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I thought the FFX story was much much better, Lost Odyssey was ok but it was very dry. It was quite good to begin with but towards them end it started to feel like I was just going through the motions.

I never got to the end of Lost Odyssey, got to the last disc but never got round to finishing it.

It is very much like FFX with a much much better story.

Lost Odyssey is one of the five best RPGs released in the past decade–and possibly one of the three best.

It’s a marvelous game. It really is.

Ooooo, Lost Odyssey was mentioned! My girlfriend and I have been playing this the past week and a half, and I have to say it’s the most fun i’ve had playing an rpg in a very long time (I’m admittedly not much of an rpg game though). Excellent, excellent game!

~Branden

“One final thing; I’m not upset about the hardware, or the wagglemotes, or the console capacity. I’m a firm believer that great games can be made on yesterday’s hardware if one puts the effort into engineering fun rather than flash. The problem is that Nintendo seems unwilling to do this.”
I just read this, Lusi.
And I absolutely agree. If nothing shows at E3 I’m going to assume that my Wii is a Mario Galaxy and Super Smash device….and that’s it.

The problem I had with Retro Evolved on the Wii is that it isn’t as sharp or crisp as that on the 360, thanks to the less-capable Wii graphic output. Still, I will probably pick it up sometime this week. I didn’t care for it on the computer, either. It really wants a 42″ HD screen for playing.

That said, I’m not going to get another 360. The only game on the console that I really miss and cannot get elsewhere is Lost Odyssey. I can’t justify owning the console for that one game alone–even though it is an amazing and wonderful game.

Lusi – Well, GWG on the Wii does come with Retro Evolved as an option, so if you have a classic controller, there you go. Though honestly, you should get you another 360. The system’s just way too awesome, with tons of great games to experience.

Of course, another option for the original Retro Evolved is to get it on Steam.

Yes, I play a lot of Smash Brawl and Galaxy, and apart from the Virtual Console and Lost Winds, I have no use for the Wii. I’m glad I have it for there will be the occasional game I will play, but I far prefer my 360 and my DS.

@Master Chief: A spot-on assessment. I am surprised you still have PKMN Battle Revolution. We abandoned it to my Amazon.com inventory (where it sold almost immediately, proving that crap still sells) after finding it unsuitable for the ostensible purpose for which it was created: PKMN tournaments. It was faster, easier, and more fun to just use DS-to-DS battles than to go through the enormous pain-in-the-ass of setting up a tournament and registering people to play in it. And for what? SLOW battles. SO VERY SLOW.

Geometry Wars Galaxies upset me a great deal. Neither it nor its DS counterpart really felt like it was living up to the original incarnation on the 360, but now that I no longer have a 360 I might pick up GWG for the Wii so that I have an alternative to the [admittedly excellent] Super Stardust HD. Sometimes, one simply prefers that retro arcade-feel.

I sold MP3 within a week of buying it, and tossed MP2 with it. MP2 was a huge disappointment for me after what I felt was the strong showing in MP1. MP3 was just more of the same. And you are right, it felt a lot like Hunters, which might be–in my opinion–one of the biggest disappointments on the DS so far, up there with Final Fantasy IV. It could have been excellent, and it ended up being crap. Way to drop the [morph] ball, Nintendo.

Agreed, there are great titles on the Wii. Just that most of them are from relatively early on in the Wii’s life cycle. Here’s my list of Wii games, not counting Wii Sports.

No More Heroes
House of the Dead 2 & 3 Return
House of the Dead Overkill
Resident Evil 4
Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles
Zack and Wiki
Mercury Meltdown Revolution
Geometry Wars Galaxies
Metal Slug Collection
Pokemon Battle Revolution (which is NOT a great game)
Rayman Raving Rabbids
Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Super Paper Mario
Super Mario Galaxy
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (Too much like Hunters)
Wario Ware: Smooth Moves
Onechanbara: Bikini Zombie Slayers

Of those games, the only one I regret is Pokemon Battle Revolution. Not a good game AT ALL. However, you’ll notice on that list that Overkill and Onechanbara are the first two games I’ve bought since Brawl on the system. This is a problem, and one that I don’t think Nintendo seems to care about, as they seem to only desire to throw in token efforts like the “new” Punch-Out!! game in development, which likely won’t control any better than Wii Boxing. Then, of course, you have the atrocity that is Dead Rising: Chop Til You Drop, which has no other reason to exist other than Capcom making a quick buck. Not that I’m angry at Capcom: Their only two successes on the Wii are a Cube port and a rail shooter. The problem is that, thanks to poor sales of actual games, the Wii has become a dumping ground, a place for the 5th stringers to make shovelware that makes a provit on 20k copies sold. I don’t blame 3rd parties: In light of the failure of many a great Wii game, I’d likely do the same.

Mr. Bill Voice: Oh noooooooooooo~

Careful Lusi or you might end up on the Chapel of resonance’s blacklist along with Montok.

