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So, I was digging through my old PlayStation games, partially out of nostalgia, partially because my friend wanted to borrow RPG Maker for god knows what reason, when there are better programs available for free on the computer, and rant rant rant rant...

So I shuffle through my stack of RPGs (in a fit of anal retentive dorkism, I arranged all of my games by genre a few years ago), and all of a sudden, I come upon a game that I have fond memories of:



Yes, the OTHER game Yasumi Matsuno served as designer on that takes a bit of a flippant attitude towards churches. So, I put it in, and after a lovely tutorial sequence which I accidentally skip, I am struck by something my nostalgia filter had protected me from all of these years:

This game is HARD as FUCK. Oh, sure, the first boss is manageable, and the stone golem fellow tested my nerves, but by the time the wyvern rolled around, I was getting my ass handed to me by regular enemies, and this pattern continued up until the boss fight, where I was unceremoniously roasted many, many, many times. Over the years, my memory of how to craft things had disappeared, and my knowledge of bassackwards weaponry and proton-shifting metallurgy had since faded, because nobody has that much specialization in any video game and keeps it for long (my knowledge of FFT notwithstanding). Certainly, the story is still fantastic, and I actually enjoy the reflex system, because it keeps things firmly rooted in the RPG camp while still allowing me to feel like I'm doing more than just guiding a very slow moving missile. The controls are a little unforgiving, as is the impossibly steep difficulty curve, but at the same time, it's got its own sort of charm.

And by charm, I mean massive homoeroticism.



Assless leather chaps.



That just kind of speaks for itself.

Still, the game's quite an experience, and I still enjoyed the atmosphere even after my hapless Riskbreaker responded to the impossible odds in exactly the way one would expect: getting his face shoved into dirt, cobblestone, and any other matter of ground.

And by a total coincidence, Hitoshi Sakimoto is probably one of my favorite composers as far as video games go, and he's probably the most talented Square soundtrack alumni that I can think of. Yes, I like him better that Nobuo.

Dunno anything about Vagrant Story, but a friend wanted to let me borrow Wild Arms 2 for who-knows-why reasons and I had it sitting around for a year so I played finally played it last year to get it over with (it's the most recent game I've played) so I could give it back to him and wow, it was pretty bad.

Games on the PS1 that I've yet to try but eventually want to include Parappa, Lammy, and the Mega Man Legends.

Baba O'Riley wrote:And by a total coincidence, Hitoshi Sakimoto is probably one of my favorite composers as far as video games go, and he's probably the most talented Square soundtrack alumni that I can think of. Yes, I like him better that Nobuo.

Well, I do like his Radiant Silvergun soundtrack and all, but that's about as much experience as I have with him. Tactics didn't exactly strike me as listening music, and I did think Odin Sphere's opening song was well done, but other than that...

I've always been curious about this game because of it's supposed Shakespearean-like translation and for having some of the best PS1 graphics, but I've always held off on getting it cause I've only ever beaten two of the many RPG's I've bought through the years.

And oh man, RPG Maker. Worst gift to get as an impatient twelve year old.

Shadow Hog wrote:Well, I do like his Radiant Silvergun soundtrack and all, but that's about as much experience as I have with him. Tactics didn't exactly strike me as listening music, and I did think Odin Sphere's opening song was well done, but other than that...

Lies and slander. Apoplexy is one of my favorite bits of soundtrack ever made.

Protodude wrote:I've always been curious about this game because of it's supposed Shakespearean-like translation and for having some of the best PS1 graphics, but I've always held off on getting it cause I've only ever beaten two of the many RPG's I've bought through the years.

The script is brilliant, and the graphics, while not as impressive as they once were, are rather excellent for a PS1 game.

That said, unless you're going into this with a forgiving attitude, you're probably going to have a bear of a time getting through it.

Every Japanese RPG has a beef with a Christian-esque organized religion. It's a law, I believe.

Jehovah's Witnesses are crawling around here like a cancer. It's kind of alarming.


Also, I hated Vagrant Story.

I would have liked it much more if my mother language was English. Other than that, I can only blame the PSX's limited technical capabilities for the slowdown breaking my timing and ruining an otherwise pretty sweet, smooth chain.

Green Gibbon! wrote:Jehovah's Witnesses are crawling around here like a cancer. It's kind of alarming.

Wait, in Japan? What's up with that?

I made it up to the stone golem boss before deciding that Vagrant Story was the biggest load of bullshit ever. Actually, that's only when I decided to stop playing- I'd already realized that much when it took me about hour to read through the tutorial section, and I was just sort of hoping it'd pay off if I stuck to it.

Can't really deny that it had some of the best graphics going for the system, though, but it was a serious turn off when I realized it was going to be nothing but dungeons the whole way through. And on the subject of favorite Square musicians, Tsuyoshi Sekito. Just because of Brave Fencer Musashi.

Ritz wrote:I made it up to the stone golem boss before deciding that Vagrant Story was the biggest load of bullshit ever. Actually, that's only when I decided to stop playing- I'd already realized that much when it took me about hour to read through the tutorial section, and I was just sort of hoping it'd pay off if I stuck to it.

Can't really deny that it had some of the best graphics going for the system, though, but it was a serious turn off when I realized it was going to be nothing but dungeons the whole way through. And on the subject of favorite Square musicians, Tsuyoshi Sekito. Just because of Brave Fencer Musashi.

I dunno. I'm a bit masochistic. The Snowfly Forest was a spot of disenchantment, as I fucking hate hate hate hate hate hate hate randomized forest dungeons. It's the biggest load of horseshit ever. And I like the game, but I can totally see how somebody wouldn't. I myself enjoy the story quite a great deal, and I'm willing to take the shoddy gameplay (particularly the forced platforming. Ick) to get through it.

And Brave Fencer Musashi's soundtrack is fantastic. As is the game.

Oh, isn't it? You know, I hear tell that GG! thought Musashi was only just okay. I think he might be a Nancy boy or something.

Yeah, it was okay. Not spectacular. The day/night system got on my nerves (they almost always do).

It was nothing like a real man's action-RPG, like Alundra.

If you focus on upgrading your weapons and shit for a while as soon as you have some decent ones Vagrant Story becomes piss easy, from what I remember anyway.

I liked the game for the depth of customization and because the battle system was very unique and fresh at the time.

I don't remember jack shit about the story though, not one single tiny detail.

Green Gibbon! wrote:Yeah, it was okay. Not spectacular. The day/night system got on my nerves (they almost always do).

It was nothing like a real man's action-RPG, like Alundra.

Alundra is spectacular, but I liked Musashi better. I'm probably going to hell for saying that, but I just enjoyed Musashi more. To be fair, I haven't played Alundra in God knows how long.

How was Alundra 2? I never played it because I remember it didn't really look as good.

It was decent, but the story had nothing to do with the original, and it just wasn't as fun for whatever reason.

Probably the biggest slight against it is that it's not the first Alundra, and while it's mediocre-to-slightly-above-average on its own merits, it isn't the sequel anyone had hoped for.

On the plus side, it's still better than a good 70% of the Zelda franchise.