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Liv: Hello and welcome to all who are participating in tonight's Roundtable. The topic tonight is RPG franchises.
Jesus: Woo-hoo!
Liv: The first subtopic will be...
Liv: When you hear the words RPG franchises, what do you think of first? And would you consider your answer to be one of the "better" RPG franchises?
Jesus: What do I think of first? Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest, really.
Jesus: They're the original ones.
Michael: I'd say the first one that comes to mind for most people would be Final Fantasy.
Joel: Mario.
Josh: Soul Blazer!
Josh: Phantasy Star.
Liv: Mario's not an RPG! Hehe.
Joel: Is so.
Jesus: Liv - Sometimes...
Liv: Only Super Mario RPG is...
Josh: Liv - Yes it is.
* Jesus loves Paper Mario.
Josh: Liv - Paper Mario?
Liv: Oh yeah.
Michael: Well, they're not really a series, though.
Josh: And the other Mario games?
Joel: There were a few Mario RPGs.
Jesus: Mario & Luigi?
Liv: I always forget about that... maybe it's 'cuz I don't really like it. ^^;
Liv: Oh, but I do like Mario and Luigi.
Joel: That Luigi ghost house thing was kinda RPGish.
Liv: I guess Mario's just not the first thing I think of when someone says "RPG."
Jesus: Back on topic, Final Fantasy is one of the best ones out there, at least if you ignore some of the spinoffs.
Joel: X-2. Ew.
* Jesus rather liked X2.
Jesus: Wasn't much of a Tactics fan though.
Joel: Tactics is the best FF ever.
Liv: I was never a big Tactics fan. I'm not very good with strategy games...
Jesus: Still gotta try Crystal Chronicles.
Jesus: Liv - Same.
Michael: CC was okay. More people makes it better, though.
Jesus: I think the problem is that there are so few recognizable RPG franchises.
Jesus: At least compared to other genres.
Liv: What about the smaller franchises like Arc the Lad?
Josh: There are some good lesser-known ones, though.
Liv: Or even the Chrono series?
Josh: Shin Megami Tensei, Shadow Hearts, etc.
Joel: Breath of Fire.
Jesus: Liv - True that.
Jesus: But once you get past FF, you're getting into some of the more obscure games. Shame too, because stuff like Arc and Shadow Hearts are some of the better games.
Jesus: Problem is that with FF, like any big franchise in any genre, everything else is overshadowed.
Michael: True - Final Fantasy is one of the only franchises to find a place in the general gaming psyche.
Jesus: Indeed.
Michael: I'd say franchises like Shin Megami Tensei are at least as high quality, but for whatever reason, they never catch on the way FF has.
Jesus: Well, a large part of it with MegaTen is that most of the games never hit the US.
Liv: It's true...
Jesus: And the ones that did weren't marketed that heavily.
Jesus: As is the case with Atlus, of course.
Michael: Very true. I'd commit no small amount of murder to see a stateside SMT 1 and/or 2.
Josh: Well, as long as they keep pounding them out and testing our gaming, I'm happy.
Jesus: Oh, I agree.
Jesus: I quit RPGing when FF is the only option available.
Michael: Atlus has been very good about bringing some of the more obscure titles over. I hope to see a lot more from them in the future.
Jesus: Of course, there are some good American franchises too
Jesus: Michael - Yeah, Atlus is good like that.
Liv: What about franchises like Harvest Moon?
Jesus: Problem is with American ones, the only RPG franchise that's still going and lasted more than a generation is The Elder Scrolls.
Liv: I love Harvest Moon - I'll buy any Harvest Moon game that comes out.
Jesus: Is Harvest Moon really an RPG?
Michael: True. You don't see much of Might and Magic anymore. :/
Jesus: Isn't it more of a farm sim?
Michael: Well, HM is one of those borderline ones... like Zelda.
Jesus: Michael - Well Ubi's releasing Dark Messiah of Might and Magic.
Liv: Yeah, exactly.
Michael: There's always a debate.
Michael: Jesus - Yeah, I hope it's good. MMIX made my head hurt.
Jesus: If Zelda's an RPG, so's Saint's Row.
Joel: Earthbound! Earthbound is great.
Liv: I think the only two franchises where it doesn't even matter what the game is that I'll buy it are Harvest Moon and Zelda.
Jesus: Michael - Well, 3D0 butchered that franchise before going kaput.
Jesus: But it's in good hands with Ubi I think.
Josh: Yeah, but over in the US, Earthbound isn't exactly a franchise. ^^;;;
Liv: Aren't they bringing over all the Mother games?
Josh: No.
Jesus: Liv - Not that I know.
Michael: There was a rumor about a DS compilation, but it's just a rumor so far.
Jesus: I'd love them to, don't get me wrong.
Liv: I thought they were making it on the DS?
Joel: There's translation projects for them, but nothing official yet.
Liv: Yeah...
Josh: Man, Liv. I thought you actually read my column. ;_;
Jesus: Hehe.
Michael: Heh. Poor Josh.
Liv: I'm sorry...
Liv: Maybe if I didn't make all these moronic mistakes, I would be a better staffer.
Jesus: Oh, you're wonderful, Livy.
Jesus: But yeah, there's M&M and Elder Scrolls, and everything else is still either relatively new or ended.
Jesus: Unless you count MMOs. Then there's WoW.
Michael: Well, there's always the D&D games.
Joel: Elder Scrolls = win.
Jesus: Well, D&D is more of an overarching universe for several
franchises, such as Neverwinter Nights and Baldurfs Gate.
* Jesus would not be opposed to another real Baldur's Gate game.
Jesus: Michael - Seems to be what Square is trying with FF now.
Joel: Heh, indeed.
Jesus: The Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, FFX and X2, the myriad of FFXIII games.
Michael: True. It's an interesting idea D&D has, though, using one or two worlds to create multiple franchises.
Michael: Creates a sense of continuity, and when things get too stale, poof, just pop another world into existence.
Jesus: Michael - The danger, of course, is that a brand can lose its luster.
Michael: Yeah. Overworking one world is a very bad idea.
Josh: Well, they try to go with what they know people like.
Michael: The trick is to know when to hit the big red reset button.
Jesus: Michael - Not even that.
Liv: Hey, a few more comments and then we'll move on to the next subtopic, since we're starting to exhaust this one.
Joel: I never played FF:TA, so Ivalice will be new to me.
Jesus: Just put some space between games.
Josh: FFTA sucked. Don't.
Jesus: Heh.
Joel: And from what I hear, the similarities are few and far between.
Michael: Bah. FFTA was nifty.
Michael: But anyway...
Joel: I'm curious to see how the new VII game will do.
Jesus: Which one? Crisis Core?
Liv: I think they've exhausted VII and should stop making games for it.
Joel: Yeah.
Joel: Dirge of Cerebrus is a terrible idea, but I haven't played it, so I'm not sure if it's any good.
Jesus: Liv - Well, FFVII Dirge of Cerberus had a decent story. It's just they didn't know what kind of game they wanted it to be.
Michael: The problem with FFVII is that with each game they make to patch a plot hole, they make four more.
Jesus: Michael - Indeed.
Joel: Heh.
Liv: I've never played VII, so I have no interest in any of the spin-offs. ^^;
Liv: Alright, let's move on to the next subtopic!
Jesus: Liv - You should. Best game in the series.
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