Lest my comments on the Wii be taken as baseless nerdrage, allow me to qualify it by saying that the Wii does have some really excellent games in which I’ve invested a lot of time: Super Paper Mario, for example, is one of the most fun games I’ve played in ages. I may replay it again soon, in fact. Mario Galaxy is a very solid 3D platformer, and for groups of friends, especially people who are not hardcore gamers, Super Smash Bros. Brawl is always fun for everyone. Twilight Princess, too, is a solid and enjoyable adventure game.

The problem is that this is where we start to run out of things to play. All of the aforementioned games are first-party products. In fact, the only third-party Wii title I own is Castlevania: Judgement, which everyone should know by now to be rubbish. The good games, like those mentioned above, are released farther and farther apart whilst the console sits unoccupied in the meantime. And whilst I am glad there is a virtual console with quality titles for download, I find that I am downloading games I already own–probably from being in the enviable position of having had a HUGE NES and SNES library of games which contained everything I ever wanted to begin with.

Right now, there is nothing coming out on the Wii which I am even remotely interested in. Unless Nintendo does an about-face and tries to capture some of the magic which the PS3 and 360 have stolen, it’s like to remain this way for some time.

One final thing; I’m not upset about the hardware, or the wagglemotes, or the console capacity. I’m a firm believer that great games can be made on yesterday’s hardware if one puts the effort into engineering fun rather than flash. The problem is that Nintendo seems unwilling to do this. Every game is a vehicle for some gimmick or other. Once, one was shocked by this facile, shallow approach to picking the consumer’s pocket–now it has become Nintendo’s de facto approach to the market.

Time will show whether the nefarious method is sustainable. I rather think even the Oprah Zombies will eventually grow bored of shaking their fists and arses at the television.

—

As for Flower, your post encourages me to relent slightly. I’m still not going to buy it. If someone gives me money for graduation in April, I may direct $10 of it towards Flower. If not, then not.

I have recently decided that I was sick of not using my Wii system and it was time to rejuvenate it for myself. So, within the past two days I went out and bought No More Heroes, and The House of the Dead Returns 2 & 3. This brings my wii collection to Resident Evil 4, Super Mario Galaxy, Mario Kart, Wii Sports, and the aforementioned No More Heroes and House of the Dead. I started playing House of the Dead last night, and I really think that that game will get me playing the Wii again. Ogre Battle for the SNES was also released on the VC yesterday, which I purchased, so that is something else I will be using my Wii for.

But, it is like you said, Shawn, most the time I play the Wii is for playing downloaded Virtual Console games. Is this a bad thing? I don’t think it is. There are a lot of games on the VC that I have downloaded that I don’t own in cartridge form, so that definitely holds value for me. Would I like to play more Wii-specific games? Sure, but that’s why I bought NMH and HotD.

And there are also a handful of other games on the Wii that might be good that I have been reading about, and plan to check out soon. One example is Dokapon Kingdom. It is described as a mario party-esque game mixed with RPG elements, which sounds interesting to me. Also Zack and Wiki is, I hear, a great puzzle game; Klonoa and MadWorld are upcoming games that look to be excellent; Opoona is supposed to be a very decent RPG kind of like Earthbound; Okami, De Blob, Deadly Creatures, and World of Goo all round out the other games I am interested in.

So, it may not be all Nintendo’s fault, in my case, because there are some good games out for the Wii that I just haven’t given a chance yet. This excites me; it’s almost like I just bought the Wii again and am now ready to give it it’s fair shake! =-)

~Branden

The poll will be up this evening after I have spoke to Lusipurr. Branden you have summed up Flower better then I ever could. The experince is something I have never experinced in a game before.

I am glad you are enjoying the show, trying to convince Lusipurr to do something such as buy Flower will take some work.

MC you should add me on PSN, we cen get some online gaming on the go.

Once again thank you for the feedback without you we are nothing!

Shawn, I am going to have to be the third or fourth person to tell you that you should really give Flower a chance! Thanks to the editorial, I purchased this game the other night. At about 2:30 in the morning, after my girlfriend had fallen asleep, I decided that it was time to give Flower the chance to impress me. And, even though my feelings were mixed with sleepiness, I have to praise Flower whole heartedly. Beautiful is almost an understatement to describe this game. I have only played through two of the plants stories so far, but I have already been moved by the game.

I think the best way to describe the gameplay, in my opinion, has to be a “fly through the rings” type game (think back to the enthralling Superman 64, if you will). You use the motion control of the PS3 controller to control a flower petal around almost barren, brown fields to find other flowers. Once you brush up against the flower, a petal from each of the flowers you touch follows you on your journey (not too much unlike what I have played of Katamari Damacy, Shawn!). After you are able to brush up against all the flowers in a certain area, you breath life back to the area, and turn it green and alive again. That’s the gameplay as best I can describe it right now. Think of it as a “fly through the ring” game with a touch of Katamari thrown in.

