Upcoming Games of 04

General Chatter
21

Oh, Geoffrey, whenever I pass an arcade in the street or at an airport I feel obliged to spend a pound there as daily sacrifice to ensuring Sega’s continued prosperity. :slight_smile:

I assure you that I’ve never born any love for the abomination that is S*ny, and have excoriated and inveighed against it at every opportunity since that fateful year when its first Box of Torment afflicted my vision. The contemptible Final Fantasy, similarly, is not granted any significant degree of leniency - I’ll concede that the eighth instalment had good music, but beyond that they’re all ultimately repetitive and derivative bunkum, and as you say they’re notorious for defecating incessant hordes of imbecilic fan-boys more rapidly than it took the Tower of Uru to devastate the Grig Orig. All you need to do is compare the engrossing strategical scope of the Shining games to the ‘battle’ system of the Fantasies - which, despite Squaresoft’s idle meddling with magic, ultimately remains “Wait, Press X, repeat ad infinitum, nauseam et mortis” - or the ‘emotion’ of Squall Leonheart’s angst to the mounting sequence after Edge bonds with Lagi at the commencement of Saga, where you note the slight suggestive upcurl of your steed’s maw, as if he is thrilled with eager anticipation at the prospect of unfettered flight again, to realise what utter uninspiring drivel the Fantasies are. I was enraptured to see that Final Fantasy was taboo at Shining Force Central. Why can’t SquareEnix’s series actually live up to its name and bankrupt the company? :wink:

I may have been slightly hyperbolic in my first post - although it still remains a singularly unpalatable prospect that I don’t particularly relish, I suppose that I’ll have to bite the bullet sooner or later and invest in a new console. I don’t have any qualms with Microsoft (after all, the Dreamcast was based on Microsoft technology and I’m using a PC with Windows now!) so I could purchase an X-Box without any trouble - especially seeing as Sega seems to have determined it to be its ‘hardcore’ platform, and I need to play Orta. My aversion to Nintendo has been something viscereal since the playground shouting matches that characterised the conflict of the fourth-generation SNES-MegaDrive War, but I could reconcile myself to the GameCube on the principle that the enemy of my enemy is my friend. However - I know it sounds irrational and juvenile - whenever I see a Playstation game being advertised in the window of GAME, I want to charge in there with a sledgehammer… so I’m willing to bide my time until the inevitable GameCube and X-Box ports occur for any Playstation title. Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha-and-HA! :smiley:

22

Not to give any love to the FF series but comparing the standard FF games battle system with something like Shining Force is not acceptable. Our mighty Panzer Dragoon Saga’s battle system would pale when compared to something like that as well. And let’s not forget there’s Final Fantasy Tactics which has atleast as much depth as the Shining games as far as battle is concerned (and IMO in storyline as well since it’s a Medieval Epic Saga even if badly translated in english)
Also, FFVII had a very interesting battle system as well, the Materia system was simple but with enough depth and customization possible to keep you occupied with it for as long as you wanted.

Do I think the FF games compare as a whole to SF or PDS? In general I’d say no (Though I think FFT is just as good as any SF game - in a different way - even if it lacks exploration sequences) but that doesn’t mean I’ll reduce myself to the level of all the Sony fanboys and start bashing games or consoles for no reason and not even recognise their own qualities assuming they are there on first place. I think that’s the worst thing any of “us” can do, show the world that we are no different than the people we “hate” by reacting in exactly the same way they did against the Saturn and it’s games. Are we going to change anyone’s mind like that? Or do we enjoy being the people that “rooted for the underdog” and we struggle to keep that status by alienating everyone else and keeping the things we love even more distant and unpopular instead of trying to show that people were wrong to ignore them on first place? Whatever the reason is, I don’t like it and I won’t follow in the same trend.

23

I understand, Alexander, that the particular vocabulary that I employ in my references to Final Fantasy may be somewhat virulent, potent, savage and uncompromising, yet I would hope that I convey that I retain a reasoned basis for such objections, even if I do voice them in a more strident manner than may be necessary.

