That "Batman" statue is fucking atrocious and the weirdo who designed it should feel bad for birthing it from his schizophrenic brain.
Same goes for Final Fantasy designs too.
Same goes for Final Fantasy designs too.
Jimquisition: Batman Is Everything Wrong With Square Enix
- Thread starter Jimothy Sterling
- Start date
Pokemon is another example of this.
They started out pretty tame (sure there are a few examples of over designed) but then as the generations go on each gen gets more and more cluttered with their designs.
They started out pretty tame (sure there are a few examples of over designed) but then as the generations go on each gen gets more and more cluttered with their designs.
The segment about link I think was less about personality and more about iconic nature, and what best brings it out of a character, or even an avatar (like Link, Mario, or even Pac Man resemble).Raika said:
If you're a fan of Zelda games, or even just know of them, I hold doubt that you can think of any lightly armored swordsman in green without thinking of Link.
Only caveat to that is the fact that it WAS relatively unique back then. Sure, it's all relative; we STILL seem (or at least these corporations seem) to have a perpetual desire for better visual flourish, but, by virtue of being a younger medium, at least it wasn't crammed down our throats so far back then.Uriel_Hayabusa said:
Also, I think good story (or at least, somewhat entertaining story or premise) was largely an unexpected bonus (in terms of the era of FF4), and eventually demand in this medium. Most likely, coherent stories were an attempt to attract fans of fantasy literature, but I think it caught on with many more people. I don't think we'd be where we are with gaming today if it wasn't for good stories in games; arcade "challenge" gimmicks and platformers would only last so long on their own, IMO (or, could you imagine where Sony would be WITHOUT FF7?).
All that to say...gaming needs to have better story. Or at least, more resonant meaning. And yes, that can occur with any game (even, say, a piece of junk like Haze), but money matters; you reach more people, more people buy your game. And Square was at the forefront of that 'better story' drive, and for quite some time. Then they lost it...in the weirdest way to their coupled 'graphics' drive. I wish they'd get their asses back in gear, but the way things play out in this industry... My eyes have to be elsewhere.
I think FF went down hill with X but it's always Batman, innit? XD
I hate that SE keep pooping out so much stuff but won't through that money at The World Ends With You 2
I hate that SE keep pooping out so much stuff but won't through that money at The World Ends With You 2
Square Enix should just take a big step back from the pseudo-sci-fi-fantasy nonsense with a steam/cyberpunk anime artstyle and just go back and make something simple.
Keep the flashy graphics but go for a simple, WRPG art style with Japanese anime looking characters, a simple story, simple turn-based gameplay with a twist, and that would help a lot.
Keep the flashy graphics but go for a simple, WRPG art style with Japanese anime looking characters, a simple story, simple turn-based gameplay with a twist, and that would help a lot.
I really don't understand the point you're trying to make. Why should it matter that gaming was "a younger medium" back then?Ipsen said:
Regarding Square-Enix and underperforming sales figures, it's not that the games did not recoup their cost, they did so fairly quickly.
It's just that the people in charge were dissapointed because they saw reviews and metacritic scores and guesstimated the sales numbers from that. Which is completley fucking idiotic and probably a topic by itself.
It's just that the people in charge were dissapointed because they saw reviews and metacritic scores and guesstimated the sales numbers from that. Which is completley fucking idiotic and probably a topic by itself.
My favourite company is Nippon Ichi, but Jim never seems to say shit about them... Heck, I think he praised them for a moment a while back
So, Enix... Madness is awesome, but make the base simple, so the mind can see the focal point in the maelstrom please. It makes things so much better.
Oh & if you could do that sequel to Treasure of the Rudras you were planning back when you made it, that would be nice too
So, Enix... Madness is awesome, but make the base simple, so the mind can see the focal point in the maelstrom please. It makes things so much better.
Oh & if you could do that sequel to Treasure of the Rudras you were planning back when you made it, that would be nice too
I saw that Batman figure and, I believe my response was: "What?"
Hell, I've played FFXIII recently, and there are two things I remember clearly from it: Hope is voiced by Phineas from Phineas and Ferb, and Sazh is the most likeable person in this band of assholes.
Hell, I've played FFXIII recently, and there are two things I remember clearly from it: Hope is voiced by Phineas from Phineas and Ferb, and Sazh is the most likeable person in this band of assholes.
For someone who claims to not remember Final Fantasy XIII, Jim did a pretty good job of summing it up...
Square Enix definitely spent way too much time on Final Fantasy XIII. To think it was supposed to be this grand world in which multiple games existed, but then when we got the first entry it was like 100 people all in different countries and speaking different languages played the 3 word story game. I guess after that colossal fail Square-Enix decided the only way to get out of this was to kill that universe's God.
And I think that Batman was wearing another Batman...
Square Enix definitely spent way too much time on Final Fantasy XIII. To think it was supposed to be this grand world in which multiple games existed, but then when we got the first entry it was like 100 people all in different countries and speaking different languages played the 3 word story game. I guess after that colossal fail Square-Enix decided the only way to get out of this was to kill that universe's God.
And I think that Batman was wearing another Batman...
Jim seemed to imply that Final Fantasy XV will actually exist and be released one day. I laughed at that. Maybe they can publish Half Life 3, The Last Guardian and Beyond Good and Evil 2 while they're at it? Let's have one massive box set of games that are definitely real.
Final Fantasy is an experiment to see how much crap can they get away with on brand recognition alone, it's artful trolling at its finest, stop hatin'.
....That Batman figure looks pretty damn cool.
Thing is, looking at it is the only thing that it's good for. Playing with it would probably be horrible, much like how the gameplay in Square's games has taken a dive into the dumpster.
Let's really hope that Bravely Default has actually woken them up like they claim it has - a game with mediocre graphics that focused on the gameplay will herald that every game they make after FF15 (which looks like crap by the way) will be designed similarly.
Thing is, looking at it is the only thing that it's good for. Playing with it would probably be horrible, much like how the gameplay in Square's games has taken a dive into the dumpster.
Let's really hope that Bravely Default has actually woken them up like they claim it has - a game with mediocre graphics that focused on the gameplay will herald that every game they make after FF15 (which looks like crap by the way) will be designed similarly.
I just wanted to pop in to say I really need a soundbite of Jim Sterling saying "Stop being so fuckin' *WEEEIIRD* all the time!"
Jim, I'm a huge fan of Blazblue. Still, I must admit, I'd love to see you do a similar rant on the Blazblue storyline. It would be a riot.
The last point always makes me lose faith in humanity a little more each time I see it. Why do the average joe defend a corporation? They are soulless money grubby machines, they will do anything to get your money. So why would anyone defend them?
Unless you actually hold stock in the company, publicly shaming them into doing the right thing should be everyone's prerogative.
Unless you actually hold stock in the company, publicly shaming them into doing the right thing should be everyone's prerogative.
Thanks for this Jim. When FFX hit I was hoping that it was a one-off game of miss-matched clothing and such but they just kinda dug in even deeper. They've thoroughly lost my interest and all they really had to do was keep my attention since I've been with them since FF1. Still have that even for Nintendo.