30 Days Video Game Meme - Days 18, 20, and 21
Alright, I have a legitimate excuse for not posting yesterday. I did not forget. You see, I kinda forgot that if your character is running communications for an event, that gives you a lot of tags. So by the time I was gonna do this in the evening, I was stuck in Omi's journal, tagging the team leaders for the event in Plane. After this event, I might go on hiatus with him, just to get the other characters out more. After his discussion with Ridcully, maybe he'll go to Discworld and try to get himself into the Assassin's Guild, and take a couple jobs. It'll certainly make him feel a bit better, experiencing that assassin's aren't seen as anything but a necessary evil in some worlds.
Anyway, meme
Day 18 - Favorite protagonist.
Took me a while to pick, but I finally decided on Guy from Tales of the Abyss. I'm not entirely sure why he's my favorite, but he definitely falls into my general "favorite character" specs. Nice guy (no pun intended), has morals, isn't afraid to tell his friends when they're wrong (most of the time). Given that it's an action RPG, he's also fast, which means I don't have to worry about defending, it's a hit-and-run style (this is why I cannot play Yuri in Vesperia. He's not fast enough, and I end up with "combo combo combo ru-- crap, got hit"). Plus, Guy has well-grounded reasons for why he's done what he's done. I think that's why I love RPing him, too. He's got such an interesting background, and his relationships with Van, Luke, and Asch, and how they change over the course of the game (with Van, friendship to distrust to grudgingly agreeing he has to be stopped; with Luke [starting pre-game, and technically starting with Asch!Luke, but Guy didn't know that], hatred to dislike to friendship to brotherhood to almost fatherhood. Luke and Guy are like Cutter and Skywise, and if Auldrant had soul-names, those two would have shared theirs; with Asch, you have annoyance to dislike to almost hatred, and then to grudging respect). He's just a really well-fleshed out character.
Also, since I need to get this off my chest. I am proud of the way I RP Guy. Have I made mistakes? Yes. Would I change some of the things that happened? I'm not sure. Some of the things that happened were pre-plotted, and some were spur of the moment, caught up in the intensity of the log. But I stand by my Guy, and my ability to play him, and I'm not going to let anyone (especially anons who are likely people who have been removed from my flist) scare me away from playing him. I don't know if I want to take him into a game right now (I don't really think he'd fit into Plane, especially with Matsu covering the "afraid of women" angle, and I already had problems getting him into Vatheon), but I'll probably try to do some museboxing with him.
Continuing with the meme...
Day 20 - Favorite genre.
Role-playing games. No contest. I was never that great at platformers, horrible at first-person shooters, barely passable at real time strategy and silly racers, fighting games I only button mash, and while I enjoy puzzle games, RPGs usually are part puzzle anyway.
Day 21 - Game with the best story.
If I were a different type of gamer, this question would be much easier. After all, in fighting or racing games, there's a lot less story, so not as much to compare. With RPGs, though, the story is the whole game. Story and characterization. For me, the mark of a good game is well-developed characters I enjoy, and a good story. In that order, actually. Which is why I prefer Suikoden III over other games in the series. However, whether it be by the way they chose to tell the story or that the manga just told it better, it doesn't win for best story.
No, my pick is going to have to be three two games down the road, Suikoden V. Suikoden V, for all of my complaints real time strategy army battles, has a very well-developed world and story. And I think part of that is the setting development. Yes, it's the same world that the previous five four games took place on. But the setting was never developed.
In Suikoden I, honestly, the world was a generic, standard fantasy setting. The only area that had any sort of cultures to it was the Warrior's Village, and even then, it wasn't much (even the elven and dwarven villages were limited in "culture" to "we don't like humans or dwarves/elves"). In Suikoden II, there was more of the same. Greenhill, being a university town, and Two Rivers, having clear segregation between the sections, were a bit better, but, still, you really could take any character from any village or town, put them into another one, and there not be much difference in their text, if any at all.
Suikoden III was a little better, and for the first time, we really got to see and experience different countries (II doesn't count, as you really didn't get to see much of the Highlands). In Zexen, we saw that they were very aristocratic, and the knights in Brass Castle were disciplined. The Ducks were laid back, the Lizards tough. Karaya was in-tune with the earth, and Chiisa pacifist. Alma Kinan was spiritual, and Le Buque dedicated to their bugs. And Caleria is a merchant/mercenary haven. However, III has some story problems, and there weren't as many NPCs to help get a feel of the cultures as in earlier games.
