Matt Demers - 23:50 EST

OKAYYYYY... that's quite enough. To anybody in their right mind living in the Great Lakes region, I hope you didn't step outside today if you didn't need to. It's a disgusting -15 degrees outside - that's 5 or so, Fahrenheit - and I really, really want summer to come back. Thank goodness I'm off to the Dominican Republic in a few weeks for a sunny (hopefully) vacation.

One funny thing about the iciness: There is a very clear inverse correlation between the temperature and attendance at the school's gym. It's usually a zoo in there, but today I walked in and literally hopped on one of the usually-impossible-to-get-on treadmills.

By the by, it seems very unlikely that I'll be around for a Friday column this week, because I'm heading home to celebrate my "big" 24th birthday. What did you get me?

Ah, letters will do. Watch now, as I answer some!

Hi Matt

I agree with you that the story in FF 12 was underwhelming. At the moment I haven’t even generated the energy to finish it but have a party stuck in limbo. I think it is a sad tale since this is the first Final Fantasy that I have run into that has given me this result. I mean that I have no trouble spending inordinate amounts of time trying to find the ruddy statues in Oblivion but I can’t muster the energy to care what happens to Ashe, Basche, Vaan or Penelo. I mean that I found even FF X-2 to have better developed characters. It is depressing.

I do have the question for Bigwook as to how he/she came up with the handle. Bigwook?

As for FFXIII I really hope that they put the fascinating stories back in. This business of creative play mechanics is fine and well but the clincher for making FF’s so important to my understanding of role-playing is having some need to know what happens to the characters. I want to be drawn into the story and find it essential that I solve the problems associated with beating the bad guy. I leave the empire building to the real time strategy folks. Come on Square lets make an adventure that I really want to play.

A

I'm sure you've noticed, but Final Fantasy games do tend to change a lot from one game to the next. Out of the last five, not a single one is at all close to any of the others, because different types of games appeal to different people. And I'm glad that just because XII isn't your favourite that you still have hope for XIII. I really wasn't a huge fan of FFX, but I was pleasantly surprised by XII. Who knows what the future will bring?

Hey Matt,

Thanks for your Radiata Stories recommendation. I just ordered it (although who knows when I'll actually have time to play it!). By in large, I agreed with Adam's excellent critique of FFXII, but I had some additional thoughts, and a question.

**WARNING: FFXII SPOILERS FOLLOW**, natch.

(1) Unlike Adam, I was less frustrated by the absence of a major plot twist. Quite frankly, I'm more than a little sick of the whole cliched, "wow, you mean the ostensible enemy I set out to vanquish was really just a figurehead for some disgruntled god/demigod/undefined-force that's read too much Nietzsche/Schopenhauer and now wants to eliminate/ethnically-cleanse/time-kompress humanity" plot. Yeah, there was still a bit of that in FFXII, but less than most other recent FFs, imo.

No, what really, REALLY bothered me about the plot was the complete and utter absence of Rozaria. I mean, it's only like the other major empire on the verge of war with Archades -- the war that providing the main plot device for the otherwise nonexistent story. It would be nice to have actually, you know, SEEN it. I kept thinking throughout the game that I would eventually head to Rozaria; even after I beat the game I figured, "wow, I must have taken a wrong turn somewhere. Maybe there's a hunt that will take me there..." But no, I'm left to conclude that they just completely left it out. Mind-boggling, really.

(2) I found there was very little zaniness/silliness/mirth to be found in FFXII. Admittedly, recent FFs have favored the portentious over the goofy: long gone are the days of "do you care to see me dance?" But seriously, when the best the game can muster for a funny moment is commenting on a bard's "spooniness" -- oh yeah, that was funny, like, EIGHT GAMES AGO -- it's a bit disappointing.

Besides Skies of Arcadia, what RPGs would you recommend for their joie de vivre?