But what makes the game stand out is it’s gorgeous visuals and soothing musical score. Once you are able to bring life back to the post-winter looking hills, you are engulfed in a wonderful, vibrant, welcoming world that will sweep you away. All the great graphics are accompanied by an orchestral score that would make any musician (if I remember correctly, Shawn, you are a piano player?) swoon.

Something else that Flower is able to do is tell an engaging story without the use of any written words. As I said, I have only finished two of the (I believe) six flowers, but I can already see that each flower has a unique past, an exciting future, and simply, a story to tell. Shawn, if you decide to take the advice of all of us and play this awe-inspiring piece of art, great. But, if not, that’s your (unfortunate) loss. I recommend giving it a shot though; who knows, maybe you’ll be pleasantly surprised!

Final Thoughts on the PodCast:
Where’s the aforementioned Opinion Poll?!?!
And thank God Nate says “Fitty” cent.
Great Podcast this week, guys!

~Branden

Master Chief says it all. My Wii’s primary use is to play SNES/NES games (which I already own) in S-Video quality with a save state feature and less chance of freezing. When it is not being used for this purpose, it is used to play SSBB for a few minutes when lots of people are over. And that’s it.

What a disappointment.

I’m loving Killzone 2 so far (Even though I’m gonna have to likely puss out and play it on normal – I’m at Visari’s palace on veteran and just can’t get past Radec’s support waves). I do agree with Lee that it is the most technically impressive game to date on the PS3. And while it’s not the brightest and most colorful game in the world, it has a very distinct aesthetic. Lee’s comparison to the Nazis is actually quite accurate, as great care seems to have gone into that fascist dictatorship feel. Really, this is the first FPS since Halo where I felt like there was really a distinct aesthetic as opposed to generic template enemies.

Anyway, since Lee doesn’t want to rant about the Wii, I’ll do it for him. The problem with the Wii is that for all the sales the hardware has had, it hasn’t done a damned thing to “expand the audience.” If anything, Nintendo’s been hard at work making the wall between gamer and non-gamer stronger than ever, probably so as not to have to share their pie with anyone else. Much of what sells on the Wii (and DS, but that’s another topic) is self-improvement software as opposed to anything resembling a video game, and the few 3rd party successes on the Wii are soon proven to be flukes (Carnival Games did well, but where’s Carnival Minigolf on the top 10s?). For suckers like myself who got the Wii near launch, the system sits there unused for upwards of 6 months at a time, and even when it is used, it’s for brief periods. Put simply, the system has done nothing but finalize Nintendo’s departure from the video games industry, and with that, me as a Nintendo consumer.

The gameplay in Crisis Core, I admit, could not stand on its own. The story, dialogue, and characterizations are more than capable of doig so, however. I’m not quite sure what you mean when you say the best story elements were “lifted from FFVII;” I don’t think that’s true at all.

FFVIII vs FFX is no fun, the answers so cut and dry, and the discussion nowhere near acrimoious enough.

So at the risk of being linched I would like to ask Megaphones Ahoy a question rarely asked, and that is:

Is Crisis Core really that great?

Don’t get me wrong this is easily the best rpg on the PSP, and a game I enjoy very much, yet it never really felt as though it could stand on its own two feet, as though it had to stand on the shoulders of FFVII to gain admittance.

All of it’s most interesting story elements were lifted directly from FFVII, with new material little more than fan service. Granted the fanservice was passing tolerable, yet fanservice nonetheless.

I would like to know if people who like FF8 over whatever else have actually played it in the past two years.

I tried picking up FF8 again this past week and ended up giving up after hijacking the train and killing the phony President Deling. I had about 10 hours of play time and at least 25% of it was drawing magic from things or wailing on them and waiting for them to die Breath of Fire 1 style.

SE did a “good job” with it making FF8 more realistic over FF7 (which I started replaying tonight). The enemies don’t just explode and fade away red. They collapse realistically into a lump. Their attacks are fluid for PS1 animations and their motions intricate. Which makes the battles take 3x as long as FF7 not counting loading times. (The loading times were actually slightly better in FF8 I think.)

But even when you watch this clip of FFX at about 2:00 in on Youtube ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BU8-e-C4Uy0 ) I still think it’s a better overall game.

FFX’s story made sense. It’s not the Citizen Kane of our time, but it is comprehensible.

FFX’s battle system was certainly exploitable by slapping Hastega on, but it didn’t alternate between stupidly brokenly slow and absurdly brokenly fast depending on what point in the game you were at and if you had Aura and Holy War yet or not.

I’m not a FFX fanboy though, I’ll admit readily that Bliztball was terrible. I only ever won the first game I was made to play in my first of three playthroughs. It was FFX’s stupid card game.

Oliver I am indeed a fan of yours. I have missed you on RPGcast and it is great to head your sad and lonely voice once again.

Great podcast yet again! And I’ll take you on whenever your ready at SFIV again Lee! ;)

And On the FFVIII vs. FFX debate… Mark me in the minority and give me FFVIII any day!

Awww cheer up little buddy.