I’m quite willing to admit that games other than Sega ones have merit - my first ever computer was an Amiga 500+, I play Starcraft avidly even today, I enjoyed the corkscrew plot of Metal Gear Solid and as I said earlier Final Fantasy VIII was enhanced by a decent score - indeed, I had a lot of tracks, from “The Landing” to “Dance With the Babel Fish” and the orchestrated version of “Man With the Machine Gun” downloaded onto my PC before a system failure erased my hard drive. But this won’t cause me to restrain myself from exposing faults where I see them- and oh, there are so many of them.

For instance, I return to emphasise the point I made about the above game - the ‘emotional’ aspect of Final Fantasy VIII. Now, Squaresoft had probably conceived of the plot as being a journey of psychological metamorphosis for Squall, his painful but liberating emergence from a relational chrysalis - but the execution of this ambition was so cack-handed as to make you weep in frustration. Squall’s obstainate refusal to recognise any affection anywhere stopped becoming plausible as reticence ingrained by an isolated childhood, and became exposed simply as a contrivance by script writers who had run out of ideas. It failed to engage me - except where by the time you reached the Ragnorok I was almost throwing the joypad at the television and screaming “JUST KISS HER, DAMN IT, AND BE DONE WITH IT!”, which is hardly the type of reaction I think is most healthy for a game. When absurdity piled upon absurdity piled on wretched absurdity, from your comrades ‘accidentally’ fighting you with a tank to the ‘shocking’ (or simply random and nonscensical) revealtion that all of your named characters attended the same orphanage, the personality of characters in Final Fantasy VIII became something to mock and deride - I even designed a series of comic scripts lampooning sections of the game, which unfortunately I could never find an artist to draw - rather than something to be engrossed and entranced by.

So, although I do admit fault in that that I may convey myself as being hypocritical and only “show the world that we are no different than the people we “hate” by reacting in exactly the same way” by wording my objections rather extravagantly, I am confident that for one I can express my distaste substantially more eloquently than “STFU FF i5 GOSU an 0VVnz j00 ROFLMFAO!!!1111oneone”, and that I actually have a reasoned basis for my complaints.

24

You did not say anything against the points I made on my previous post and instead expanded on a topic that I did NOT oppose (I too think FF8 was a failure)
Also, your sophisticated use of english doesn’t make anything for your points and imo only camouflages what in a sense is the same attitude as the attitude of the people that you despise so much.

25

Apologies, Alexander - I was responding to one specific part of your message, namely this quote, which I understood to be the main thrust of your post:

In my last post I was just attempting to demonstrate that I am willing to concede to their advantages (as I did with the game’s music, which, again, I say is quite good), and that equally I do have reasons for my objections - it isn’t simply prejudiced fan-boy spew.

To extend that point I’ve played quite extensively on all three fifth-generation consoles - Playstation, N64, and Saturn (indeed, we have all three in our house) - and the former two would always pale in comparison, not just by an obligation to oppose The Great Enemy, but because their games were dire. My last post was an example why.

And yes, a polysyllabic vocabularly won’t improve the veracity of my statements - but at least when I trashtalk I can do it with style. :wink:

Anyway, to revert the thread back onto topic, assuming that I did own modern consoles, a cutting-edge PC, and unlimited funds to buy games, for the sake of argument, I would be searching for P.S.O. III, Panzer Dragoon Orta, Headhunter: Redemption, Sonic Heroes, House of the Dead III, Billy Hatcher, Worms Forts, Unreal Tournament 2004, DOOM III, Half-Life II, Starcraft II (I wish!), Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, the new Shining games, and many, many more…

26

[quote=“Robert Frazer”]Oh, Geoffrey, whenever I pass an arcade in the street or at an airport I feel obliged to spend a pound there as daily sacrifice to ensuring Sega’s continued prosperity. :slight_smile:

