Andrew Long - 13:52 EST

I WAS ALL SET TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS this morning when Angel, our lovely maven of editorials, inflicted this maddeningly addictive simulation upon me. It was only with great effort that I was able to pry myself from it, so I hope you appreciate the devotion that went into this!

I've been finishing off Oracle of Seasons after a 2-year break in the action, and I must say, it's still a great deal better than Oracle of Ages. It could be argued that they are both essentially the same game, but I beg to differ; Ages seems to me to be a distillation of all the boring elements of LttP and OoT, while Seasons is the sum of all the good parts. I'm not quite sure why there would be such a decision, but one thing is certain; if you have neither game, you need only seek out Seasons, much as Ages has its moments (and of course, the various Link Cable bonuses).

So there's my advice. I wish it were on a newer game, but regrettably, my current lack of a job has me quite unable to puschase games, so I fear my dream of Dragon Quest 8 ownership will go unfulfilled for the time being. Ah, well.

Rich

As far as games like MarioKart go, I would imagine that there will be attachments that make it more like a steering wheel; Nintendo has already allowed that there will be a number of such things made available once the system is out, so I would surmise that a fair number of the early titles for the system will come with bonus attachments.

Your mind, ultimately, will have to be its own master. What you make of this is entirely up to you, and while I am optimistic about the controller, I concede that it is still quite possible that it could turn out to be an utter bust. We'll just have to wait and see, unfortunately, although I think we'll probably get a pretty up-close experience with it at E3, so check back then for a more hands-on account.

Thanks for sharing, Luke. Most unfortunately, the CD you refer to is the version they suckered many of my compatriots at More Friends into buying in the mistaken belief that orchestral tracks were included, so I do believe you will remain orchestral-versionless until February. Time will tell, I suppose; either way, you owe me money :)

got a question for you. sinceFinalFantasy V and VI is do out this yeat my question is in the japan will there be a limited edition gb micro bundle for them as well?

Paine

Having failed to keep up with J's column of late, I don't really know of the original bundle you speak of, but assuming such a bundle existed with the release of FFIV, I would imagine Square Enix would use similar tactics to promote the release of V and VI. Amano art always sells, as they say.

Incidentally, I refuse the GBA Micro, another reason why I likely failed to pay attention to this particular issue. I've already paid for my GBA twice, and I'll be dadratted if I throw down a third time.

Sigh, it always seems that at this time of the year there is nothing worth doing but play games, read books and try to bare with the plague of grasshoppers that has hit us. Damn Summer and it even snowed here for the first time in my 20 years of life!

ANDREW You're a hateful, hateful man, you know that? If I lived in Australia I'd be basking in your ample sunlight and cancerousing my skin to the best of my ability. As it stands, I am instead walking into the teeth of -15 degree windchill, so I'll take the grasshoppers anyday, plague or no.

Anywho i've been playing Mario and Luigi and having nerly passed it I am looking forward to the DS version, so have you played it and would you recommend it. Also is there any news of Releses dates (Even which Quarter of the year) for FF 12, Suikoden 5, KH 2 and Suioden Tactics yet for us PAL gamers.

ANDREW I have not played M&L 2, but everyone I know who has seems quite smitten, so if you have it in your means to get it, do so, M&L games generally tend towards awesomeness. Regrettably, I wouldn't hold my breath on any of those titles, save possibly for Suiko Tactics, which is already out here. S-E only just announced a PAL date for Dragon Quest VIII, so you're likely to be waiting a while before you hear anything about FFXII, which hasn't even seen the light of day in Japan yet.

Also with all of the rereleases of SNES games by Squarenix what is the liklyhood of them releaseing Terranigma, as that would have to be one of the greatest games Enix ever made for the SNES, pity the NA NTSC branch never got to legally see it! Lastly what is the likelyhood of the Australian XBOX 360 launch including the same malfunctions that have been included all over the world thus far keeping in mind we still have a few months to go!