(3) The best thing FFXII has going for it, imo, is Ivalice itself. I thought in a lot of ways that it was the "main character" of the game, and so I was perhaps less frustrated than some at the lack of general character development. Wandering around Ivalice reminded me of what I loved about old Zelda games, which were as much about pure exploration as about plot-development or beating a dungeon. (Ironically, Twilight Princess reminds me of FFX for its essential linearity.) Whereas Adam felt that the hunts and esper sidequests were not sufficiently integrated into the story and didn't provide good enough rewards, I came to see the hunts (and, again, wandering Ivalice in general) as the main point of the game, with the main plot of the story something to do on the side.

Which made me think of another "existential" RPG question for you: how much plot should an RPG have? I mean, if an RPG is fundamentally about making your own choices and creating your own stories, an RPG with a strictly-regimented, plot-twisty narrative may not be so conducive. I guess this dovetails with my earlier question about RPGs that force you to make major, game-altering choices. I'm curious as to how open-ended or strictly-structured a narrative you would create in designing your ideal RPG.

Thanks for taking my letter!

Foolicus

Oh, it totally depends on who you are. I think that that question is exactly the reason why there are different types of RPGs out there. Some people really prefer a good thick plot full of layers and extras to figure out. Others would rather have a game that's heavy on the gameplay, and would be perfectly happy to have a storyline backdrop covered only on the front page of the instruction manual. And you know, though I think that the stories have become more important over the years, that difference will always be present. There will always be the Xenosaga lovers and the Pokémon lovers, and I think that broad variety is a good thing. It'll challenge developers to continue to release a diverse range of creative games in an attempt to appeal to everybody. And well, that's good for everybody, isn't it?

Thanks, Foolicus! I appreciate the letter.

Hey Matt!

I remember last week that underrated RPGs were a topic of discussion. Well, sorry for being late, but I found one that no one really talked about: Phantasy Star Universe.

I read the reviews for PSU and they made the game seem like complete and utter tripe. I was leary, but I had a few extra bucks left over from Christmas and decided to pick it up anyway. I can't believe how wrong the reviewers were! This game was what Phantasy Star Online should have been on the single player front. The story is stereotypical RPG (Boy saves world from immense evil !), but at least the characters are reletively fun (They are a bit hackneyed, though) and the worlds are gorgeous. It is a Diablo colne, no doubt about it, but a reletively good one. My only complaints are that guns no longer have unlimited ammo (bummer!) and the voice acting is downright pain inducing (I'm looking at you, Ethen Waber!!). Fun game that any fan of PSO should pick up.

I didn't play it online, mostly because I don't have the network adaptor and I will not pay the monthly fee for a Diablo clone! At least you can create a character to play around with after you clear Chapter 5. Sure, you don't get any story, but at least they gave you an opportunity to play someone other than Ethen Waber.

Well, going back to play some more PSU. Then maybe I can finally finish Devil Summoner afterwords....

Witecat

It's kind of funny. You praised the game heavily, and then spent more time talking about what things were wrong with it! I'd like to hear a few more details from you! Why are the worlds gorgeous? Are they detailed and pretty, graphically? Or is it something else? How is the gameplay? I'm not really that familiar with Diablo myself, so it's difficult for me to say.

The only other thing I can say is that the reviewers aren't always going to agree with you. Games are out there to enjoy, whether or not they are rated highly, and no matter how bad any game might seem based on what you read, someone out there is going to find pleasure in them. It's nice to hear that you're proving those reviewers wrong, and I'm sure that there are others out there who will be inclined to agree with your opinion! This is why I always say, though, that if a game like Children of Mana or .hack//GU or any of these others that get mediocre ratings... if they still look interesting to you nonetheless, don't get scared off by a low score. At least give it a rental, play it at a friend's house, or somehow give it a fair shot first. Otherwise, you could miss out on something you'd really enjoy!

Thanks Witecat!! Write back soon.

Hi Matt.

My DS should be arriving (via a friend of a friend) this Tuesday, which means I'll get it no later than Thursday. I already took lots of games from another DS-owning friend I have and I can't wait! Oh time, why must you be so inflexible to slow-moving humans?

