Yahtzee vs. the JRPG
- Thread starter Yahtzee Croshaw
- Start date
I definitely agree that, when it comes to JRPGs, if you don't like the characters or plot (or, to a lesser extent, the combat system) then you won't like the game. Also, I just preordered Mogworld!
But I don't think you can say that it is impossible to play FF13... You only got 5 hours in, only unlocked the barest bones of the combat system. Though I do agree with you about the crystarium... We should have just gotten traditional leveling, and at the end, we choose which role we want to level up.
Yes, it's "Be the first on your block to give me money!" I believe. I don't remember the episode or context, although I think it's Homer advertising the chance to catch chicken pox from Maggie.awesomeClaw said:
EDIT: Now I remember- it's the story about Mozart (Bart), and after he dies, Mozart's father (Homer) runs grieving into the street and tries to sell death masks.
On topic: Starting a story in medias res is a good way to confuse me. I'd like a game that starts with your character... starting the story. This also goes for amnesia stories. I want to start out before anything game-plot-affecting occurs.
I can abide the JRPG format when I find the story interesting and compelling. For all the shtick FF7 gets for kicking off the spectacle-fighter-ish trend of RPGs which really don't involve roleplaying or indeed really any game playing, the story really was compelling enough that the thinner gameplay didn't bother me. It comes to me as no surprise and a great disappointment that they have taken to the Nintendo method of game making by which I mean just basically releasing iterations of the same game.
The analogy wasn't a comment on the enjoyment value of the games but rather the fact that they're basically doing the same thing.FBPH said:
[small]Though, really, if you've bought one Zelda game you've played them all. Its the Paper Mario series that always intrigues me.[/small]
I had to tap out on FF XIII after about 5 hours as well. I didn't think the game was "bad" but it just took too long to get going for my tastes and the combat was too repetitive to really enjoy. I didn't see why the game felt I was unable to control more than 1 character after other final fantasy games have had up to 5 characters to control if I remember correctly. Also, I was very disappointed that there wasn't a Japanese dialog option. JRPG dialog is MUCH more tolerable if the excessive body motions and random non-sequiters are not tied to people speaking English.
Bioshock technically starts in media res, doesn't it? I suppose a good difference in this case is that you don't actually KNOW you're starting in media res. It's only after certain revelations that you realize you're in the middle of the story, which I suppose is a really good thing?
And how exactly would you know what the "lion's share" of a 40-hour game consists of when you've only seen the first five? I wasn't a big fan of the game either, but I at least finished it before I started making claims like that. At last contextualize it like you did in the video.Yahtzee Croshaw said:
(WHAAAAAAAAAA NO POKEMON?) but really I think he would like it. he also passed up another piece of gaming gold, in his sonic unleashed review, when he pointed out sonic didnt need another game he showed sonic chronicals, but that was a Bioware game done in JRPG fashion. A Bioware game, need I say more?
Final Fantasy XIII seems more like a cinema thing, much like how they wanted to be in the Spirits Within or even that movie Advent Children.
I dunno what to say about XIII though. I tried liking the game. I really do but it fails to hold up to the candle of the old school Final Fantasy storylines. Even the battle system of turn based combat is still unseparable despite major tweaks. But then again, Square does have the latency to make the storyline with more babbling nonsense for the next 10 hours till it gets it right. Of course the Chrono Trigger storyline is simplistic at the beginning but major complex at the end.
I wonder if Mr. Croshaw plays Mother 3 for that matter...
I dunno what to say about XIII though. I tried liking the game. I really do but it fails to hold up to the candle of the old school Final Fantasy storylines. Even the battle system of turn based combat is still unseparable despite major tweaks. But then again, Square does have the latency to make the storyline with more babbling nonsense for the next 10 hours till it gets it right. Of course the Chrono Trigger storyline is simplistic at the beginning but major complex at the end.
I wonder if Mr. Croshaw plays Mother 3 for that matter...
That's part of the whole premise though. Your character knows nothing more than you do when you start the game, but in FFXIII all the characters have some background and connections that you find out later, rather than an adventure where you gradually figure things out. Which makes it a good thing.CyricZ said:
I am sadly a huge fan of JRPG's, But I will have to agree with Yahtzee on this. The "mainstream" JRPG's are... bleh. I became a fan of Nippon Ichi's game, I love turn based (Damn you Civ...) But the story telling in the Disgaea games has this rich sense of dark humour, borderline vulgarity (C'mon... A zombie with a horse weiner as a main weapon. Pictures of the main character in a very questionable situation all cleverly left to your imagination to determine what it is)
I gave up on FF after 10, or X ... seriously people aren't we past roman numerials yet? 11 MMORPG and as all Japanese/korean of those are pure grind fests. While 12 was horrible. And X2 was nothing for wanna be gamer games to collect the skimpest outfits for 3 girls.
What I am missing most about Many RPG's is. Well... Feeling for the plight and feeling part of it, working on leveling modifying characters to my play style, And having as much control as possible.
I can't help but feel gaming as a whole being so mainstream now, is focusing more on whats popular and hyping themselves up showcaseing pretty graphics so the graphic whores can sit around and watch those lovly graphics rather than have them used in any intensive gameplay mechanic.
If you disagree look at the trend of Shoot em ups. All tough space marines with massive armor, all racing games sporting the best cars and graphics etc etc...
Maybe I just got too cynical for todays popular games. Mind you I loved Modern Warfare 2 Multiplayer. ^^
I gave up on FF after 10, or X ... seriously people aren't we past roman numerials yet? 11 MMORPG and as all Japanese/korean of those are pure grind fests. While 12 was horrible. And X2 was nothing for wanna be gamer games to collect the skimpest outfits for 3 girls.
What I am missing most about Many RPG's is. Well... Feeling for the plight and feeling part of it, working on leveling modifying characters to my play style, And having as much control as possible.
I can't help but feel gaming as a whole being so mainstream now, is focusing more on whats popular and hyping themselves up showcaseing pretty graphics so the graphic whores can sit around and watch those lovly graphics rather than have them used in any intensive gameplay mechanic.
If you disagree look at the trend of Shoot em ups. All tough space marines with massive armor, all racing games sporting the best cars and graphics etc etc...
Maybe I just got too cynical for todays popular games. Mind you I loved Modern Warfare 2 Multiplayer. ^^
Haha, three of the four games he mentioned are in my all-time-favourites-list of jRPGs!(not Earthbound, though I have played it). I like stories and history and I'm a perfectionist, so jRpgs are perfect for me.
So, so true. Thank you for pointing this out.FBPH said:
To be fair to Yahtzee, if a game isn't interesting by it's 4th Hour, it IS wasting time and as good as FFXIII gets around hour 15, that's still 15 hours of SLOG that you have to get through. It's bad storytelling and it's bad game design.Suskie said: