Matt Demers - 21:27 EST

NO PERSONAL ADS TODAY, which I think is a good thing. No, Arros' little bit yesterday was as a result of an Intro Paragraph that he purchased through the waning contest, and isn't going to become a regular feature; never worry.

Now, I've heard from others that some people out there aren't very happy with the "direction" that Q&A has gone. I've emphasized this a few times before, and I want to do so again: This is YOUR space. If there is something that you don't like about it, something you would like changed, new things that you'd like to see, or other ideas, comments, concerns, or anything... I'm completely open to anything you might have to contribute. There's no point in producing a column that nobody likes to read, after all, but I'm not a mind-reader! Even if you've never written in before, please write in. Tell me what's on your mind, and by all means, let me know how I can make this place better for everyone.

One thing that won't change, obviously, is the whole questions and answers bit, because that's what the Q and the A stand for. Duh. OK, I'll begin now.

Hey Matt,

Congrats on your 200th column!! It’s always a pleasure to read (it’s like my morning paper at work).

Alright, I’m not sure what the deal was having never played the demo, but what was suppose to be SO horrible about FFXII’s battle system. It’s not nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be. Granted I’m not that far into it, but I find it enjoyable. It has a nice level of customization and the gambits are almost a necessity to the way enemies are fought.

Speaking of enemies, I love how they throw in some difficult monsters to spice things up. I died! It was beautiful! I didn’t even see it coming. I was fighting one guy and BAM! 800 damage when I only have 150 HP! I think this is gonna be a nice chapter in the FF series. But, then again I’ve only played a couple of hours.

The license system worries me though. I have a feeling I’m gonna spend a great deal of time working on customizing my guys. This should be a good jump start for me since I’ve taken a break from RPG’s ever since my PS2 died.

This game better be good though, cause I ended up buying a lot of equipment essential in order to play it.

new shiny silver PS2-$129.99
new 22” flat screen tv-$499.99
s-video cable-$10.99
Final Fantasy XII-$49.99
Saving the world from the comfort of my room-priceless

Dark Chevalier
*hoping that his FFXII investment pays off*

Wow! New TV? That's really great! From the looks of it, and from what I've heard by means of all the people who played the Japanese version, we're all in for a treat. I'm sure your investment will be more than worth it, and hey, you'll even have all of that, uh, snazzy equipment to play all sorts of other games too!

Hey Matt!

I am currently in the unenviable position of having to wait almost two months for Final Fantasy XII (I'm getting it for Christmas). So, I'm looking for tips: How do you avoid accidentally running across spoilers? Obviously, you probably get buried under them, with Q&A and all. I'd like to think most of the people here are wise enough not to spoil things for you, but there's always someone who slips something through, even without meaning to. I barely look at pictures before games come out, so I'm just about going to flinch every time I see any site put up an article.

So, I'll throw out an odd topic: What's the longest anyone has gone while dodging noteworthy spoilers, be it for games or movies. I think my best was not seeing the Sixth Sense for over a year after it came out, and somehow still not having the ending spoiled. Heck, I have one friend who had it spoiled by a radio DJ a couple of days after it came out.

Anyway, if anyone can rip themselves away from the game for a bit, I'd love to see some stories (unrelated to FFXII of course).

360) B. 1993
361) A. Zeromus

Thanks!

BigWook

Well, you've still got me! I've got a JOB to do, right? *bitterness*

I managed to go for well over a year after Star Ocean: Till the End of Time's release before I ever actually played the game. While I had heard that there was a "big twist", I was unaware of what the twist was until it happened, so that's pretty good, isn't it? Otherwise, I'm having trouble brewing another example. Does anyone else have a fun story to share?

The two-month wait will fly by, and Christmas will be here before you know it. Think of everything else you have to play in the meantime, and enjoy these days while you can! A new big bully of a game will be knocking on your doorstep soon.

Thanks for the letter!

Dear Matt:

Howdy! I thought I'd pop in and write my second letter since becoming enthralled into the whole "SOCK" experience.

Recently (about a month ago), I decided that it was time for me to delve into Final Fantasy Origins. Before getting into Origins, I had never really gotten to play Final Fantasy of Final Fantasy 2 very much at all. I loaded up each to see what was in store for me, but never really got much farther than that. I always seemed way too busy at that particular moment or just decided to play something else in my backlog. After about a month of playing, I can officially say that I've conquered Final Fantasy 1, with 100% Items and 100% bestiary, and am currently venturing into the world of Final Fantasy 2.