Also, you should read the webcomic xkcd (surprisingly, the address is xkcd.com). It's pretty funny, especially if you know some math (but mostly it's not math, so other people can enjoy it too).

Say, do you read books? What's your favorite genres? Because my younger brother likes comic books, I get to read tons of them myself (although I do own a lot of Neil Gaiman and Alan Moore stuff, among others). However, what I read most is sci-fi. About half a meter of my bookshelf is dedicated to Asimov books but I have plenty of others. I counted my books the other day and was astounded to discover I own 140 books. I think that's cool (owning the books, not counting them. That was a bit pathetic. :-) ).

Zohar Gilboa

Well, I used to. Until the blitz of university sucked all of my time and part of my soul away. I have a fair library of books, to be honest. Not 140, to be sure, but I did garner a decent collection up until the end of high school, I think. I used to like a wide variety of things, from mysteries to sci-fi to Michael Crichton-style "realistic" sci-fi. I miss the days where I'd jump into bed early to polish off an extra chapter or three, but now, my desire to do so has just dropped off. It's pretty terrible, but it's the way it is.

Good to hear from you again, Zohar!

Hiya Matt/Ouro,

After reading todays column, I'm feeling a little bit nervous....

Why?

Because yesterday, after finally conceding to the clamor of friends and peers, I ordered World of Warcraft. Yep, my soul is now forfeit.

However, I'm still pretty confident that I will still carry on playing on my Wii and PS2, seeing as Final Fantasy 12 comes out over here in just over a month, and Final Fantasy is still the series closest to my heart. If I still have a heart left after WoW, anyway. But never fear...there is hope. A friend (one of the ones who convinced me to play WoW) started WoW over a year ago, and has only played it 3 times. See, WoW isn't as powerful and all-consuming as its made out to be. =p

Anyway, glad to have the Q&A hosts back, and I'll look forward to when SOCK 2 and THONG 2 start, seeing as I've given up on THONG as a lost cause.

Gaming status: Nearly completed Twilight Princess, and its still pretty awesome. I'm currently playing Tales of Eternia on PSP, Suikoden V, Dragon Quest:tJotCK, Disgaea 1, KH2, and Psychonauts on PS2. Oh yeh, don't forget Tales of Symphonia, Skies of Arcadia and Paper Mario on GC, and Tales of Phantasia and the Minish Cap on GBA. Doesn't look too good with WoW on the horizon, does it?

Genjuu is fretting. See what you've done, you nasty people? You made me fret!

Enh, it's our job to do that, of course. You'll get through it. Just take them one at a time, and you'll be through them just in time for the next wave of great games, I assure you. Worry not, Genjuu, and take care 'til next time.

Square Enix + PSP

Well I like Square-Enix but don't like the PSP. There are some RPGs for the system already but most were poorly reviewed. I'm sure Squeenix will change this though. The system's games tend to have long load times. I also don't care much for the graphics (They look like PSX graphics). On the plus side the PSP has the largest screen of any portable. This of course gives it the shortest battery life of any portable.

FF12
I am about 75% of the way through. My comment is this game is much more difficult than FF10, for better or worse. I had to stop and level up one more than one occasion.

Console Wars:
Game Informer magazine did an interesting interview with the new head of SCEA in this month's issue. I didn't agree with most of what he had to say. He was saying stuff like "PSP is for an older audience," basically spreading Sony propaganda.

The PS2 has won, at least for now. The NPD group says 1.4 million of these boxes were sold in the month of December. Thats more than twice PS3 sales numbers for that month (0.5M) and also more than twice Wii numbers (0.6M). In the future the situation might change, but for now the PS2 is the winner. I think for the generation seven consoles the Wii will be the winner due to its lower price and production cost, and to top it off, several RPGs titles are in development for the system. The 360 has a very big installed base, but RPG software for that system seems scarce.

