What RPGs Should Be Learning From One Another
RPG (Role Playing Games as opposed to rocket propelled grenade) have been around for quite awhile now, dating all the way back to the humble beginnings of Dungeons and Dragons. Since then RPG’s have like all creative endeavors, have grown and adapted to reach a wider audience. Since conjuring up portly unbathed nerds dressing as wizards and warriors, swinging real maces at each other brings nothing but either general detestation or shame for your teenage years, we’ll skip right to what RPG’s affect the most…video games.
the most famous game of the series, at least I'm told
The reigning queen of video game RPG’s has been and to some extent (if only for fearing the wrath of the fanatics that follow her will) still is the Final Fantasy series. Final Fantasy has continued to push compelling stories and characters at us for many years, but is that enough now? The case I’m trying to make is that all the elements for a fantastic RPG are out there, they just aren’t cooperating with one another…or at least under the same creative license.
So let’s take a look at a couple of the franchises that are out there and what they have to offer.
Final Fantasy
Pros:The Final Fantasy games have always (for the most part) had incredible detail poured both into it’s story and it’s characters. Playing a game without a character you care about or at least think is cool, is liking doing homework, it just isn’t any fun. Same goes for story. The story needs to be grand enough so you feel like your characters are really making a difference but you also don’t want to be too over the top. I think also Final Fantasy has strayed away from stereotypes…for the most part. Characters like Barret, Rex XIII, Kefka, Auron, and Lulu are all very unique and bring a breath a fresh air to the sometimes stale and predictable RPGs. Of course Final Fantasy isn’t totally exempt. A main character with wild blond hair that wields some sort of sword (and grows for feminine looking with each new game) has been done to death but I think Square Soft has realized this and both Final Fantasy XII games are bringing us some very interesting protagonists. It isn’t always easy to create a complex, coherent, and not totally confusing story together, especially when RPG games tend to last about 40 hours, but the Final Fantasy always seems to deliver.
Cons:The final fantasy games have been to date, a turn based RPG game, which really goes back to the roots of the old pencil and paper, 12 sided dice RPG’s. That’s all good and fun, and many older gamers still enjoy this style, but I don’t think it has much place for modern day RPG’s, unless backed by an incredible story and characters to make up for it. I equate turn based combat in an RPG as about as much fun as back in collonial days when men in powdered wigs would gather in straight lines across from each other and take turns firing at each other. I’m not sure what went wrong between the brutal days of medieval England and the parading around of men dressed as parliamentry toy soldiers, but something went horribly wrong and many people died because of it. You see, if I’m going to fight an enemy I’m not going to stand there and let him point his weapon at me while I try to find the damn gun powder for my musket (and you better pray that shot either kills the idiot lined up on the other side pointing his gun at you, or that you get a musket ball through the brain, cuz the reloading time on your one shot musket is a bitch). But look at today…do people wait around for other people to shoot them? Goodness no, so why do we still play games like that. I’m currently playing through Final Fantasy 7 for the first time and I can’t stand how my characters just stand there. But it’s a pretty good game so I overlook it, but todays games can’t be overlooked anymore. Turn based combat is out, real time combat is in.
Tales of _________
Pro: The Tales series (Tales of Symphonia, Tales of the Abyss, Tales of Vesperia, etc.) are also great story tellers. The games are usually ridden with mature thoughts and themes on ethics, religion, government, etc. The stories are surprisingly complex if you really take the time to get to know the story. The next thing they get right is combat. Four characters, running around at their own will (or if you’re playing with a friend, them) trying to help support each other and survive whatever debacle you guys have gotten yourselves into. Now you can pull up a screen at anytime I tell the other characters what to do, which is helpful but more often than not you just go into their settings and define what kind of character you want them to be and they’ll do the rest. Not only does this make managing a whole team a bit more bearable but it also makes the experience feel more real. The boss is summoning fire around him, well why the hell would I stick around? I’m running in the opposite direction and waiting till it dies down to slit his throat, now that is just more real and natural. I like the fact that I don’t always know what my team members are going to do. It’s spontaneous and it feels like you really are traveling with people who are individuals that you get to know throughout the game. Another amazing plus of the games has been being able to pick who you control. Say you don’t like playing as Lloyd from Symphonia…then play as some else (the only downside being that the main protagonist is usually easier to control and has better moves and therefore you don’t usually have to trade out. One more point and then I’m done. Picking which character is represented in the towns is quite unique especially when people will react to you different. Zelos getting items and money from any girl in town one absolute genius.
