05/28-
7:00PM EST
Welcome to another edition of Q&A! The
content entries have started to roll in, so
I will be posting many of them in the coming
weeks. I've decided for these to forgo the
usual Q&A style, and instead to post the
essays in full and save my comments for the
end. Lots of good entries so far. Keep them
coming!
On to those essays (and more from
JuMeSyn)...
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Professor Wheels! I have an essay for
you!
My essay focuses on the theme of friendship
and how it compares in the two games Persona
2: Innocent Sin and Lunar: The
Silver Star Story. Both games
have very different tones, and I intend to
explore what makes each one unique while
also examining the elements of camaraderie
and love that exist in both games.
Let’s first look at the two protagonists
separately and see how their personalities
leave impressions on those around
them. Tatsuya Suou of Innocent Sin
is pictured as aloof and distant, cold
even. He is well-liked by many of his
peers, but is shunned and viewed as
unapproachable by many others. This
doesn’t really seem to bother him that much,
in my opinion. He has a “lone wolf”
mentality. Alex of Burg from Lunar
is an outgoing, ambitious youth. He
dreams of being a great hero like his idol
Dyne. He grew up in a small town and
is loved by everyone there. He is
cheerful and optimistic and is never in
doubt about how great he will become, or
about the friends he makes. His
biggest charm, and maybe his biggest flaw,
is his naiveté.
Next, we’ll take a look at how each group of
player characters interact and affect one
another. In Innocent Sin’s
group, we have Tatsuya, Lisa, Michel, Maya,
and Yukki who is later replaced by
Jun. In the beginning, this group
seems like it would be totally
dysfunctional. You have three high
schoolers (excluding Jun for now) in
Tatsuya, Lisa, and Michel, and two young
adults in Maya and Yukki. Lisa loves
Tatsuya, but it seems to be inferred that
this love is intended to be unrequited
(though the player can change this
perception through minor in-game choices).
Then you have Tatsuya and Michel’s rivalry
that stems from being in neighboring and
competitive schools, a relationship
that again seems one-sided due to Tatsuya’s
general apathy towards school life.
Lisa and Michel fight like two kids who
secretly like each other but try to hide it
for the sake of their own pride. Maya
and Yukki enter as a reporter and her
photographer respectively, but thanks to
Maya’s feeling of Deja-vu regarding Tatsuya,
their relationship soon starts becoming more
than acquaintances, to Lisa’s chagrin, and
Yukki becomes the protective “big sister” of
them all. Later in the game, when Jun
replaces Yukki as a new member of the group,
we find out that the five were childhood
friends that, due to a traumatic past, had
repressed memories of one another. It
is heart-wrenching and touching to see
five young people try to hold on to
their friendship and love for one another
through so much pain, even when their world
literally falls apart, and fate itself works
to divide them permanently.
Conversely, we see Lunar’s group of
Alex, Luna, Nash, Mia, Kyle, Jessica, and
Nall (and a few supporting characters along
the way). Alex, Luna and Nall, their
friend/pet, grew up in the same
household due to Alex’s parents adopting
Luna (and Nall) when she was a baby.
Alex and Luna share an innocent, pure love
for one another that is constant throughout
the story. Alex meets the rest of the
major players in the tale through his
adventures. There is no past between
him and the other three people in the group
when they first meet, though Nash and Mia
and Kyle and Jessica share histories
together as couples (and Mia and Jessica are
childhood friends). It’s Alex’s (or
maybe moreso Luna’s…?) that draws the group
together. This is a stark
juxtaposistion to Innocent Sin’s
tale of loss.
While Innocent Sin’s group dynamic
is much more complex and more mature and
downright dark, I believe that it and Lunar’s
heroic group share some similarities.
Both deal with loss of something very
precious. Alex loses Luna, the most
important person he has ever had in his
life. The Innocent Sin friends
lose their memories of each other.