Thanks anyway Bainick the Ys noob!

Terranigma has been off the radar this long, I don't imagine it's a particularly high priority on S-E's list, what with the FF name to whore out and Code Age Commanders and Valkyrie Profile to deal with.

As for the 360 launch, depends on how fast MS irons out the bugs, I would imagine. Either way you should expect a certain percentage of launch units to be defective, because launch units are generally not as reliable as those that arrive later on down the line. From the ancient examples of the top-loading Famicom or the faux-wood panel Genesis to the more recent PS2 v.defective crap graduating to PS2 v.barely functional paperweight, it is a longstanding caution to those who would rush out at launch: your system is at least somewhat more likely to dissolve into a rusty pile of crap than those who wait a while for things to become more... streamlined.

In conclusion, I offer you my stock system launch advice: never buy a system at launch, it's stupidity and the worst form of penis envy-buying-intoism.

I've been bothering that Matt guy a lot recently with incessant letter sending, but when I saw that you were pilfering some of his letters, I thought I'd share the love.

Recently Matt was asking for opinions of the XBOX 360 from readers, and I did send him quite a vehement letter of my dislike of said console. I'm guessing due to its rather ranting nature it was not published. So, I know my opinion on the advent of MS's new behemoth, and I know Matt's, so what is your opinion on it? Like it? Hate it? Can't wait for that glorious BSoD (Blue Screen of Death for the non-geeks) of fun?

ANDREW I have little interest in the 360 at present. Launch systems, as I may have mentioned in the last letter, do not particularly interest me, and it takes a year or so and at least 5 good games before I start getting those pangs of avarice that so plague us all. I would imagine that once Sakaguchi gets his act together and starts pumping out games my interest might possibly be piqued, but most of the other stuff currently slated out for the system doesn't particularly intrigue me. That said, I have no issue with it simply because it is a Microsoft product; MS just doesn't irk me like it does all you crazy Linux people. Yeah, they've employed underhanded tactics and probably continue to do so, and some elements of Windows make my teeth hurt, but I really have no issue with their operating system. Now if this was 2000 and I was still running ME, you might be getting an entirely different reaction from me... But I likes XP just fine.

I myself am looking forward to both the PS3 and the Revolution, most definitely because both are slated for backwards compatibility. But since I don't buy consoles until almost a year after they are out (so that the fun 'oops' kinks are worked out and the price drops a bit), I will be staying with current consoles and games.

ANDREW Well then, it seems my sanctimony was unnecessary. Carry on!

BTB (by the by), let me know, when you get the chance, what you think of Suikoden Tactics from the standpoint of a non-tatics gamer. I'm always curious about tatics games, but most bore me, sad to say. Any recommendations for any other tactics games for the non-tactics gamer?

Swapping targets of Curiosity,
MagRowan

I don't know quite what to say about the game from a non-tactics gamer's standpoint because I like tactical RPGs, and the second you start playing them you are by definition no longer a non-tactics gamer. Even so, it is a good beginner level T-RPG, so I would highly recommend it if you've never played a T-RPG before. Following your completion of that, you should then aim for Ogre Battle titles and Final Fantasy Tactics, both of which are most excellent. Finally, if you're up for a spot of addictive wackiness, pop in some Nippon Ichi titles and I guarantee you enjoyment. Just make sure that whatever you do, you steer clear of Onimusha Tactics. Nobody should have to play that, and I do mean nobody.

Douglas,

Maryann May

Maryann May

Okiedoke, that's all for this week. Next week I shall endeavour to have played something relevant, so as to be able to answer some of your questions. I'm thinking DQ8, or maybe that Wild ARMs title you're all so crazy about. Then again, WA4 would require playing the first 3, which is not the sort of thing that fires my soul with desire. Perhaps I'll just stick to creamsicles; those seldom cause any sticky mishaps!

Until Friday, I remain humbly yours.

Andrew Long went to market, to buy a fat pig.

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or was that fish... Who knows, it's all the same.