And now we're just going to skip to Suikoden V. Here, now, we have clearly defined cultures. You have the Queendom of Falena proper, with it's traditions and customs for succession, and selecting the commander of the Queen's Knights. You have the Dragon Calvary, and their strictness in caring for the dragon-horses and who is allowed to train. You have that weird art town that I went to as little as possible. You've got Raftfleet, which is all about fishing and being on the water. And, more importantly, if you take a character from one town, and transplant them to another, they will be a fish out of water (a bit of that in III, too, but not as heavy). Finally, we have a Suikoden game with well-developed cultures.
And the story built off of the cultures. Whether the cultures came because they were needed for the story, or the story came from the cultures they established, the two were irreparably connected. You couldn't have one without the other. Granted, III was also location-specific, but that was due to the tensions between the countries, not because of the cultures themselves. Suikoden V could not have taken place anywhere else in the Suikoden world, because nowhere else do you have that combination of cultures that would allow that story to unfold. And the story was strong, as well. I think it pulled me in more than any previous game had, with the possible exception of II (again, my love of III is because of the characters, and I felt it had more character development than the other games).
Btw, the previous Suikoden games are Suikoden, Suikoden II, Suikoden III, Suikoden IV, and Suikoden Tactics (aka Rhapsodia). I'll leave it up to you to decide which game kept getting struck out of the count.
Yet to come:
Day 1 - Very first videogame.
Day 2 - Your favorite character.
Day 3 - A game that is underrated.
Day 4 - Your guilty pleasure game.
Day 5 - Game character you feel you are most like (or wish you were).
Day 6 - Most annoying character.
Day 7 - Favorite game couple.
Day 8 - Best soundtrack.
Day 9 - Saddest game scene.
Day 10 - Best gameplay.
Day 11 - Gaming system of choice.
Day 12 - A game everyone should play.
Day 13 - A game you’ve played more than five times.
Day 14 - Current (or most recent) gaming wallpaper.
Day 15 - Post a screenshot from the game you’re playing right now.
Day 16 - Game with the best cut scenes.
Day 17 - Favorite antagonist.
Day 18 - Favorite protagonist.
Day 19 - Picture of a game setting you wish you lived in.
Day 20 - Favorite genre.
Day 21 - Game with the best story.
Day 22 - A game sequel which disappointed you.
Day 23 - Game you think had the best graphics or art style.
Day 24 - Favorite classic game.
Day 25 - A game you plan on playing.
Day 26 - Best voice acting.
Day 27 - Most epic scene ever.
Day 28 - Favorite game developer.
Day 29 - A game you thought you wouldn’t like, but ended.
Day 30 - Your favorite game of all time.
Anyway, meme
Day 18 - Favorite protagonist.
Took me a while to pick, but I finally decided on Guy from Tales of the Abyss. I'm not entirely sure why he's my favorite, but he definitely falls into my general "favorite character" specs. Nice guy (no pun intended), has morals, isn't afraid to tell his friends when they're wrong (most of the time). Given that it's an action RPG, he's also fast, which means I don't have to worry about defending, it's a hit-and-run style (this is why I cannot play Yuri in Vesperia. He's not fast enough, and I end up with "combo combo combo ru-- crap, got hit"). Plus, Guy has well-grounded reasons for why he's done what he's done. I think that's why I love RPing him, too. He's got such an interesting background, and his relationships with Van, Luke, and Asch, and how they change over the course of the game (with Van, friendship to distrust to grudgingly agreeing he has to be stopped; with Luke [starting pre-game, and technically starting with Asch!Luke, but Guy didn't know that], hatred to dislike to friendship to brotherhood to almost fatherhood. Luke and Guy are like Cutter and Skywise, and if Auldrant had soul-names, those two would have shared theirs; with Asch, you have annoyance to dislike to almost hatred, and then to grudging respect). He's just a really well-fleshed out character.
Also, since I need to get this off my chest. I am proud of the way I RP Guy. Have I made mistakes? Yes. Would I change some of the things that happened? I'm not sure. Some of the things that happened were pre-plotted, and some were spur of the moment, caught up in the intensity of the log. But I stand by my Guy, and my ability to play him, and I'm not going to let anyone (especially anons who are likely people who have been removed from my flist) scare me away from playing him. I don't know if I want to take him into a game right now (I don't really think he'd fit into Plane, especially with Matsu covering the "afraid of women" angle, and I already had problems getting him into Vatheon), but I'll probably try to do some museboxing with him.
Continuing with the meme...
Day 20 - Favorite genre.