Final Fantasy 1 was so much fun because it was neat to play an RPG that was somewhat difficult and that resorted to the classic 2D style. The one thing that really stuck out in my mind that I thought was a great addition to the PS version of Final Fantasy was the Bestiary and Item collection lists that were available to the user under the configuration option. I'm a person that loves to complete everything 100% and with those lists readily available for my viewing, I was able to see if I got every item, defeated every enemy, etc. Also it helped me to figure out the weaknesses and strengths of each monster, which in some cases, really helped in those latter areas of certain dungeons. Another feature that was included that I really loved because it was a big life-saver was the memo feature. I used that so many times and it literally saved me an incredible amount of time trudging through the same dungeons over and over and over again.

Final Fantasy 2, from what little I've played the game, is somewhat different than the rest of the Final Fantasy games I've played. It doesn't rely on the standard leveling up procedure, instead it levels up the stats based on what each characters uses the most. For example, if one of the characters uses an axe for a lot of fights, his/her axe skill goes up; if a character gets hit and his/her HP goes down quite a bit as a result, his/her HP will increase at the end of the battle as a result; if a character uses a lot of magic, his/her MP will increase; and the list continues. It's really a system that reacts to your characters uses rather than just giving you a level after acquiring so many experience points. To me, it's a very interesting leveling up system, but it can be very troublesome to figure out a steady medium for when you go into dungeons and have to face the bosses at the end of each.

After I get finished with Final Fantasy 2, Final Fantasy 3 will be here for the Nintendo DS. But because I'm a poor college student that barely has enough to get through the week on food, I think I'm going to wait and see if I can get someone in my family to be a nice person and get it for me for Christmas. Until Christmas, I believe I'm going to try and conquer Final Fantasy Tactics (can't you tell I'm in a Final Fantasy mood?). After Christmas, maybe I'll have FF3 for the DS and then I can officially start making my way through that game.

My question starts here: A long, long time ago, I started Final Fantasy Tactics, got really far, and somehow got into a lot of different things (school, work, homework, etc) and had to take a longer than wanted break, thus making me really forget what the game was all about (I HATE THAT!). So instead of starting it again right away, I just left it in the backlog and decided to play something else. However, I really enjoyed that game and because of that game I have Vandal Hearts 1 and 2, games similar to Final Fantasy Tactics. I was just curious but could you tell me of other games that are available that are similar to games such as Final Fantasy Tactics and Vandal Hearts that are for the more recent generation of systems (Playstation, PS2, Gamecube, DS, Advance)? I would really appreciate it because I enjoy the games that involve strategy with the RPG element rolled into them.

Until I write again...

Sincerely:

Jwcooley

Oh, MAN! It sounds like you're a budding Tactical RPG player!

I highly recommend that you check out Fire Emblem (either for the GBA or the Gamecube), if you haven't already. If you like strategy combined with RPG, which you say you do, I really think that you'll love the games.

Otherwise, you could always look for Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. I know it comes under fire quite often, but regardless, I still found it to be enjoyable in many ways, and it would serve as a good way for you to get more into the genre. Finally, if you're into the idea of trying something a little bit different, there's always the fun/weird Disgaea; Disgaea 2 was just released a couple of months ago, and it's pretty darn good, if I do say so myself!

Best of luck! I can't wait to hear if you get into any of these new games. Report back when you do!

Well, it was fun while it lasted. I was hoping to go for the cohosting session that was left, but it looks like I couldn't reach it in time, so I'll make my exit now. Don't worry, I'll be back for the next SOCK, whenever that may be!

I guess I'll try to write something for the column just so this isn't a total waste of space. It's kinda seemed like you haven't had the money or time to buy games right when they come out. Does that ever bother you? I've been in kind of the same situation since I got out of school. The only thing that really gets to me is that I have a kind of big backlog of games that I really would like to play, including picking up a DS. Then I also remember that waiting this late to play them also means I can pick up all of those games used and discounted, and don't worry about it as much.

That brings up another question, what's the best deal you ever found on a game? I've found you have to go places you would least expect them to be selling games, because they're the ones who don't realize how cheap they're selling them for. Case in point: I went into a store with friends and noticed a lot of old music CDs, not expecting to buy anything. After looking around, I found a whole bunch of used PS2 games. On a hunch, I looked through them to see if I might find anything interesting and found the original Shadow Hearts, a good 4 years or so after its release, and after a few months of searching through a few branches of EB Games for it. After finding it, I had this conversation with the cashier:

Arpijy: "Hey, how much for this one?"

