I think it would be a really good idea for you to print this, because who the hell ever asks about Phantasy Star? In the original Phantasy Star, is there any better way to deal with the dungeons than mapping them out? Since they are first-person, the only logical way that i can see to get through them is to map them out using graph paper, one square for every time you move forward. It works, but is there an easier way?

Brad:
I just realized that I never even pay attention to the greetings anymore, and probably a good thing, too, otherwise I'd have a really inflated ego. .. or something. ;) Anyhow, Heather had come up with a good way of going through dungeons without getting lost that works for her fairly well, and that's to always stick to the righthand wall. She does this in AC, because if she doesn't, she dies and can't find her corpse, because she has utterly NO sense of direction in these games. ;) Anyhow, she sticks to the righthand wall, and well, there are only a few instances where this won't take you around to see everything.. (sometimes loops can mess you up, but if you're smart about it, you can recognize when you're in a loop.) .. Anyway, there's the big O's answer. :)

Thanks!

Alia

Brad:
Brad sez: get a TV-out card :) If anyone else knows of something that will help out Alia, let us know, yo.

SO2 again. How do I beat the 3rd couple of wise men in Fienal (I've really lost track of how many I've killed so far, heh heh)? I'm on level 80-something. Shouldn't that be GOOD ENOUGH!? Oh yeah, and destroying the last wise man wouldn't end the game, would it? It just seems as if everything will be happy and resolved after that.

-Lord Xyyn Dragon-
"Shaken, not stirred."

Brad:
Your best bet on these guys is go et some magic users to do nothing but quick spells that hit everyone, (I'm trying to think, Celine and Leon are good for this), so that will keep the guys from pulling out their big ol' combos. Then have your fighters focus on ONE GUY AT A TIME. If you don't do this, you're going to get your butt kicked. It's just how it is. Get rid of one at a time, and you'll find it's a lot easier.

A while ago someone asked Google about getting game music and FMVs directly off a playstation CD. Anyway, some reader recommended psmplay. I like it except that wav files are really large and I like getting all kinds of different game music. Do you know of any programs that can convert wav files into mp3? My winamp won't do it cause I don't have the proper layer 3 audio codec, whatver that means.

Whitey

Brad:
What you're looking for is an mp3 encoder. They're available all over the internet.. but that's mainly what mp3's are made from, .wav files. It can be a processor-intensiive task, so you might want to do it when you're not planning on doing anything else for a little bit. And of course, I have the whole mp3 codec listing (printed form, well, pdf, I think) on my computer, but that's because we play with layer 3 and 4 encoding here at work. ;)

I am becoming more and more Anti-Final Fantasy with every new installment put out. Now, before you dumb this letter into what I am sure is an immeasurable trashcan of Anti-FF letters, let me tell you what finally made me angry enough to write a letter about it.

Recently, in the news section of Rpgamer, I read that Final Fantasy 9 would feature something similar to the "Stone of Agony" in Zelda64 (Which for me made the game LESS enjoyable) where a large exclamation point would appear atop your characters head when you approach a "Hidden" treasure. Ok, I may be alittle behind with my Rpg's, heck I am still obsessed with Ogre Battle Tactics and BoF3. But, the way I remember things being, these so-called "Hidden" treasures where supposed to be hard to find. You had to work for these items, often times going deep into dungeons or, in some cases, across space and time. The items weren't necessary to complete the game, but they offered many side-quests and experiences, the latter of which usually pumped you up enough to enter the final area of the game. Many of these items were so hard to find, you wouldn't even know they existed if it weren't for a strategy guide. So why make things so easy? Are today's gamers so bored that they can't go looking for items, they have to be told where they are? Isn't that a step BACK? Doesn't that make games MORE linear? Whats next, is FF10 going to have a Giant Arrow that says "Hidden Treasure, look here!", coupled with a beeping sound equivalent in annoyance to baby Mario in Yoshi's Island 2? Don't you think that this detracts from the overall quality of the game?

