Multiple Part Post
Because this would have been a GIGANTIC post, i'll take the liberty of just making multiple posts, as for my own convenience. This will be a multiple part post about many RPGs and some SNES vs. Sega points and counterpoints. enjoy.
RPG EXTRAVAGANZA!
Recently I've had a lot of time on my hands, and what does anyone with a lot of time on their hands do? Solitaire and RPGs. First of all, did you know microsoft made a computerized version of the solo card game solitaire? I mean, where will these guys go next? A game where you search for mines or something?! Apparently there's multiple styles of play, colorful decks and and array of bouncing aces. I highly recommend.
Second of all, RPGs are great. I know most gamers now are halo junkies tapping their veins with xbox controllers, which means most gamers have forgotten entirely about games like Final Fantasy 3, Chrono Trigger, Seiken Densetsu 3 and the mother of all mothers, Mother 2 (AKA Earthbound). I know everyone is looking forward to the revolution, PS3 and xbox 360 to see where the future of console gaming is heading, but we all need to take a moment to look back.
Snes RPGs were the best. The first expansive stories that lasted about 40 - 50 hours if you played to your maximum capactity were on the SNES. Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past may have been the most revolutionary take on a previous platform seen at the time. Even Super Metroid was nearly the same as the NES counterpart. So SNES RPGs competed for story. Typically I disliked the series games, like Secret of Mana was good, but Secret of Evermore sucked the life out of the series like a tick in toxic waste. Super Bomberman got better, then tragically worse in gameplay (all the way up to Bomberman Jetters for the Gmae Cube which I wasted 20 bucks on. The multiplayer is fun, but not when you dont have friends!).
So where are the good games, the original games, the groundbreaking games? They're collecting dust on your shelves or on sale at Handy Randy's for 1$ a pice OBO. Games like Final Fantasy 3, which is one of my favorite story lines for a game ever. Actually the entire mood and atmosphere of the game is portrayed exquisitely. From desert wastelands to frozen tundras, the graphic effects aid an easilly memorable soundtrack to grab onto you at the beginning and not let go until Kefka meets his maker.
The gameplay of FF3 is where it lacks originality. Yes there's a certain thing called "Blitz" where you have to input your codes and slot machines which decide cure or damage and sowrdtech's and such, but that happens so much it loses its lustor and becomes a tedium. The random battles happen enough to become more than a bother when youre broke and low on life and potions and can sense a boss coming. The game isn't extremely difficult (if you obtain ultima) and the story is a hooker (in the sense that it's filled with hooks and is thrown at you repeatedly ... not in the sense that it sexes you for lincolns).
Another RPG where the story isn't such a pulitzer winner but the visuals, gameplay, and random NPC speech were absolute class A, is called Earthbound (or Mother 2 in Nipon ... errr Japanese). By the way, these are all exclusive to the SNES. Earthbound has some many good points and a bit of very annoying points. The gameplay was original and the concept is still up there with ingenuity and hasnt really been touched yet. I have a bunch of screenshots which i will put up soon of all examples and samples to show. Believe me, I will have a power point for you!
Out of nowhere I decide to try seiken densetsu 3, basically on a whim. Secret of Mana, like i said, was good, but campy. The sequel, Secret of Evermore, was a cartoony epic which spanned time, in the sloppiest of ways. Oh, and your dog evolves into a robot. Isn't that just adorable? Seiken Densetsu tries to go back to the ways of Secret of Mana, only if you mixed it with Wild Arms. You get to choose which character you play through and who you will meet along the way. It would be a good game if the dialog wasnt so campy and the animation wasn't so childish. the thief's "Bro" is a giant cat with a huge gut! The story is as weak as the gameplay. Apparently wiccans got control of the earth and made a sword out of mana and then goddess blessed it with the pixie dust of a thousand fairies ... or something equally queer (as in peculiar, not ... you know ... ass piracy). The menu system is so clunky i actually growled at my tv in anger after repeatedly hitting the wrong button and dealing with a load screen. I got so bored of doing the same ol' remedial crap over and over again that i quit 8 hours into it and have no intentions of beating it. I might someday when life has just got me down, and i can't do anything worse than play Seiken Densetsu 3, because all thieves live in Navarre ... apparently.
Chrono Trigger has such similar graphics to SD3 I thought they were the same game at first glance, but Chrono Trigger is a bit less childish in its character design, and the story, oh the marvelous story, that spans space and time with many many multiple endings, which was a first of its time when it came out in the 90s. The options and locations you can fight the boss makes a linear style game seem non linear. and ill take a break here to collect my thoughts.