Which is more devastating? I can’t
tell you because loss of either magnitude is
catastrophic to me. Both groups also
learn that life never stays simple. We
all have to grow up, and lose some of the
carefree joys and luxuries of our
youth. Alex learns that not all heroes
are always heroes, and that dreams often
come to fruition with a heavy cost.
Tatsuya learns that even though a person can
have the best intentions, wrongs can still
happen, and things beyond your personal view
can affect you in very intimate ways.
But above all, both groups learn that in the
end, sometimes hope is all you have, and
that, as much as memories or dreams, can be
the thread that holds friendships together.
I hope you enjoy reading my essay
Wheels! Sorry if it ran on too long!
Valim
Wheels
Wow, that was a
fantastic read and I don't think
there's even a single line in
there that I disagree with.
Superb job! You wouldn't think
the two groups are comparable,
but as you've shown they are
when you dig into it. Obviously
Innocent Sin is a more a
mature view of things, but I
don't think Lunar is
necessarily far off. Anyway,
fantastic job. A+ (just a
reminder the grade doesn't
actually give you a better
chance to win, everyone who
enters has an equal shot).
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Contained below is my entry into the Class
of Heroes Essay competition. I hope you will
enjoy reading it.
Sincerely,
Guy "darklancer" Noyes
Valkyrie Profile and Odin Sphere
sound similar. Both are inspired by Norse
mythology, are sidescrolling action/rpgs,
and have a crafting system. However, their
differences in each element affects the
initial playthrough and the replay value.
This paper argues that Odin Sphere
is geared to the initial playthrough,
whereas Valkyrie Profile has more
replay value.
The treatment of Norse mythology in the
story in these two games differs
significantly. Odin Sphere is
linear, with a complex storyline, based on
Wagner’s operas, and accounting for each
character’s actions. Valkyrie Profile’s
story is presented in a looser fashion,
consisting of vignettes of each character
who becomes an einherjar. Odin Sphere’s
format is engrossing on the first play, as
the story is exciting and well-written.
Little changes on playing the game again, so
Odin Sphere is won’t attract
sustained interest. Valkyrie Profile
allows the player much more flexibility in
how they play each segment of the game, with
options in whom the player sends to Valhalla
changing the story. This increases the long
term appeal of Valkyrie Profile.
The balance of action versus strategy in the
systems of these two games also bears on how
each fairs initially and over a longer
period of time. Odin Sphere is
primarily a beat-em-up, with a strong action
element and only basic rpg mechanics.
Learning the attack patterns of bosses is
tricky. This tends to make the game exciting
on its first play, as victories will
frequently be close. With each boss’s
actions memorized, the thrill tends to die
down a bit. Valkyrie Profile’s
combat offers more strategy. Some action is
required in timing button presses to
maximize the combination of characters’
attacks. Later in the game numerous enemies
require strategic weighing of options to
defeat. This greater intellectual challenge
helps Valkyrie Profile to sustain
excitement.
The item crafting systems in Valkyrie
Profile and Odin Sphere are
quite different. In Odin Sphere, a
player gains alchemy recipes over the course
of the game. Valkyrie Profile allows
the player to convert an item into a
different item, which changes depending on
some of the accessories the main character
equips. The 26 recipes in Odin Sphere
boil down to perhaps eight or nine useful
items, with the rest being unessential and
frequently amusing at best. Once the player
has figured out which items work best, there
is little need to experiment, but at the
same time the simplicity makes it easy to
breeze through the game the first time. The
crafting in Valkyrie Profile is much
more in-depth, which can make it
intimidating at first. Many of the
transmutations are important, and some
mutually exclusive, which encourages
experimentation over multiple playthroughs.
While both games were great, their design
significantly affects their ability to keep
the player’s attention. Odin Sphere
easily keeps players enthralled through the
first play of the game, but its appeal wanes
after that. Valkyrie Profile is a
little less engrossing at first, but the
depth of the systems make it a stronger game
for replay.
