After I finished classes and meetings today, I stopped by Gamers just on a whim to see if they had Radiata Stories in. (For the uninitiated, it's the new game from Tri-Ace, makers of the Star Ocean series and Valkyrie Profile.) And lo and behold, even though the release date isn't until tomorrow they did!
...oh my God, I'm like an hour into it (if that) and I already frickin' LOVE this game. The storyline and presentation are hilarious, and the characters all seem likable and quirky and, yes, I've laughed my ass off like three times already.
Anyway, my impressions of the characters so far:
Jack Russell - Like the dog whose name he bears, he's an adorable smartass with no sense of self-preservation. He and Ridley snipe at each other all the time, which I personally find really amusing, and since it seems that a romantic relationship between the two of them is inevitable it's kind of a nice change. Less goopy Squall and Rinoa and more snarky Hepburn-and-Tracy if Tracy was a dumbass kind of repartee. XD
Ridley Silverlake - I kept hearing that she was bitchy, but so far she just seems collected and professional, and definitely a take-no-prisoners type with no qualms at laying the verbal (and physical, actually) smackdown on a dumbass tard like Jack. XD
Ganz - Dude, I <3 Ganz. He's a big cuddly dork who's SO not as smart and perceptive as he thinks he is. He's Jack and Ridley's superior, and the leader of the Rose Cochon Brigade. (If I remember my French correctly, that translates to something along the lines of "Pink Piglet." See why I like the humor in this game? XD)
Clive - Clive is totally the coup de grace. He's a newbie priest who has bulgey, staring eyes and looks and talks like Cletus the Slackjawed Yokel, and yet seems to have a good heart and a decent head on his shoulders.
But seriously, this game is FUNNY. Like when Jack is first shown his room, which he'll be sharing with an older knight, and it's all ratty and small and gross, and he puts his hands to his head and gives this really overblown, Luke-Skywalker-in-TheEmpire Strikes Back "NOOOOOOOOOO!" while the background goes black and the screen zooms in on him. Then the screen goes back to normal and his laidback troop leader, Leonard, is all "if you're done with your death wails, Ganz wants you upstairs ASAP. So get going." XD
I'm so looking forward to playing the hell out of this game.
I'M FEELING THE TRI-ACE WUBBLES, OH YES. Also, I totally need a Jack Russell icon.