Role-playing games. No contest. I was never that great at platformers, horrible at first-person shooters, barely passable at real time strategy and silly racers, fighting games I only button mash, and while I enjoy puzzle games, RPGs usually are part puzzle anyway.
Day 21 - Game with the best story.
If I were a different type of gamer, this question would be much easier. After all, in fighting or racing games, there's a lot less story, so not as much to compare. With RPGs, though, the story is the whole game. Story and characterization. For me, the mark of a good game is well-developed characters I enjoy, and a good story. In that order, actually. Which is why I prefer Suikoden III over other games in the series. However, whether it be by the way they chose to tell the story or that the manga just told it better, it doesn't win for best story.
No, my pick is going to have to be three two games down the road, Suikoden V. Suikoden V, for all of my complaints real time strategy army battles, has a very well-developed world and story. And I think part of that is the setting development. Yes, it's the same world that the previous five four games took place on. But the setting was never developed.
In Suikoden I, honestly, the world was a generic, standard fantasy setting. The only area that had any sort of cultures to it was the Warrior's Village, and even then, it wasn't much (even the elven and dwarven villages were limited in "culture" to "we don't like humans or dwarves/elves"). In Suikoden II, there was more of the same. Greenhill, being a university town, and Two Rivers, having clear segregation between the sections, were a bit better, but, still, you really could take any character from any village or town, put them into another one, and there not be much difference in their text, if any at all.
Suikoden III was a little better, and for the first time, we really got to see and experience different countries (II doesn't count, as you really didn't get to see much of the Highlands). In Zexen, we saw that they were very aristocratic, and the knights in Brass Castle were disciplined. The Ducks were laid back, the Lizards tough. Karaya was in-tune with the earth, and Chiisa pacifist. Alma Kinan was spiritual, and Le Buque dedicated to their bugs. And Caleria is a merchant/mercenary haven. However, III has some story problems, and there weren't as many NPCs to help get a feel of the cultures as in earlier games.
And now we're just going to skip to Suikoden V. Here, now, we have clearly defined cultures. You have the Queendom of Falena proper, with it's traditions and customs for succession, and selecting the commander of the Queen's Knights. You have the Dragon Calvary, and their strictness in caring for the dragon-horses and who is allowed to train. You have that weird art town that I went to as little as possible. You've got Raftfleet, which is all about fishing and being on the water. And, more importantly, if you take a character from one town, and transplant them to another, they will be a fish out of water (a bit of that in III, too, but not as heavy). Finally, we have a Suikoden game with well-developed cultures.
And the story built off of the cultures. Whether the cultures came because they were needed for the story, or the story came from the cultures they established, the two were irreparably connected. You couldn't have one without the other. Granted, III was also location-specific, but that was due to the tensions between the countries, not because of the cultures themselves. Suikoden V could not have taken place anywhere else in the Suikoden world, because nowhere else do you have that combination of cultures that would allow that story to unfold. And the story was strong, as well. I think it pulled me in more than any previous game had, with the possible exception of II (again, my love of III is because of the characters, and I felt it had more character development than the other games).
Btw, the previous Suikoden games are Suikoden, Suikoden II, Suikoden III, Suikoden IV, and Suikoden Tactics (aka Rhapsodia). I'll leave it up to you to decide which game kept getting struck out of the count.
Yet to come:
Day 1 - Very first videogame.
Day 2 - Your favorite character.
Day 3 - A game that is underrated.
Day 4 - Your guilty pleasure game.
Day 5 - Game character you feel you are most like (or wish you were).
Day 6 - Most annoying character.
Day 7 - Favorite game couple.
Day 8 - Best soundtrack.
Day 9 - Saddest game scene.
Day 10 - Best gameplay.
Day 11 - Gaming system of choice.
Day 12 - A game everyone should play.
Day 13 - A game you’ve played more than five times.
Day 14 - Current (or most recent) gaming wallpaper.
Day 15 - Post a screenshot from the game you’re playing right now.
Day 16 - Game with the best cut scenes.
Day 17 - Favorite antagonist.
Day 18 - Favorite protagonist.
Day 19 - Picture of a game setting you wish you lived in.
Day 20 - Favorite genre.
Day 21 - Game with the best story.
Day 22 - A game sequel which disappointed you.
Day 23 - Game you think had the best graphics or art style.
Day 24 - Favorite classic game.
Day 25 - A game you plan on playing.
Day 26 - Best voice acting.
Day 27 - Most epic scene ever.
Day 28 - Favorite game developer.
Day 29 - A game you thought you wouldn’t like, but ended.
Day 30 - Your favorite game of all time.