Cashier: "Let me see...*searches book*...$12 plus tax."

Arpijy: *immediately pulls out debit card* "Deal!"

I still like to brag about this one to my friend who paid $30 or so for it on eBay.

-- Arpijy

Oh, right on... good for you!

The best deal I ever found definitely happened three years ago, as I was Christmas shopping for my brother. In the local EB Games, I was stewing about, looking here and there for a different idea, and then I stumbled upon Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter, which had just been reduced in price to a bizarrely-economical $19.99. Yes, please. For a game I ended up enjoying so much, I thought the value was incredible!

Anyway, just think of it this way: The fact that you have such a big backlog must mean that the RPG genre is in good shape, right? Thanks for your letter, Arpijy!

(cont'd from yesterday) Now I'm going to give you music from a game I haven't mentioned in awhile, and have never sent music from before: Tales of Phantasia. http://gh.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/1189/41 Olive is a desert town, but that music doesn't really make me think of a desert.

As for my Tales of Phantasia progress; I've been moving along a bit lately, although I'm currently in the Heimdall forest and it is INFURIATING me with its propensity to appear virtually identical from space to space. I FINALLY found a save point after wandering about frantically for half an hour this morning. Tales of Phantasia was clearly not originally designed for a portable system when there is no save option outside of save points and the overworld. But I am enjoying the game, despite the irritating random battles. They're my bane today!

I do believe you misread my earlier query. I was not inquiring as to whether a good game will ever be based on a movie (and I like a few movie-based games, although I readily admit the vast majority are truly terrible). Instead, I openly wondered if a MOVIE based on a GAME will ever be good. Tomb Raider bored me, I can't remember much of the Super Mario Bros. movie, I think the Mortal Kombat movies were very true to the games, and sadly my uncle actually treated me to see the Street Fighter movie on Christmas Day, 1995. Aside from that, I don't think I've seen any movies based on games. Oh wait, the Final Fantasy movie - but it bored me. Can it be done?

And yes, seeing Street Fighter on Christmas was an odd experience. If you truly desire it, I can wrack my brain for further details.

Another game I haven't sent you music from before, and I don't think I've ever mentioned directly to you is Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow.

http://gh.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/115/11 The tunes in this one I remember instantly upon playing them again, although I haven't played the game itself in about 3 years (but it's good enough for me not to ever sell). Underground Reservoir tells you about all about the setting that would be desired without playing the game.

As long as I'm on a Castlevania heading, here's one from Symphony of the Night (and not the Saturn-only stuff, so you'll hear it whenever you get sucked into the game. As you WILL.) http://gh.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/120/13 Boss tune, this one. Get that air guitar going now, because when you're locked in combat there's no time to goof!

Hm. I feel compelled to say a bit more regarding Sakura Wars. Once I got into my groove regarding these titles, I actually do feel more and more like any English localization would be an affront to my newfound sensibilities. The seiyuu voicing these characters in Japan have done it so much as to BECOME the characters. Sure I've watched the OVAs and movie and TV show, but I just can't picture this series dubbed. Kanzaki Sumire is voiced by Tomizawa Michie, who cannot be replicated; same for all the other characters, but Sumire's 'Oh ho ho ho ho ho!' pops into my mind at present.

Picture what the Germans do: EVERYTHING going into Germany gets dubbed if it receives a theatrical or television release. I've watched a bit of Return of the Jedi dubbed into German, that was odd. The point is, the Germans dub everything, and they have certain dubbers who always dub certain actors. Nicholas Cage has a full-time dubber, Gwyneth Paltrow has a full-time dubber, etc. But doesn't that sound incredibly strange to think about for anyone used to hearing actors speak with their voices instead of having the sound and lip movements not match?

Huh, that kinda diverged from Sakura Wars. But I think there's a principle I'm too batty to tie together buried somewhere in that paragraph. While I'm on Sakura Wars though, there's one fascinating fellow named Kayama who likes to pop into Ohgami(the player-controlled protagonist)'s path with a guitar. He also likes to hang upside down akin to a bat. Then he'll utter some saying that helps Ohgami come to terms with whatever character is having a problem at the time, and depart again with an 'Adios!' Yep, 'Adios' in mid-1920's Japan. It's this kind of stuff that makes me eagerly await the opportunity to play Sakura Wars 3 on the Dreamcast, just so I can get into the Paris cast's groove. That will have to wait a bit, unfortunately. Even the $25 or so it would cost on eBay, plus the DC-X adapter to get my Dreamcast playing imports, is something I have to wait on for adequate cash availability. But I WILL get it, and Sakura Wars 4!

