Blog Archives

Another Factory of Runes

15/1/2011

Having a really punny morning. Ho-hum. Not sure if I already mentioned this, but there's a new Rune Factory game in the work! It's called Rune Factory Oceans and will be coming out for Wii and PS3. And there's a trailer to boot!

(Actually the game was announced last fall, but heeeeey!) While it doesn't seem that impressive graphics-wise (they probably wanted to grant equality between the PS3 and Wii versions, which is neat), but the gameplay and bachelores/rettes look rock-solid!
One of the design choices I don't like is the use of 3D models instead of character art, like the other games in the series. I mean, why do they have to show them on-screen like that? Can't they just zoom in and show the characters talking? Oh well, shouldn't complain unless I can do better, huh?

My guess is that it'll look more lively in motion, but it has been proven to work with 2D as well; look at Trinity Universe or Neptunia for instance.
The game also seems to be more combat-oriented, like the earlier Rune Factory 3.

One of the biggest additions, though, is that you can now play as a girl! Sure, you could play as your loli daughter in RF2, but this time the female lead will be available from the very start! That's a neat addition, and I'm sure it'll attract an even bigger female audience, especially with all the hunky guys available for marriage.
But this game also raises several questions: What will the differences between the Wii and PS3 version be? Will time still pass in buildings, like in RF3? Will you be able to have a child? Will it ever be published outside of Japan? And most importantly: WHO will publish it then? I for myself really hope XSEED will, because Natsume's translations are always such a swig-swag between good and horrible. Oh well, we'll see!
And that's all I have to say today. Have a wonderful day, victi- er... "viewers".

Dragon Questing

5/1/2011

Good mornight everyone~
My motivation for this blog is gradually returning! And after spending a few days not opening the maker I decided to replay some games... and somehow I ended up replaying every Dragon Quest game I own! (I happen to be a massive fan) The one I spent the most time with was Dragon Quest VI, which is still one of my favorites. It has pretty decent graphics for a SNES game, a great soundtrack and a (rather time investment.heavy) job system! And it has some pretty likeable characters. Oh, yeah, the screenshots are photoshop'd.

That's your lovely sister♥

I feel you, buddy.

The game doesn't take itself very serious. The graphics aren't much by today's standards, but back then they were true eye candy! Especially if you consider that Dragon Quest V looked like this.

In battle the enemies also animate when they attack, which is pretty cool. And it was a true rarity back then, mostly due to the SNES's limitations. But it helped to make battles feel much more lively. One of the game's drawbacks is the clunky interface. They updated so much, but it remained the same. If you want to talk to someone you have to open your menu, select talk and face their direction. (Okay, there is a shortcut button, but c'mon!) But wait, there actually is an improvement hidden deep inside: There's now a bag! You can put as many items as you want in there, but you can't access them during battle. Take in consideration that your characters can normally only carry twelve items and this thing will save your life.

The other drawback is that you'll have to fight a lot of these cute, lovely animated monsters. YOu'll have to grind, grind and grind to finally kick the boss's behind. But it's not that bad- you'll most likely play the game on an emulator with a speedup function, and the remake's battles are extremely fast by default. Oh, yeah, once you get access to the job system you'll have to grind even more to raise your additional job level. I don't feel like saying much about the job system other than that it is not as complex as, say, Final Fantasy V. (Which I also liked a lot)

The game was never officially released outside of Japan, but there's a pretty decent fan translation for the SNES original. And there's a DS remake which was recently announced for America! It's in Nintendo's care, so you won't have to worry about bad translation or censorship. (This is to date the only Dragon Quest with blood. But don't worry, you don't see anybody bleeding it. It already happened once you arrive there.)

The hero, Milly and Ashlynn also appear in Dragon Quest IX, but I won't tell you where!

LINKS:
Hardcore Gaming's entry of Dragon Quest VI
TV Tropes' entry (Don't click this if you have a life!)

Happy New Year!

1/1/2011

Yeah, happy new year everybody! T'was a short year if you ask me, but I've also come a long way with this site. And in May it'll be one year old!
Anyways, the following will be a list of resolutions I have that nobody will read:
- Release a demo (have been promising that since June. Way to go!)
- Finish a Disgaea game
- Update blog more frequently
And that's about it. Have some nice holidays~