quest series could do better?
-CW

To be honest with you? There aren't many things that come to mind! Dragon Quest VIII proved that a DQ game can indeed possess the entire package: An interesting but old-styled battle system, an enormous world to explore, an elegant plot, gorgeous visuals and music, and even a decent amount of challenge.

That said, my pet series is not perfect. I think that in the future, Dragon Quest has to rely less on fetch quests and more on situational plot-devices in order to extend gameplay. The first half of the game is pretty ripe with running back and forth to grab this and that, and fetch-questing doesn't hold as much charm as it did in the completely non-linear Dragon Warrior 1.

I'd like to see a return of the wagon and a greater variety of characters. Dragon Warrior IV had a fantastic, almost FFX-like battle system where you could switch characters in and out of battle in an instant to allow injured allies to recover or to have more powerful allies leap up to launch their unique spells against especially tough foes. I think that it's a bit boring when you get four characters within the first twenty hours, only to stick with them for the next sixty with only a few very minor changes.

Finally, I'd like to see a return to the more unforgiving difficulty found in the final bosses of Dragon Warrior VII and prior. After so much buildup, the final battle in DQVIII was almost insultingly easy, and that's definitely not the Dragon Quest way. The Dragon Quest way is when you get into a fight where you realize very quickly that you're in way over your head. I love having to sweat a bit, and so I was pretty disappointed, quite honestly, by the last battle of the game. A perfect example of a GREAT DQ challenge would be the battle against a certain foe fought in the Dark Ruins of DQVIII or the fight against Baramos in DWIII; those are more like how Dragon Quest bosses should be.

And there you have it! There are several things that I'd love to see introduced or re-introduced to the series. We'll see what direction Square Enix takes, if and when DQIX is announced (as if there's any question of that happening).

Thanks, CW!

One year ago today, we had just found out that the controller for Nintendo's new system would be radically different than anything ever seen before, and we still thought that the PS3 would come with controllers shaped more like sex toys. We were still calling Wii "Revolution", and big-name games like Suikoden V, Dragon Quest VIII, and Kingdom Hearts II weren't released yet. No one had played a Final Fantasy XII demo, and rumours were aplenty that Final Fantasy VII would be a launch title for the PS3! What a difference 365 days can make, eh?

#330. e) IceBolt - 700 points
The game was Dragon Warrior III, and the enemy was the dreaded Merzoncian. They weren't really that scary, but they weirdly used the fairly weak spell of IceBolt to attack. Odd, that. Most of you actually got this wrong, I'm afraid to report.

#332:
G, A, E, D, C, D, C, D
E, C, G, C, D, A, B, C
... ? (800 points)

a) A, B, C, D, G, C, D, E
b) E, F, A, C, B, G, E, B
c) B, C, D, G, C, B, A, G
d) A, A, G, F, C, D, E, G
e) F, G, A, C, E, D, C, G

I'm surprised that I haven't received any e-mails inquiring about a certain oddity about this part of the column as of yet. I was sure that someone would notice immediately and ask me a question about it, but as it stands, I haven't heard anything. Now, to be even more cryptic, I'll tell you that it's not really anything to do with the competition itself as much as it is a gauge of a certain aspect of the contest. Keep your eyes peeled; the first person who can spot the weirdness and guess correctly, more or less, as to what it means, will score themselves a sweet Summon Encyclopedia.

STRAGGLERS:
(people who I love, but who still need to check their e-mail or somehow get in touch with me because they have unclaimed items- if you fall off the list after a week, it's TOO LATE FOR YOU! Check your spam/trash folders for my messages if you're not getting them, and I'll check mine, too!)

• Erunion
• Hunter B.

And that's it for me. Next Tuesday, we'll selfishly continue my first anniversary celebration with a high-scoring day of SOCK and a load of questions and answers! Until then, though, Q&A isn't going anywhere: Ourobolus will be taking over for the weekend as always, so fill up his inboxes with love and mail! I hope you've had a great week, everybody, and I hope to see you next time.

***Matt is ready to become Marking Ninja Matt!