On the handheld side of things, Nintendo has won AGAIN with their DS console. It seems they have been the leader in this segment forever. The DS sold 1.6M units in December with an installed base of 9.2M, while their closest competitor the PSP sold about 1M units with a base of 6.7M.

And for the RPGamer: I would go with the PS2 for a home system right now, and NDS for a portable system due to the fact that there is a large amount of good RPG software for both of those at present.

Upcoming PS2 RPGs:
I'm thinking Rogue Galaxy will be one to pick up. Seems to be getting very positive previews. I'm looking forward to RPGamer's review.

FF12 took too long//FF13 Demo already:
It is my understanding that FF13 has been in development for awhile already. I am not sure exactly how long. I would be surprised if they did not have the demo by the end of this year.

The extraordinary length of the FF12 project is probably due to mistakes by the original executive producer, Mr. Sakaguchi.

Thanks,
Flamethrower

It's true. I recall that they announced back in 2003 or so that they were taking the whole project and reworking it to fix several major gameplay issues. Indeed, in the very first screenshots that we ever got of the game, doesn't it look like a more "traditional" battle system? Lookie here, if you don't believe me. I have the feeling that something like that was originally in the works, and was scrapped. (And probably for the better, by the sounds of it.)

To whoever's got Q&A's back today,

Well, just finished up The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (which I enjoyed an awful lot) and I'm patiently awaiting the release of Rogue Galaxy in the next several days so that I can finally sink my teeth into that one! I've been anticipating its release since the initial teasers, and upon finding out that Level-5 was the creative force behind its production (thanks to their excellent work on DQVIII: Journey of the Cursed King they became a fast favorite). Anyhow, it's been a couple of months since I've had the opportunity to play an RPG, so while I wait for Rogue Galaxy to hit, I thought I'd answer some of Ouru's questions to at least yack about the subject for a few minutes.

What games do you play to get a time-off RPGs?

A variety of them, to tell you the truth. I'm a big Legend of Zelda fan, and I missed out on some of the games in the series that were released while I was away at college, etc. during the mid-to-late 90's so I have the opportunity of playing a little catch-up there -- as is the case with a number of other classics that I'm getting to enjoy for the first time, such as the later Metroid & Castlevania games. A FPS or Third-Person shooter is also a nice break assuming that it's very well made from the ground up. I can't stomach each and every one of them, but when there's a good one I'm certainly game for it (for example, I'm currently chomping at the bit to play Rainbow Six Vegas). Action Platformers like Ratchet & Clank, Sly Cooper, etc. are also some of my favorite kind of games to play when I've got some time, and am not in the middle of an RPG.

Any series I'd like to see a sequel for?

Here, I'm assuming you mean sequels to games that aren't necessarily a given, like say, Final Fantasy. Where those are concerned, Xenosaga tops the list, but sadly if another one is made it'll likely be an awful long while before I'll be seeing it. Still, I couldn't have asked for more out of that "final" installment and it really went out in style should it actually be the last. Love that series! I'd also hope for another entry in the Shadow Hearts library as those have made for some excellent RPG's and are never run-of-the-mill. A number of others could apply here, but that's a start.

Any games I'm playing that I think other people should be playing? Why?

I can't recommend the Fire Emblem series enough. My first introduction to this SRPG was the Game Boy Advance's FE8: The Sacred Stones when it was released, and once it sunk its talons in me it never let go. In each of the installments I've been able to enjoy so far, it has been the combination of intriguing storylines & characters, strategy, addictive combat, weapon/skill customization, leveling & CONSEQUENCE for your actions that have kept me coming back. Recently, after 30+ hours of playing FE7: The Blazing Sword, I came to the conclusion that I didn't really approach a few of the characters growth the way that I probably should have, and that I'd like to try another approach from the start. That I even thought that seems crazy to me given my time to devote to games is a little limited these days; but the FE games are so good that I literally welcome the chance.