I assure you that I’ve never born any love for the abomination that is S*ny, and have excoriated and inveighed against it at every opportunity since that fateful year when its first Box of Torment afflicted my vision. The contemptible Final Fantasy, similarly, is not granted any significant degree of leniency - I’ll concede that the eighth instalment had good music, but beyond that they’re all ultimately repetitive and derivative bunkum, and as you say they’re notorious for defecating incessant hordes of imbecilic fan-boys more rapidly than it took the Tower of Uru to devastate the Grig Orig. All you need to do is compare the engrossing strategical scope of the Shining games to the ‘battle’ system of the Fantasies - which, despite Squaresoft’s idle meddling with magic, ultimately remains “Wait, Press X, repeat ad infinitum, nauseam et mortis” - or the ‘emotion’ of Squall Leonheart’s angst to the mounting sequence after Edge bonds with Lagi at the commencement of Saga, where you note the slight suggestive upcurl of your steed’s maw, as if he is thrilled with eager anticipation at the prospect of unfettered flight again, to realise what utter uninspiring drivel the Fantasies are. I was enraptured to see that Final Fantasy was taboo at Shining Force Central. Why can’t SquareEnix’s series actually live up to its name and bankrupt the company? :wink:

I may have been slightly hyperbolic in my first post - although it still remains a singularly unpalatable prospect that I don’t particularly relish, I suppose that I’ll have to bite the bullet sooner or later and invest in a new console. I don’t have any qualms with Microsoft (after all, the Dreamcast was based on Microsoft technology and I’m using a PC with Windows now!) so I could purchase an X-Box without any trouble - especially seeing as Sega seems to have determined it to be its ‘hardcore’ platform, and I need to play Orta. My aversion to Nintendo has been something viscereal since the playground shouting matches that characterised the conflict of the fourth-generation SNES-MegaDrive War, but I could reconcile myself to the GameCube on the principle that the enemy of my enemy is my friend. However - I know it sounds irrational and juvenile - whenever I see a Playstation game being advertised in the window of GAME, I want to charge in there with a sledgehammer… so I’m willing to bide my time until the inevitable GameCube and X-Box ports occur for any Playstation title. Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha-and-HA! :D[/quote]

The demise of the Dreamcast left a lot of Sega fans homeless, but many of them found a home for the themselves on the GameCube and/or Xbox. Anything was preferrable to the console that ruined any chances of success the Dreamcast might’ve had and almost destroyed Sega (the Playstation 2). However, since Sega has started focusing less on the GC and Xbox and more on the Playstation 2, some fans have been regreting that decision. I know a lot of fans have been frustrated with Sega for one reason or another. They just need to remember that Sega came very close to going under, and staying afloat comes at a price…

Moogie seems to hold Sony personally responsible for the downfall of the Saturn (even the word “Sony” is censored at SFC). Her logic is simple: if the Saturn had lived longer, then fans of the Shining series outside of Japan would’ve enjoyed the entire Shining Force III trilogy. I wonder if she will ever let go of her hatred for Sony and the Final Fantasy games which helped Sony forever secure its success overseas.

I must admit, seeing all those Final Fantasy fans who post at Shining Force Central being forced to remain silent about the overrated series they love brings a sinister smile to my face, although I would never enforce any rules stifling freedom of expression myself.

27

I’m looking forward to Fable, Starfox, and Donkey Konga. :smiley:

Speaking of Final Fantasies, I started Final Fantasy X for the first time. I’m reserving judgement, but it looked like they ditched the psuedo-active style of fighting from Final Fantasy VII and returned to the press button and wait style. But it has this thing called Overdrives that’s similar to Limit Breaks but you have to press certain button sequences in a certain time. I’m not sure what took me so long to play Final Fantasy X. For some reason I had no urge to play it until now. Word has it that it’s the most cinematic of the Fantasies.