Wheels
Interesting
comparison. Not one I would have
dug into beyond the obvious
comparison of their uses of
Norse mythology. At the end of
the day, though both are good
games, I much prefer Valkyrie
Profile's method. Slow
starts can be annoying to
players, but if the end result
is a more engrossing and
re-playable game then I think
its worth it. That's not to say
there's no value to a game
that's a thrill through one
play-through. Great comparison,
a solid A!
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You haven't done that connection challenge
yet... I think that means you need another
one, so connect Babies for Sale with
Gal Act Heroism!
Wheels
Nooooooooooo!
I totally completed that other
challenge too. Just look at last
week! *runs away*
Gal Act Heroism was
developed and published by
Microcabin -> Microcabin was
aquired by AQ Interactive ->
AQ Interactive became Marvelous
AQL after a merger ->
Marvelous AQL owns XSEED ->
XSEED published The Wizard
of Oz: Beyond the Yellow Brick
Road -> MGM was
behind The Wizard of Oz
film based on the same source
material -> MGM and Columbia
are owned by Sony -> Columbia
distributed Babies for Sale.
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Okay, I've been playing Legend of Legaia
recently. On balance I kinda like it,
but certain issues drag it down
somewhat. Foremost, the pacing.
I respect that in 1999 the PS1 was plagued
with load times, and disguising them by
having characters stand around after doing
something in battle is preferable to a big
loading screen for several seconds.
When even wimpy enemies I can handle with
ease take a whole minute to kill because of
the sluggish action rate, though, I kinda
dislike the result.
Also, when the characters get so much time
in the spotlight, it forces me to observe
how they kinda resemble Virtua Fighter
models from the early years of that
series. Which is odd when I never
really played those games, but it happens
anyway. Blocky PS1 polygons have NOT
aged well.
Wheels
PS1 load issues make me think
Nintendo was really on to
something when they stayed on
carts for the N64 and used those
mini-discs on the GameCube. As
our attention spans dwindle it
has made going back to some old
games a real chore. I wonder how
much the PS1 classics on PSN
address this? I've never tried
to a comparison. Also PS1
polygons have aged about as well
as a carton of milk does when
left out in the sun. I never
played much Legend of Legaia
back in the day but I did
observe my brother playing it so
I know what you're talking
about.
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One thing I do like is the ability to wander
wherever I please (within the reachable
areas) and not be forced to complete
everything in a certain order. The
story is certainly there but it doesn't
require me to act in a rigid order every
time, and that's kind of nice to see
nowadays.
Wheels
Yeah, non-linearity is always a
plus, and often in some older
RPGs they had a way to do that
was still somewhat rigid, so
there was never any real
downtime trying to figure out
what to do next. I don't mind
linear RPGs, but sometimes it's
good to be able to explore.
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Defend the indefensible! Knights
of the Old Republic 3 was shut down
before it could see release, and the series
has been left untouched. Why should
that happen?
Wheels
How on earth could I defend
that? I suppose since Knights
of the Old Republic 2 was
rushed out before it was fully
finished, you could say this
saved a sequel from suffering a
similar fate. Perhaps with some
time now passed, and BioWare and
the Star Wars games series all
under EA's roof, it might allow
a proper sequel. Then again it
is EA...
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Convince me to go back and try The Two
Towers and/or The Return of the
King on GBA. They are in fact
RPGs, hack & slash affairs killing huge
numbers of orcs and such, so they're
RPGs. The Third Age on GBA is
also a completely different creature than
its console brethren, and I can't seem to
find a consensus (not that there's much
information at all) on whether it's worth
trying. What say you?
Wheels
I
say that I've never played them,
and I've got a gut feeling
it is for the best. You know how
licensed games often turn out!
So I say run away as fast as you
can!
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You find me a Game Gear, I'll go buy Shining
Force: Final Conflict and play it and
review it for the site. Whaddaya
say? It's gotta be better than Shining
Soul!