And in the case that the letter isn't long enough, like a number of your readers, I'm anxiously awaiting Blue Dragon for the Xbox 360. This was the game (along with the announcements of more than a few RPG's to come) that made me bite the bullet and purchase the system. The game looks too good to be true (as any number of Dragon Quest fans would likely attest) and if it plays even half as good then I imagine I'm in for some late, late nights playing this when by anyone's reckoning I should be sleeping. Cannae wait!

I know. I hope nobody laughs at me if I "accidentally" come home with an Xbox 360 one of these days, after all my days of anti-Microsoft speech. I really don't want to own one, but I might not be able to help myself...

Thanks, my McCallister friend! It's good to hear from you- and sorry it took so long to get around to your letter.

Hey Matt:

Congratulations on beating Final Fantasy III! Now if only I could follow suit...

I trudged through the last hour of the game and faced the Cloud of Darkness. My characters promptly got their polygons handed to them. So I had to start again at the Ancients' Maze. When I faced the Cloud of Darkness, my party was a Sage, a Geomancer, a Dark Knight (like Batman!), and a Dragoon. The Sage was level 40, the other three were level 99, and I still got trounced. Now I've changed the party composition entirely, to Devout, Magus, Sage, and Ninja. I'm sure in about 25 more hours of game time, I'll be ready to face the boss again.

So my question: What was your party's composition and levels as you faced off against the Cloud of Darkness?

-Jeffrey

Oooh, how fun. After beating the final boss, Luneth was a Level 57 Ninja: Job Level 47, Arc was a Level 56 Devout: Job Level 25, Refia was a Level 56 Sage: Job Level 31, and Ingus was a Level 56 Knight: Job Level 28. If Knight seems like an odd choice to you, I have to say that he saved the ass of different characters on many occasions with his auto-cover skill and shield-bearing prowess. He also doubled as an okay attacker and emergency-item-user.

Best of luck on your future attempts!

Ah, I knew I was forgetting something in my lengthy letter in the Hung Up column. I saw you were playing Path of Radiance in your playlist. I was surprised to find you somewhat disappointed (responding to Laura, I believe). I've never played any other Fire Emblem title (handhelds are REALLY not my thing), but I really enjoyed the PoR. Its simple battle system reminded of my beloved Shining Force of yore (I'm talking old school...I and II for Genesis). Your disappointment with the game kinda makes me want to fire up the old emulator and get crackin' on some of the other Fire Emblems. Any you recommend in particular?

Also, in response to Laura's never-having-played FFVII...I've recommended this game to many RPGamers, who haven't enjoyed the fruits (or froo-its, if you will), and the response is largely the same. They're underwhelmed. I get the sense that FFVII is like an inside joke. You had to be there...when it was released stateside, that is. The game's effect on the Western market was mind-blowing. People who had never touched an RPG in their lives, picked up the game (if only to satisfy their curiousities about the hype). Slews of RPGs flooded the U.S., hoping to cash in on what had gone from a niche genre to a mainstream market (for both better and worse). FFVII will always hold a special place in my heart and in the hearts of those who there when it hit. But I think you miss a lot by playing it now with no prior FFVII experience. Nostalgia is a powerful thing... That said, any RPG fan who hasn't yet, might check it out when his/her backlog dwindles just to have a sense of what people referencing, if nothing else.

Vicissitude

It's true. It's a recurring theme at Q&A, too, because nostalgia is a huge factor in why a lot of people find a lot of old games endearing, whether or not they're any good. Look at me! One of my favourite games ever is Dragon Warrior II, but if I had to do a Staff Retroview of the darn game, I'd likely give it a 3.0/5. I don't think there's anything wrong with that, though. This is a fan site; a place where we can all get together and play new RPGs while looking back fondly upon old ones. That's a major point of these games, I feel. And nostalgia or not, I still think that Final Fantasy VII is one of the greatest RPGs of all time, period. Those people are just weird. (Just kidding... everyone is entitled to their own opinions, grumble grumble.)