*Breathe, breathe, breathe* Whew. Ok, thanks for letting me get that out! So what do you think? Rpgamers, what do you think? I welcome all comments at therealchamberx@hotmail.com . I will answer everything sent.

Forever yours, in life, death, and beyond -
Chamber-X

I'd have to say that I agree, the 'cost' of making this an equipped item would not outweigh the gain from using it. And how many people REALLY found the crystal sword, hmm? Not many. :)

-Chris

The lovely Mysty, shining wing to wing
Her scales reflecting the bright sun.
Towering high above the birds that sing
I gazed upon her and knew she was the one.

Feminimity seeped through like a creek
My mind swirled in a frantic dream
Almost vaguely, she was a sneak
She was so much more than it would seem.

The barest hint, a tiny whisper of thought
So small that it was almost missed
That was when, I realized distraught
That she was actually named FireMyst.

You will always have a place in my heart! I LOVE YOU MYST!

Tadrith! (Who else would do this?)

The damage you do on successive hits in a "chain" is COMPLETELY dependant on the damage you do on the first hit. If you do 75 damage on the first hit, and use a Chain that does "40% additional damage", it will do 40% of the 75 from the first hit. If you miss on the first hit, or the first hit is blocked, successive hits in the chain will be almost inaffective.

That is all.

Help Brad!

I have a SERIOUS problem. My mom won't stop singing to Small Two of Pieces when I play it on my computer. When she walks by my bedroom as I play my playstation, if there's an FF game in it or XG, she comments on how pretty the music is. She's amazed with the story to Xenogears! I'm really, really scared!

Was I the only one to think of Miang as the Urubolos? I might be late with this, but I was playing the final battles of Xenogears recently, and I noticed how the Opiomorph (Miang's gear) and Urubolos are very similar in shape. Then, I realized how Miang and the Urubolos have the same hair style. As I was listening to Small Two of Pieces in the credits, I payed special attention to the part with "And the girl of the dawn, with eyes of blue and angel wings, the songs of the seasons are her only crown". I KNEW they had to be talking about Miang, and I finally realized that if she's Urubolos, from Xenogears and the X-Files I learned Urubolos means infinity, never ending, continously repeating cycles. The seasons continue the same cycle, never stopping. I might be late on that idea in Xenogears, catching onto it, but I thought it was interesting.

-Xencohick

I got to the bottom of the Lufia II Ancient Cave!! Do I get a prize?

Brad: I wish I'd done that.. but I think the game gives you prize enough!

Hey Brad:

I was selected for the Stress Beta Test. I'm downloading it right now. Print this 'cause I want to feel special

Duckman73

Brad: :( ... :(

Hi, its 9 o'clock and I've had too much coffee! Do you know where I am??

Brad: GET OUT OF MY KITCHEN. >:(

Metal Gear Solid + Einhander + Oddworld + $15 = one copy of Ogre Battle (PSX version). Bastards! I wonder what the SNES version goes for?

- Surge "I think I gained 10 lbs. from the free snacks at work. *Burp*"

Brad: That's robbery. :( Einhander is good! Don't give it away.. even though Ogre Battle is good too.. oh, decisions. I wish we had free snacks at work. We do have free drinks though.. "Hey Mr. Coke man!"

If Thor was God of thunder, then what are you God of ? Monkeys?

- Gorodeu The Wonderer

Brad: I am the Greek God of Information.

Dear Thundara Maker,

(From Starcraft) The Zealot's response "Vishnu" has its roots from an ancient Asian lord.

-EE

Brad: "My wife, for hire!" er.. "My life for Aiur!"

Well, there she be.. a bit on the shorter side, if I'm thinkin' correct, but well, sorry ... I printed quite a bit of what I got, and I didn't get much. Oh well, that's just how things are sometimes. Anyhow, I'm taking off, have some happy-funball to play. :) See ya'll tomorrow.

Brad "That's no ORDINARY bunny rabbit!" Lohr