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Post by Vyse the determined on May 4, 2007 3:17:38 GMT -5
Welcome! Feel free to talk about anything game-related in this thread, or make your own. This is merely a starter thread.
EDIT: THIS THREAD MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!
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Post by tougherthanyou on Mar 31, 2008 21:58:19 GMT -5
Just started up Illusion of Gaia again and I realized something: I've never beaten the jewel guy! I got all 50 but I remember him being too hard for me when I was younger. Definitely have to beat him.
I forgot just how great this game is. Great game play, great story, amazing soundtrack, challenging enemies. Any games similar to this for the SNES?
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Post by Vyse the determined on Apr 2, 2008 7:33:13 GMT -5
There aren't really many games quite like Illusion of Gaia. A boy with telekinesis (or something resembling telekinesis) who can transform into different beings who have their own integral role to play as far as puzzle solving, beautiful visuals, a fantastic soundtrack, and some great game play with a unusual story dealing with fantasy versions of certain real-life eras and places. A great game...I want to play it just thinking about it.
Have you tried Soul Blazer? It is the game before Illusion of Gaia. Terranigma (or Tenchi Souzou) is the game after Illusion of Gaia. According to some, The Granstream Saga is the fourth game in the "series" released on Sony Playstation, but I don't really see too much of a connection other than the companies behind it (Shade, which consisted of some members from Quintet) and just because it has certain connections, doesn't automatically imply that they are 100% related, though it is a fairly entertaining game overall. There are a few games released in Japan for SNES if you're interested, but there isn't anything else in the U.S. (IMO) that quite matches the qualities you are looking for (Terranigma is a PAL/JPN release).
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Post by tougherthanyou on Apr 2, 2008 12:07:59 GMT -5
All great points about the game. I haven't been able to pull myself away from it the past few days.
Never played Soul Blazer or Terranigma but I'll definitely give them a try if I can find a copy or either.
Granstream Saga was a very entertaining game but I agree with you; I don't see any connection between the two.
I'd love to hear some of the Japanese titles you have in mind. I've never played any Japanese-only released games but I've thought about it a lot more lately. I'm sure I'm not saying anything you don't know but it seems that there is a litany of great rpg's that never make their way to the states.
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Post by Vyse the determined on Apr 2, 2008 16:22:12 GMT -5
Well for starters, here's a few Action/RPGs from Japan: Haou Taikei: Ryu Knight Rejoice: Aretha Oukoku no Kanata Bushi Seiryuuden Those should be three decent candidates to start with. Each game has different strengths and weaknesses. Ryu Knight has a great presentation with cool music and nice game play, but it is the most free-roaming and probably the most perplexing game to follow. Rejoice has a very similar engine as Ryu Knight (which is unsurprising since they are developed by the same company) and is based off the semi-popular RPG series, Aretha, which originated on the Game Boy. It's the last game in its series and the only one that isn't a turn-based RPG. It too has a pretty nice presentation and cool music, the dialouge is hilarious (if you can understand it...Aeon Genesis is currently trying to translate the game) and it's one of the more hardcore Nintendo RPGs in terms of characters and dialougue. Bushi is the most structured of the three (so getting lost is less likely) and is definitely the most unique of the three, and one of the most unusual games ever made under the genre. Developed by Game Freak, the folks behind Pokemon, Bushi Seiryuuden is a game that combines action, strategy, and typical role playing all into one. The art style is also very reminiscent of anything you may have seen in Pokemon, but this game has a considerably darker tone. You typically travel in an overhead Zelda fashion. Entering houses puts you in a first-person perspective where you can investigate things and talk to people by looking around. Battles are fought in one of two ways; By either slashing monsters and killing them on the field automatically, or by engaging them head on, which takes you to a different screen where your character enlarges. In this mode, it becomes a side-scroller action RPG where each move you make takes turns like a strategy game. However, the movements are virtually seamless, as to not slow down and overshadow the action/rpg feel of it. You can get help from a monster partner (who looks a lot like any ordinary Pokemon) and do different special moves by channeling spiritual energy and manipulating teamwork and " Magatamas". I could say more, but this game is pretty much in a league of its own and a work of art that is difficult to describe. I can say with much confidence that its plays style has not been duplicated by any other game on the SNES and maybe even perhaps by any other console. EDIT: Also, while this has nothing to do with the other ARPGs, I have to recommend Tadaima Yuusha Botsuchuu Okawari. When people ask for Japanese games, I often find myself whoring this game to no end. It's a VERY good RPG board game that me and Bel are currently making a guide for. We're making a comprehensive guide for it that it deserves...ripping all the sprites, making captions and images for the characters and such, translating numerous things like the characters' backgrounds and the general story, etc. Here's a few screens: Haou Taikei: Ryu KnightRejoice: Aretha Oukoku no KanataBushi SeiryuudenTadaima Yuusha Botsuchuu Okawari
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Post by tougherthanyou on Apr 15, 2008 18:20:08 GMT -5
I just picked up the Arc the Lad collection on Ebay pretty cheap. Good buy?
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Post by Vyse the determined on Apr 16, 2008 19:38:40 GMT -5
I just picked up the Arc the Lad collection on Ebay pretty cheap. Good buy? Sure is. I'm not too fond of Arc 1 and 3, but Arc 2 was a great game. It felt kinda obvious to me that Working Designs focused the majority of their attention on the translation of the second game. The dialogue of 1 and 3 felt dry to me and not on par with some of their past work in my fair opinion. Don't get me wrong; I'm glad that they translated the first and third games rather than just giving us one game, but it could have been a little better. Still, you get multiple games (SRPGs at that) for a good price. Can't beat that!
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Post by tougherthanyou on Apr 17, 2008 20:54:56 GMT -5
Thanks for those screen shots! I love the graphics; I'm always nostalgic for the older style.
Yeah, I keep hearing that Arc 2 and 4 are the better of the series.
I'm sad to report that my local game shop, Shakespeares, had to shut down. It was a great place for games of ALL systems and many, many rare finds. Among the great finds were Lufia II (with box and manual) Chrono Trigger (with box and manual) Suikoden II and Breath of Fire III. I hate to see such a great store go.
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Post by Vyse the determined on Apr 19, 2008 16:06:27 GMT -5
I know the feeling buddy. In recent events, an area known as "Bill's Flea Market" caught on fire in Virginia Beach. It was a strange place where many people sold all sorts of various trinkets and whatnot, but there was a store inside of Bill's Flea Market called "Video Game Heaven". They sold all sorts of rare games like Metal Warriors (complete in the box), numerous Sega CD and Sega Saturn games and a truckload of cheap SNES, NES, Atari, Intellivision, and Sega Genesis games. After the fire, I haven't been over there, and I'm not even sure if that Video Game Heaven store will still be in business in that area. If I had the time, I'd stop over there and see if everything is OK, but from what my father told me, there were a bunch of burnt up CPU towers and debris all over the place...so I doubt it I know where another Bill's Flea Market is (and I believe there is a Video Game Heaven there too), but it's so far away from where I live and I've never been there before. Thankfully, no one seems to have gotten physically hurt from the fire. A link to that accident is here.
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Post by tougherthanyou on Apr 20, 2008 9:04:23 GMT -5
That's a shame. Like you said, thank god no one was hurt.
If you happen to find out if they're open for business again let me know. Sometime in the not too distant future I will be road tripping down to VA to visit some friends. If I'm going to be there I may as well check this place out.
Completely random question: I'll assume you've played Breath of Fire III Vyse. I can't get a straight answer on the gamefaqs board so I'll ask you; is the goo king sword a real item or not?
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