Josh - 8:10 EST

Where are you guys lately? The mailbox is pretty empty. I've had ex-girlfriends show me more love. :P

Anyway, I'm finally moved in, and everything is practically sorted out. Now I have plenty of time on my hands to devote to this column, so I'm ready to expend more energy on ensuring you guys get the attention you deserve! Unfortunately, Matt is on hiatus this week, so you'll have to put up with Roku answering your questions until I return on Saturday. Don't worry! He knows what he's doing!

Also, scroll to the bottom for an interesting announcement about THONG, Round 2!

time limited, mkust speak in small sentences.

"Stab Stab" "HURRY UP NICK"

Damn, anyway can't wait for my guest host spot, letter will probably follow tomorrow!

Oh and a small answerer to JuMeSyn's questions

Romancing Saga games are sort of like Morrowind with a main quest you can pretty much igmore whilst you do all of the side quests. Oh and there's about 8 characters to choose from!

Bainick ducks and weaves through the barrage of sharp and airborn objects!

I bought Killer7 for Gamecube for $10 a few days ago. Backlog now consists of: Wild Arms: Alter Code F (playing), Wild Arms 4, Atelier Iris, Gladius, Paper Mario (GC version), Eternal Darkness, Killer7, Metal Gear Solid 3, and Kingdom Hearts 2.

And now here come Dirge of Cerberus, FFXII, Xenosaga III, and who knows what else to complicate things further.

Incidentally, is it really fair to charge 50,000 points for Ephemeral Fantasia? Shouldn't it be more like, if you agree to take Ephemeral Fantasia, you RECEIVE 50,000 points?

I realized the other day that I'm actually sort of excited about FFXII, which I didn't know I was. I can't really remember what it's like to have a new FF coming out that I can actually play, since FFXI barred me with its typical MMORPG, charging-you-forever audacity. FFX was a long, long time ago, when you get right down to it, and I'm actually starting to feel a bit fanboyish about having another FF title.

Though admittedly I'm more excited about Xenosaga. I wish they were still doing the planned six or seven games or whatever it was, even though I'd be, like, married with children by the time the series ended. Man, that's a weird thing to consider. In fact, forget I said anything. I didn't even send this email.

-TV's Adam

Hey, Josh,

Well, to Spiffyness, I know that Suikoden IV has already implemented this idea, and yes, it CAN be abused to get some serious level ups. Of course, the Suikoden series in general has handled leveling quite well, since with 108 characters (of which a smaller percentage, but still large number, is playable) you can never be sure who you're going to use. Think Shining Force or even Symphony of the Night, where EXP is huge at lower levels, and drops off significantly. I'm not sure about Suikoden V, though, since I'm not as far into that as I'd like to be.

Just out of curiosity, how many of you have backlogs that even if you took a full year to play nothing but games, you'd never finish them off? I seem to be at that quandary, and of course, I've slowed down my game purchasing, but there's some REALLY good stuff coming out from September to December. I mean, what's the deal with releasing Xenosaga 3, Valkyrie Profile 2, Tales of the Abyss, Zelda, Metroid, Children of Mana, FF3, Okami, Super Paper Mario, and whatever other games are coming out? If they'd done that during the summer, it'd been a little better, maybe I'd have time. Will I ever be able to beat Legend of the Ghost Lion?

Also just finished off Grandia 3. Finally. I enjoyed it, of course, much more than the execrable Grandia: Xtreme. But it also seemed to be missing that magic that the first two games had. The first Grandia was one of the finest RPGs I had the pleasure of playing, and it had a lot more character. I loved Grandia 2 as well, and the characters were also rather memorable, but many of the religious overtones tended to be a little off-putting. There were obviously a lot of religious parallel's to the Catholic church, and while not one myself, the Japanese have this odd view of Christian religions, with usually little to no understanding of them at all. If only one could write something intelligent in this regard, as opposed to "pop" religion to appear more "highbrow". Or something.

Ack. Back to Grandia 3. The battle system seemed a little more fast and loose, and I noticed characters have this annoying tendency to miss a lot more with normal attacks. The areas themselves are also a bit more linear, although that may be directly attributable to having maps for all the areas, which in a normal RPG wouldn't exist, so there ARE branching paths. That being said, the game itself doesn't seem to have a lot of side missions or optional areas, other than the casino. That doesn't bother me, though, as the aforementioned backlog makes me just want to plow through and move on. The graphics, of course, are rather spiffy. The sound seemed to be a mixed bag, though. I felt my sanity slipping away while in the Baccula settlement. Ecch. And Xorn didn't sound very imposing, considering he's supposed to be some semi-god, and the whole "love must be destroyed" was really weak. Seriously, did they write this for a random 80's Saturday morning cartoon?

Enough griping. I still give it an 8/10. Good stuff, just not the best. Of course, I enjoyed every single Dragon Warrior / Quest game (especially 3, 4, 6, and 7), so take that how you will.

And c'mon, Secret of the Stars isn't THAT bad. I've played worse. It's a thinly veiled Dragon Quest clone. And the battle system is nicely speedy, and the party swapping mechanic is a little different from usual RPGs. I think I'd finish that before I would The 7th Saga, which played reasonably well, but ended up being so difficult that I eventually just gave up on it. Believe me, that doesn't happen often (happened with Vay for Sega CD). And speaking of Final Fantasy: Mystic Quest, that game should ALWAYS be remembered for one thing, and that's the music. Man, those were some rockin' tunes. I highly recommend checking out the OST for the two remixed versions of some of the best songs. And if you don't follow Dwelling of Duels, FlextoneJunkie did a great hard rock medley of some of the best songs. Check it at http://dod.vgmix.com. RPG month has it, and some other excellent stuff that you (and many other visitors to this site) might enjoy.

Well, I think I'll save some material for later. Besides, I'm sure you're tired of reading at this point.

Sarge out.

Hello Matt.

Ok. Right now I am playing the Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga games and they are pretty fun. While playing though, I got to thinking about a topic I haven't thought of since playing Nocturne which is this... Does anyone have a problem with the demonic themes in these games?

I believe that much of the problems anyone would have with the SMT games are really just a result of the fact that the monsters (as found in every RPG) are called demons instead. Also, it is not as if the SMT games are the only RPGs that deal with the real life concept of good and evil (i.e. God and Satan). Yet, I can't help but wonder if using real concepts and real world religious deities is worth the hassle and potential loss of audience that can come with the territory.

For example: On the forums I frequent, people new to the genre always ask the same question... "What game should I get?" While most people suggest a Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest (something like that), there is always that one person who will suggest Nocturne. And while I can't disagree that the SMT games are really fun and have a good combat system, it seems as though that suggestion is always followed with a "that is unless you are a religious person" disclaimer. That warning (while appropriate) scares away some people who wouldn't have any problems with the game otherwise, except for the real religious imagery (maybe both ways).

This brings me back to my question. Sparing any personal thoughts on religion... Does anyone else think that being more realistic in religious ideas can hurt (sales wise or maybe the overall audience of) a game? Is it worth it to risk it?

Cheers,
-thinkfreemind

Ok, here it is. If you participated in THONG Round 1, you will get dibs on what character you want as your token in Round 2. So, until August 25th, email me at ourobolus@rpgamer.com with your choice (Note: Luca Blight is mine! You can't have him! ^^). After the 25th, it will open up to everyone! We will be using in-battle sprites. Please do not pick any large animal characters. Go to the following sites with your choice.

Suikoden Characters

Suikoden 2 Characters

I'll see you all soon, and send Roku some letters!!

***Josh probably typed this before falling asleep.