One more random Sakura Wars note; thanks to it I'm picking up some Hiragana. I picked up Katakana, Hiragana isn't any harder to learn - with the major caveat of it usually being for Japanese words instead of words borrowed from another language (usually English). But there are about the same number of characters (a little over one hundred) so it's doable. Kanji on the other hand - I can recognize a very few symbols, nothing more. BUT - one fascinating thing about Kanji is the way characters can be combined to create new ones. Wouldn't it be cool to have a name that doesn't look like anyone else's on the paper? Kohran and Orihime have incredibly ornate names that I can't begin to replicate when they're written in Kanji. That aspect I must commend with regard to the language.

Okey dokey, more music! This time we're featuring Dragon Force 1 and 2. It's not really fair to compare the music though, different composers did the two titles. http://gh.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/2987/28946 This is Fandaria's theme in 1; Fandaria being the country that starts the war leading to the entire game's addictive combat. And here is Fandaria's theme in Dragon Force 2: http://gh.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/1130/10 I'm less sure on exactly what goes on in 2, but certainly once again Fandaria has commanders who are normally enemies on its side. Another Dragon Force 2 musical item for your consideration: http://gh.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/1130/36 This is the track my stepfather proclaimed to remind him of 'Conan music.' Does it sound like something a younger Arnold Schwarzenegger would have been well-suited to 'acting' in front of to you? (And I can jest with regard to the Governator because he is the Governator of the state I currently live in. How many of the rest of you have governors recognizable around the world?)

Does it ever bug you when the game clock keeps going while something unavoidably draws your attention away? Doesn't matter how devoted you are, if someone makes a phone call, a loud noise occurs outside and you need to investigate, a chore gets into your face with its imminence, the clock will keep running. I don't like having my time displayed being not quite representative of how long I was actually playing!

Hee hee - another musical item for your sampling (I'm outdoing myself today!) comes from Lunar 2. To talk much about Mystere would spoil one of the more charming moments of the game, so I'll let Mystere's theme speak for itself: http://gh.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/95/9

With all this talk about music: which RPG you have played a sufficient portion of to judge has the worst music? And in a somewhat response to JuMeSean (ha ha! But you have to work MUCH harder to deserve the title!) as I play my games in my own room, unless I blast the volume way too loud I hear everything the game has to offer. Except in a few isolated instances when the music irritated me so very much to make me slap headphones on and listen to something else. Sword of Vermilion did that, but since I elaborated upon it at length I'd rather not relive the drudgery again yet.

Ahh, random question! Does Guardian Heroes strike you as worthy of being listed on RPGamer? If you haven't heard of it, a quick little symposium by me is in order. First: developed by Treasure (those with poor reflexes need not apply) for the Saturn in 1996. It's a genre-bending title, with the most recognizable part being the beat-em-up. But it is not JUST a beat-em-up. Characters gain experience, which can be assigned to beefing up statistics at the end of every level. Magic is also used, by some characters more than others. There are branching paths; it's impossible to see everything in the game on the first, second, or even third playthrough - too many choices to make. And the story is kinda goofy but still a lot more involved than the standard beat-em-up. There's probably a Wikipedia entry on it. Why don't I give you a piece of music to attach to my short description, eh? http://gh.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/1414/8

I'll doubtless have to cave in and buy a DS sometime next year. What recommendations on the system might you have, Master Slimey? Understand that I am hesitant to upgrade because I remember what happened when I bought my GBA - I immediately went onto eBay to acquire a worthy library for the thing and wound up with some Hong Kong GBA titles (the games worked just fine, the boxes looked funny and had abbreviated instruction manuals) which disconcerted me. Just know that I WILL go for a good DS library upon acquiring one, and trying to dissuade me is akin to dissuading you from singing the praises of Dragon Quest. So recommendations will be nice.

Speaking of eBay - remember my joy in acquiring Shadowrun for the Genesis? That has turned into an unpleasant action, because the seller has gotten nothing but negative feedback recently and did nothing but take my money. No messages from the scum, no reply whatsoever. It's been over 5 weeks since the auction ended - no excuses for the seller! Negative feedback has been left, I'm going to have Paypal try getting my money back. This is an unusual experience for me though, 99% of my eBay transactions have been pretty smooth.