28

Halo2 - for more of a good thing
Fable - cos it promises so much

29

Actually, I didn’t like the battle system much at first either, but once I figured out it was just like the Active Time Battle system except without the waiting I liked it much better. Rather than waiting for each character’s action gauge to fill up, it just goes right to the character’s action based on their agility rating, and unlike other RPGs it doesn’t wait for basic actions like attacks to get done before the next character’s action. I’ve had all 3 characters hit the same enemy at almost the same time, looks pretty cool actually. Some aspects of the battle are managed a bit slowly, but overall I felt it was still one of the fastest turn-based RPGs I’ve played (if that makes sense).

Oh, and for a slightly-on-topic-but-not-really bit of information, that wierd “ilovebees” countdown thing that’s related to Halo 2 ends in about 8 hours. I wonder what it’s counting down to…it could bee anything (sorry, sorry, I couldn’t resist). If it’s a demo or something, that could certainly cause Halo 2 to be added to a few people’s “looking forward to” lists :wink:

30

I’d be surprised if that countdown isn’t leading up to something interesting; if it just climaxes in a random or dull way (e.g. the site suddenly goes offline), Bungie are going to have vaguely annoyed an awful lot of gamers.

To be honest though, I’m not particularly exited about any games due out in the near future; I expect I’ll play things like Halo 2 and Metroid Prime 2 to death when they’re released, but none of the big releases coming up seem very inspiring. Maybe I’m being too sceptical, though…

(Hmm, two hours left on the Halo thing…)

BTW Solis, the “bee” line was unforgivable. :smiley:

31

[quote=“Geoffrey Duke”]

There was only one RPG I really wanted more than anything else in the world, but someone, in their infinite wisdom, decided to deprive me of it until the end of time. On the flipside, I’m going to buy a Playstation 2 soon since it seems to be the RPG fan’s console of choice. Other than the Final Fantasy games, what RPGs do people recommend buying for this overrated console?[/quote]

Vagrant Story. Without a doubt.
I agree with Alex with Suikoden, although finding part 2 may be tough and expensive.
Xenogears as well. I havent the chance to play Xenosage however. =/

32

I wouldn’t classify Vagrant Story as an RPG… It’s more of a dungeon crawler + puzzle game (damn those block puzzles, I hope they ditch them in a/the sequel) + a really neat storyline with some of the coolest cut scenes and bosses ever. Good game mostly due to it’s art style (which I also love cos it’s my beloved FFT style except made more mature and detailed) and story though. Those block puzzles got too much later, you had them in front of you way too often…

33

I shall check it out. Both Playstations seem to be home to quite a few RPGs.

34

Xenosaga has the worst voice acting I’ve ever seen in an RPG. People seem to love it, though. I adore Xenogears, however.

35

I don’t have PlayStation2, but the pure hatred for it is ridiculous. Every system has good and bad games. You mentioned nothing but Final Fantasy games, which have been anything but good this generation. Maybe Mitsuda (sp), who worked on Vagrant Story and FFT, could do something more interesting.

36

Begone from our sight, miscreant!

37

What? Because I’m not a blind fanboy who believes that a certain series/system/developer is so infallible and perfect that they can do no wrong? That I see nothing wrong with liking X-Box, PS2 or Gamecube and believe that they all have merits? I may not have a PS2 or an X-Box, but I do plan on getting both of them.

Or was that just sarcasm?

I don’t know whether you will like these games, but I think I will:

Donkey Konga (It looks fun >> <<)
Mega Man X: Command Mission
Paper Mario 2: The Thousand Year Door
Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
Pikmin 2
Mario Tennis
Star Fox

And several games got pushed back to early 2005.

Well of course. Matsuno (the producer or director FFT, Vagrant Story, several Ogre Battle games…) kicks ass. =)

38

Would someone mind explaining my ability to somehow cause this thread to stop getting responses? I was hoping for an explanation. >_>

39

I recently bought two games I loved playing : Ninja Gaiden and Splinter Cell 1.

Now I might buy Sudeki and later on Fable,Halo 2 and of course Otogi 2…

…oh and Jade Empire.

40

Sudeki is supposedly not that great. =/

But, last I checked, Jade Empire looked good. Bioware owns you all.

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