Andrew,

Inspired by a recent letter about Xenosaga, I am writing my letter almost entirely "auf Deutsch," or in German. No, do not try to correct my Deutsch, German-Speakers, because I proofread!

Guten Tag, mein Freund! Was spielst du gern am Wochenende? Heute, spiele ich "Final Fantasy Tactics." Es ist Spitze! Aber es ist ziemlich alt... Ich spiele auch "Legaia 2: Duel Saga." Ich finde das prima. Wie findest du "Legaia 2?" Und jetzt, wie findest du ".hack?" Ich glaube das ist toll.

Ok, ok- %Translation%
Hello, friend! What do you like to play on the weekends? Today, I am playing Final Fantasy Tactics. It is perfect! But it is rather old... I also play Legaia 2: Duel Saga. I think that is great. What do you think of Legaia 2? And what do you think of .hack now? I think it is cool.

And, for fun, Literal translation!

Good day, my friend! What play you gladly on weekends? Today, play I Final Fantasy Tactics. It is the top! But it is rather old... I play also Legaia 2: Duel Saga. I find that great. How find you Legaia 2? And now, how find you .hack? I think that is cool.

The syntax is destroying my mind!

--Ewcoolio

I'm currently playing .hack. I figured it would be a good distraction until Xenosaga and my copy of Quest for Glory V gets here. The game is great but it has a LOT of flaws. First off, lets talk about the graphics, specifically the environments, because the characters and effects are actually very well done. The environments are horrid. This game is supposed to take place in a game which is produced more than a few years from now. If this was the case the environments would not look like they came fresh off the PSX. They're blocky and pixilated and just generally BLAHish. Next, lets move to the combat system. The horribly unbalanced combat system is just that, horribly unbalanced, moreover it's inanely repetitive with it's constant X button mashing. It should be noted (ironically) that these flaws are the flaws which vex EVERY single MMORPG in existence and as such this game does EXACTLY what it promises to do, which is to say it simulates an MMORPG down to the finest detail. Where you get hooked is the plot. After about 10 hours into the game (a hefty cost in terms of time) the plot REALLY picks up. You get to the point where you have gained enough levels, weapons, and armor that you stop dying so much and get on with the game. This is when the game becomes addictive.

Now with my question. Do you think that the makers of this game purposefully incorporated these flaws to simulate MMORPG's? And if this is the case do you think that subsequent volumes will upgrade graphics and gameplay mechanics (much like monthly patches do in current MMORPG's)? Do you think that the DVD's released with subsequent volumes will actually be worth watching? Because the one included with volume 1 wasn't that great (albeit not the worst anime I've ever seen). Thanks for reading my insanely long and somewhat repetitive letter :-p

Sincerely Yours,

The Lich King

PS. 1 vote for you getting Xenosaga

Dearest hostile rpg question guru,

I had a question or two, as well as some commentary...

The Rpg awards that were given out by RPGamer frustrate & sadden me. 2002 was the worst year in terms of RPGs that we have had lately. Why? Two reasons:

1. Squaresoft, the people that usually give impressive titles fairly regularly, churned out Kingdom Hearts. Forgetting for a moment the fact that Disney is an evil corporation who long ago sold away any artistic merit the company might have had for cheap & easy profit-- see recent (direct to video, more $profit$) releases such as Peter Pan 2, The Jungle Book 2, Lady & the Tramp 2, Cinderella 2, etc. Not to mention the fact that most Disney "creations" are merely old fairy tales turned into animated movies, often w/annoying musical numbers added in. Now, they pay other companies to create for them, reaping only profit from the use of Disney's owned characters. Let's look at just the game of Kingdom Hearts for a moment. It's an action-rpg without any quick buttons. This makes certain necessary functions (like curing yourself in boss fights) about a five step process. The Menu system should not be used in a real-time action rpg battle. Now, also look at the ridiculous looking characters, a bunch of 7 year olds w/giant feet. The story, plot, & symbolism are all geared at what little kids can understand. Meaning they are simplistic drivel. I'll take any stereotypical teen angst RPG of late over a kiddie RPG.

2. I love the Suikoden series. Suikoden 2 is easily the best sequel ever. It took all of the fun aspects of the original game & improved upon it by about 500%. Now look at Suikoden 3-- easily the biggest letdown since Chrono Cross. Horrible Artficial Stupidity controls half of your party at all times, making the battle system very unfriendly to the gamer. Many spells (including most of the fire spells-- the True Fire Fune therefore sucks), which hit everything in an area, are worthless because you will hit the AS controlled drones. Several fun minigames & optional parts of the castle system have been removed or dummed down-- the cooking minigame (gone), the detective, the bath scenes, etc. Also, unlike the first sequel which brought back most of the best characters, almost none of the heroes from the previous games return. Horrible. Unforgiveable. Suikoden 3 is bad.

3. As far as new games go, I'm gonna recommend that you get Tenchu 3. Nothing beats ninja action. Except maybe multiplayer ninja action, which Tenchu 3 also has. I am a hardcore Xenogears fan & even I must say, Tenchu 3, then Xenosaga.

---The Azuma ninja clan rises again...

First things first. Here's my vote on your game to purchase, I know this will win too, but Xenosaga. Xeno Xeno Xeno. You just can't beat Monolith soft for story and gameplay. Second things second. Have you heard anything about Arc The Lad Collection? How is the tact in that game? Does it compare to the god of TRPG's, Final Fantasy Tactics? I'm curious.

"The Fish who keeps on swimming, is the first to chill upstream." - Nix Hex

Dae

• No games, cold weather.

• Decent games, windy weather.