[quote=“Kadamose”]The entire Final Fantasy series is total garbage. I’d say that the ONLY improvement introduced in FFXII is the fact that the music is no longer made by Nobuo Uematsu – and it certainly shows - then again, that’s not saying much, considering the soundtrack is below average. But anything is better than Uematsu’s work – anything.
I would definitely have to say that the game’s biggest fault is the story, which makes no god damn sense whatsoever. But this is Square we’re talking about here; when have they ever made a good story in ANY of their games? It’s Square’s achilles heel, I tell you.[/quote]
Good in what way? Original? Originality doesn’t sell. We saw that with John Doe (how people could prefer to have their eyes glued to soap operas than that work of art is a mystery even to me).
Recycling those universal themes (love (unrequited or triangles etc), struggle, war etc) will always be the keys to selling stories, because they speak to the fundamental human condition.
Do correct me if I am wrong of course.[/quote]
Originality doesn’t sell because society has been CONDITIONED - this can, of course, be reversed by introducing original material that pulls on the heart strings, if you know what I mean. Unfortunately, we live in a society where profits are more important than anything else…so chances of seeing such a paradigm shift isn’t likely anytime soon. This is the reason why I demand and hope for another market crash to occur - people will ask what the hell they did wrong to cause such a disaster, and then they will shift their thought processes and create different material.
Oh, and i liked John Doe too - it was a great concept that, unfortunately, had poor execution (the last 8 episodes were quite a mess).
Given the limited range of experiences that humans can encounter (or even comprehend), all stories will share a multitude of elements with many other stories.
Are we talking about originality in execution? Originality in themes?
Original = something that isn’t necessarily new, but is entirely unpredictable. What I mean by ‘not necessarily new’ is that since there is nothing new under the sun, something will always borrow from something else. It is the UNPREDICTABILITY of a title which is important.
Both. You can’t have unpredictability without proper execution and without unpredictability you can’t have an original theme.
I’m a Final Fanatsy fan. Not a huge one. But I enjoy playing the FF series because I know just what the formula will be. It’s like watching an episode of House. But instead of Patient -> House is an ass -> Wrong Diagnosis -> House is an ass-> Wrong diagnosis -> House is an ass-> Epiphany/Right diagnosis -> House is an ass, you get Hero -> Plot device -> tragic love sub-plot -> plot device -> Save the cheerleader plot device Save the world.
It’s comforting, and I play it not because I want to experience a revolution in game play but because I want something that I know I will enjoy and that I can switch off and relax to.
Sure, but with episodic content like House, you can get that experience delivered in short bursts where the flow of the story is more tightly knit. Most RPGs are bloated with filler content that makes the drama drag out far too long for it to maintain anything interesting (have only played a little further in FF12 so far, so I don’t yet know how the story holds up).
Sure, but that’s what I want sometimes. I want to be able to play through a game without having to register the story or try too hard to understand it. I want to spend lots of time leveling up my little men. All that filler leaves my brain free to think about other things while keeping my hands busy. I’m a student but apart from the odd essay I get nothing to do so just trying to breed the best inbred chicken or walking about an hour across a map to get to the next plot important point eats into that time nicely. Besides, all that filler (and the fact that they repeat just about every plot important fact you’ve found on your way in some of the cut scenes) makes it easy to remember where you left off is you come back to the game after a little while away.
I think the only RPG I’ve ever completely engaged my brain in has been Enchanted Arms. Damn, that’s a good game.
Yeah, I like House too, but I think the third season was sort of…rubbish? Man, now I feel terrible.
Have only watched seasons 1 and 2… sad to hear season 3 wasn’t up to par
As for your the rest of your post - we’re coming from fundamentally different approaches I don’t have time to sort through a meandering story with little to no point (particularly if the story tries oh so hard to be philosophical in the way that a 2nd year high school student is philosophical… no offense to high school students on these boards ). If I want to level up guys and whatnot, I’ll spend time with a game like Diablo where I can cut to the chase (and the rewards system is much more polished).
But the filler that I’m talking about is the fact that in most JRPGs, you play the boring parts of the game. You don’t ever interact with the actual story - you are the one that gets to go around and run errands (i.e. shop for stuff) talk to random townspeople that almost never give you any useful information, and you are the one that gets to run from location to location and deal with all the random encounters. The vast majority of JRPGs follow this formula:
RunRunRunRun - CUTSCENE!!! - ShopRunRunTalkRun - CUTSCENE!!! - Boss battle!
If you have any more of that spare time floating around in a jar somewhere, by all means send it in the direction of New Zealand. I’m sure at least one of us could find a use for it.
If you have any more of that spare time floating around in a jar somewhere, by all means send it in the direction of New Zealand. I’m sure at least one of us could find a use for it. [/quote]
Nah, I’ve just realised that we’ll be translating texts from old English this year. Looks like I’m going to need all the free time I can get.
[quote=“Abadd”]
But the filler that I’m talking about is the fact that in most JRPGs, you play the boring parts of the game. You don’t ever interact with the actual story - you are the one that gets to go around and run errands (i.e. shop for stuff) talk to random townspeople that almost never give you any useful information, and you are the one that gets to run from location to location and deal with all the random encounters. The vast majority of JRPGs follow this formula:
RunRunRunRun - CUTSCENE!!! - ShopRunRunTalkRun - CUTSCENE!!! - Boss battle!
Rinse and repeat =[/quote]
That’s probably the best summary of a JRPG I’ve ever heard. XD
At the same time, I don’t always enjoy the western style RPG which packs as many miniquests into a game as possible between big plot points. While the big filler time in JRPGs allows you to level up your little men and prepare for the next big battle, in Western RPGs you barely get enough time to buy a new shield or something before you’re roped into rescuing Mr. Tiddles the cat or something.
I don’t have time to sort through a meandering story with little to no point (particularly if the story tries oh so hard to be philosophical in the way that a 2nd year high school student is philosophical… no offense to high school students on these boards 
). If I want to level up guys and whatnot, I’ll spend time with a game like Diablo where I can cut to the chase (and the rewards system is much more polished).