Cons: Unfortunately the Tales games suffer from what I like to call AnimeManic. In other words the characters are often tired cliches that anybody has seen a single anime series, can point out. This isn’t to say that the series doesn’t have to very interesting characters, Luke fon Fabre, Regal Bryant, and Zelos are just a few who come to mind. But more often than not the characters are all things we’ve seen before (some angst ridden teen who can save the world, female healer and mystic, etc.). The sometimes stereotypical characters, especially when they talk to one another, tend to detract from a usually brilliant story. Also the cooking mini game…I don’t see much point to it. I’ve never used it and never found any real reason to ever pursue using it. Though hunting for the Wonder Chef brings back nostalgia from the times of Where’s Waldo? I just wish the Wonder Chef was a playable character.
Kingdom Hearts
Pro: This game is by and far the closest I have played to what an RPG should be, or at least play like. Not only is all the combat real time and without restrictions mostly, it’s completely fun to play. You feel like (especially in the 2nd game) that you’re fighting in an epic anime battle, and I don’t care how much you hate anime, you know you want to have an awesome fight like Sephiroth and Cloud from Advent Children or just about anybody from Dragon Ball Z. The game (I believe aimed at children, but played by just about everybody) has strong characters, incredible and catchy music, and somehow mixes original characters, Final Fantasy characters, and classic Disney characters together rather well. Just about every part of this game feels epic, and again you have two characters (usually Donald and Goofy) backing you up. Now in the first game they were worthless except for cannon fodder or a meat shield, but in the 2nd game they really pulled their ish together.
Cons: I do in some ways love the story that is going on in Kingdom Hearts. It can be a bit campy at times but there are some genuine parts that really feel emotional. The problem is the story doesn’t make a lick of sense and I dare you try and not sound like a mad man or a drunk trying to explain what is going on. Luckily the game doesn’t really offer you many choices (in some ways is good, and in others bad) which makes it very easy to decipher whose bad. In fact before each battle the game is kind enough to tell you to kill defeat whatever said foe is before you. The only other problem I have with the game is that the bad guys don’t often react to your physical attacks. In other words I can be laying into some baddie with my keyblade (oh also another downer, you kill people with a gigantic key, which instead of being humane like a sword, just seems over the top, grotesque and not a very pleasant way to go.) but he’ll just sit there and in the middle of my attack he’ll hit me. It just feels too artificial. If I hit somebody they should fly back, dodge, block, or at least acknowledge by legendary beat down with a key by either screaming in horror or squishing their face together in pain.
Fable
what other game can make whores this much fun?
Pro: (going off the first of the series and the said experiences on the upcoming sequel, assuming Molyneux can deliver his said promises this time around) The game offers a very free form to it. You can be whatever you want to be. You can be a huge muscular gay sword wielding warrior or you can be a skinny, pale, wife killing tyrant who uses magic. The game also feels very much alive. Being made in Europe it has a completely different feel to it than any of the other games (because most the others come from Japan). The people you meet are always very diverse, the colors and art direction are top notch (no anime here), and the quests often put you in difficult situations on deciding what is right and what is wrong, in other words its not always clear cut. So despite the first games very short length, Fable has almost reached exactly what I think RPG gamers are looking for. A character of their own to whom they can make into anyone and a free environment to do so in. The game has also created a unique world for itself that really does feel alive and unique.
Knights of the Old Republic
Sadly I can’t really offer up much for these games. I’m told they are great but anytime I watch my friends play I can’t get over how boring it is that you can’t really control your character directly. Maybe someday I’ll bite the bullet and play it, but the boring gameplay better be worth it. The story however I’m told is excellent, if not some of the best RPG storytelling out there. I’ve read up on it and it seems very intriguing and for that reason alone I might have to someday play it. So I can’t really post a review but:
Pros: Story! Characters! Wookies! Star Wars! Choices and storytelling woven together seamlessly!
Cons: Boo combat
I think I’ve covered the major RPG’s out there. Sure theres Oblivion which was huge…a bit too huge, which was full of more fun sidequests than real story (unless you’re counting Shivering Isles, which felt like a whimsical but disturbing 80’s children’s movie…if you grew up in the 80’s you know what I’m talking about), Glitches were abounding and when I swing a sword at some troll’s feet, it should fall off (which is why I’m looking forward to Fallout 3, more limbs falling than a George Lucas movie). I feel like most of the game I’m running around with a very dull blade trying to incessantly beat people into submission. I also won’t go into Mass Effect. Sorry but I saw my roommate play it some and its just more of Kotor, with a little bit more free moving about. The weird land vehicle parts looked like it was more fun to play in a dumpster of rusted nails, and the voice acting (seth green…) were not very good pics. Hire real voice actors, not television actors.
Anyway all this to point out all the games strengths and weaknesses so hopefully one day somebody will gather together the strengths, learn from the weaknesses, and take the RPG world by surprise because we can’t take much more of the same crap being shoved at us (ok i say that but we’ll probably still buy it…RPG geeks are addicts, we’re just jonesing for another fix to help us get by and will really take anything you throw at us…much to our own detriment)
And now more whore pics!
Male prostitution...a first for gaming?