RPG EXTRAVAGANZA!
Recently I've had a lot of time on my hands, and what does anyone with a lot of time on their hands do? Solitaire and RPGs. First of all, did you know microsoft made a computerized version of the solo card game solitaire? I mean, where will these guys go next? A game where you search for mines or something?! Apparently there's multiple styles of play, colorful decks and and array of bouncing aces. I highly recommend.
Second of all, RPGs are great. I know most gamers now are halo junkies tapping their veins with xbox controllers, which means most gamers have forgotten entirely about games like Final Fantasy 3, Chrono Trigger, Seiken Densetsu 3 and the mother of all mothers, Mother 2 (AKA Earthbound). I know everyone is looking forward to the revolution, PS3 and xbox 360 to see where the future of console gaming is heading, but we all need to take a moment to look back.
Snes RPGs were the best. The first expansive stories that lasted about 40 - 50 hours if you played to your maximum capactity were on the SNES. Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past may have been the most revolutionary take on a previous platform seen at the time. Even Super Metroid was nearly the same as the NES counterpart. So SNES RPGs competed for story. Typically I disliked the series games, like Secret of Mana was good, but Secret of Evermore sucked the life out of the series like a tick in toxic waste. Super Bomberman got better, then tragically worse in gameplay (all the way up to Bomberman Jetters for the Gmae Cube which I wasted 20 bucks on. The multiplayer is fun, but not when you dont have friends!).
So where are the good games, the original games, the groundbreaking games? They're collecting dust on your shelves or on sale at Handy Randy's for 1$ a pice OBO. Games like Final Fantasy 3, which is one of my favorite story lines for a game ever. Actually the entire mood and atmosphere of the game is portrayed exquisitely. From desert wastelands to frozen tundras, the graphic effects aid an easilly memorable soundtrack to grab onto you at the beginning and not let go until Kefka meets his maker.
The gameplay of FF3 is where it lacks originality. Yes there's a certain thing called "Blitz" where you have to input your codes and slot machines which decide cure or damage and sowrdtech's and such, but that happens so much it loses its lustor and becomes a tedium. The random battles happen enough to become more than a bother when youre broke and low on life and potions and can sense a boss coming. The game isn't extremely difficult (if you obtain ultima) and the story is a hooker (in the sense that it's filled with hooks and is thrown at you repeatedly ... not in the sense that it sexes you for lincolns).
Another RPG where the story isn't such a pulitzer winner but the visuals, gameplay, and random NPC speech were absolute class A, is called Earthbound (or Mother 2 in Nipon ... errr Japanese). By the way, these are all exclusive to the SNES. Earthbound has some many good points and a bit of very annoying points. The gameplay was original and the concept is still up there with ingenuity and hasnt really been touched yet. I have a bunch of screenshots which i will put up soon of all examples and samples to show. Believe me, I will have a power point for you!
Out of nowhere I decide to try seiken densetsu 3, basically on a whim. Secret of Mana, like i said, was good, but campy. The sequel, Secret of Evermore, was a cartoony epic which spanned time, in the sloppiest of ways. Oh, and your dog evolves into a robot. Isn't that just adorable? Seiken Densetsu tries to go back to the ways of Secret of Mana, only if you mixed it with Wild Arms. You get to choose which character you play through and who you will meet along the way. It would be a good game if the dialog wasnt so campy and the animation wasn't so childish. the thief's "Bro" is a giant cat with a huge gut! The story is as weak as the gameplay. Apparently wiccans got control of the earth and made a sword out of mana and then goddess blessed it with the pixie dust of a thousand fairies ... or something equally queer (as in peculiar, not ... you know ... ass piracy). The menu system is so clunky i actually growled at my tv in anger after repeatedly hitting the wrong button and dealing with a load screen. I got so bored of doing the same ol' remedial crap over and over again that i quit 8 hours into it and have no intentions of beating it. I might someday when life has just got me down, and i can't do anything worse than play Seiken Densetsu 3, because all thieves live in Navarre ... apparently.
Chrono Trigger has such similar graphics to SD3 I thought they were the same game at first glance, but Chrono Trigger is a bit less childish in its character design, and the story, oh the marvelous story, that spans space and time with many many multiple endings, which was a first of its time when it came out in the 90s. The options and locations you can fight the boss makes a linear style game seem non linear. and ill take a break here to collect my thoughts.