Oh, and with regard to reviews once again: EGM seems to do a pretty good job of having all three people complete the game. And if someone doesn't complete it (usually in the case of something REALLY bad or in the case of something like an MMORPG) they'll mention it. Doesn't necessarily invalidate all your objections with reviews, but I still find them useful in detailing titles I might be interested in, and spotlighting games I wouldn't play unless paid to.

Let's have another cryptic statement from the source I will not claim to be! "I believe the next trend in cosmetic surgery will be a procedure that leaves the person with a cryptic smile. Occasionally, of course, the surgeon's hand will slip, and the patient will wind up with a baffled look."

I suppose I can always import Mother 3; translations have to be out there by now. It's just that if I do so, I'll have a few other GBA titles to import also. I was always curious about Magical Vacation and wondered why Nintendo teased us by announcing its English localization and then - nothing....

You've heard Synbios's battle theme, you've heard Medion's: time to hear Julian's! http://gh.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/1780/1289 You can say something bad about this if you want, but in return I'll say something bad about Dragon Quest music: I feel very strongly about this track, although there are a few other tracks in the game that inspire even greater passion from me.

Kono reiki ni taerareru ka!?

JuMeSyn

No, this isn't terribly bad! It's a bit clichéd, but that can be a good thing, depending on what game you're talking about. This would be another one that pulls at my Star Ocean 2 heartstrings...

Anyway, THAT does it for this sucker. I don't know how you do it, JuMeSyn, because wow, if I wrote something like that, I think I'd be too worried that the power would go out while typing and that I'd lose it ALL!

May you be well until next time. And please... smaller doses next time. If you kill me, you'll only have Josh to answer your letters. ^^;;

I have a mildly interesting and random story for you: I was playing Xenosaga III over the weekend late at night, and Tom decided that he wanted to make french fries, due to some craving or something. So, he got out the deep fryer, which hasn't been used in a few months. The oil within looked innocent enough, and the fryer had been sealed the entire time, so he decided to use it. Well, I'm telling you, the entire apartment smelled like... a cross between gasoline and rotten eggs for the two days to follow; it quickly became apparent that the oil was rancid, and the fries were thrown out. But ugh! It made my gaming time highly unpleasant in a most unwelcome way.

So, any pointers on how long is too long to store oil in a deep fryer? Or better yet, how to enjoy playing your favourite RPG while being marinated in noxious vapors of rot? THAT is another "Q" for today, my friends.

#360. b) 1993 - 1,500 points
No, really. The game was a well-known one, too! Santa Claus transformed into "Frost Gigas" because kids stopped believing in him, or something. Santa is there, Rudolph is too, and the game is Secret of Mana!

#361. a) Zeromus - 1,500 points
These don't work quite as well when few people are participating, ahahaha... let's check out the numbers:

Zeromus: 8 votes (57.1%)
NeoExdeath: 1 vote (7.1%)
Ultimecia: 4 votes (28.6%)
Necron: 0 votes (0.0%)
Yu Yevon: 1 vote (7.1%)

I guess I shouldn't be too surprised, but that's a pretty remarkable landslide victory by such an old villain. Good job to those of you who guessed correctly!

#362:
With regards to Fire Emblem Games, which of the following is a relatively strong weapon when compared to the rest? (1,500 points)

a) Iron Sword
b) Iron Blade
c) Iron Axe
d) Iron Lance
e) Iron Bow

STRAGGLERS:
(people who I love, but who still need to check their e-mail or somehow get in touch with me because they have unclaimed items- if you fall off the list after a week, it's TOO LATE FOR YOU! Check your spam/trash folders for my messages if you're not getting them, and I'll check mine, too!)

• none to speak of!

The weekend draws near!

Command?

Write a letter to Q&A! Tell me why you hate this place! Tell me what you want changed! Tell me what I could do better! You heard me in the introduction, so now I want to hear from you.

If you'd rather talk about video games, though, there's an infinity of topics to cover there, too. Is anybody else excited about FFIII even more than they are about FFXII? Does anyone have anything at all to say about the release of FFV? And hey, the long, long, long-awaited Twilight Princess is just two weeks away!! It snuck up on us in a hurry, but the day is nearly here. Tell me your thoughts, and I'll counterattack with mine.

Thanks guys, and I'll see you tomorrow!