Wheels
I
can guarantee you that it is far
better than Shining Soul.
The game bridges Shining Force
I & II and
features some returning
characters. It plays just like
the previous two Game Gear
games, with no exploration, but
is a fair bit more enjoyable
regardless. There is a fan
translation out there as well.
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Put Sidney Poitier into an RPG, why don't
you?
Wheels
Finally, an actor I recognize
for one of these challenges!
Let's make an RPG based on the
movie The Jackal where
you play Sidney Poitier's
character, the deputy director
of the FBI. You'll also play the
primary character from the film
played by Richard Gere, I forget
exactly what his deal was. The
game would diverge from the
movie a bit to provide more
combat, but it would still focus
on hunting down the Jackal and
trying to figure out who his
target is.
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So I played Rhapsody recently.
That spawned many thoughts, not least in the
review thread where people confessed that
they genuinely liked it. I'm hard
pressed to say they didn't, but I really
don't know why. Let's go into my
reasoning.
People like the plot. Fair enough, the
tale of a girl who falls in love with a
prince and has to save him from a
not-terribly-competent witch who can't undo
his petrification is cute. Here's the
thing, though: wouldn't that story work a
lot better in something
non-interactive? Like a movie, maybe
from Disney or any number of Japanese
studios? That's my thought, because
even with the game being so short (you can
finish under 12 hours with ease), the story
meanders and wastes time a lot.
Wheels
I
only played the DS game for a
little bit, just enough to
convince me the boring combat
wasn't for me.
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Then we come to the game play. Which
sucks. I don't mind easy games, but
when they're super boring....
Okay. Here's how every dungeon
works. There's a map on the DS screen
that shows a lot of little boxes and the
lines which mark where those boxes (they're
rooms in truth, but they really feel like
boxes) connect to other boxes. You
move through the dungeon from box to
box. These boxes take 3-4 seconds to
cross. So every 2-3 screens, 4 if
you're lucky, it's time for a random
battle. Kill the enemies (even if they
do hurt you a bit, healing supplies are
plentiful and your mana gets refilled with
every level, which also come frequently) and
move on. Repeat. These dungeons
are BORING. Really, really
boring. I stopped playing several
times because I started to think about what
a nice thing it would be to take a nap.
Wheels
Wow, that sounds terrible! I've
heard the original PS1 game has
more interesting tactical
combat. However, if the dungeons
are just like the DS version
then that's not much solace.
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Then there's what NISA did. The game
in Japan had a couple of extra chapters
taken from the other Marl Kingdom
titles, which never came out in
English. Apparently translating new
stuff was too much work in too little time,
because that was cut for North
America. Thanks a lot!
Wheels
I
recall early NISA having some
issues like this. Ever heard of
the awful glitch in Ar
Tonelico 2? Not a great
move by them leaving that extra
content out.
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Then there's a small scenario that
apparently activated the tear ducts of at
least one person, involving a frog princess
and her forbidden lover who got killed by
the king in front of her. That's
really about all there is to say, since
these characters weren't important enough to
warrant unique portraits. It's the
same damn scenario as in countless pieces of
fiction and real life, of the lovers who
can't be together and are forced
apart. Wanna make me care about such a
thing? Give it more than THREE MINUTES
of time, why don't you? No, I didn't
cry at that, it barely registered because
I've seen such things done MUCH MUCH
BETTER.
Woo. Got a little exercised
there.
Wheels
That's OK, games we dislike can
get us going just as well as
games that we love. Just ask me
about Mugen Souls some
time!
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Did I mention all those Dragon Ball Z
RPGs I played last year? If I didn't,
please talk about whatever you know on that
series. Or else I'll address it at
great length in my next letter. Mwa ha
ha ha.
Have you got enough content for quite some
time? You'd better!
JuMeSyn
Wheels
Well, I really know nothing of Dragon
Ball Z, so I guess I'm in
for some schooling next week!
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That's it for this week, keep the essays
coming!
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