“With Final Fantasy getting worse and worse, maybe Tales is on a correlated inverse slope?”

- I was thinkong that Vesperia was the latest Tales game. I still have yet to play Hearts and Graces.

The main point I was getting at was the sheer fact that Tales has a great battle system, amazing puzzles that make use of your noodly appendage, and a story that really takes you on an unforgettable ride (as did FFIX)

Nearly every other Tales game that I played before this one had an impact on me like that of a mere bug. But, with this game being one of it’s latest, I am looking forward to the future of Namco Bandai.

@Evilpaul – regarding your Halo fratboy comment, while I dont like to give those pricks any type of credit, didn’t, like, everyone like FFVI? of all the Final Fantasies that seems to be the one no one really talks shit about and surely a lot of the people who played that grew up to Teabag Teh Noobs.

@Lane & SiliconNoob – I’m with noob. if JRPGs start borrowing from Wow and it’s ilk I’mma start playin more fightin games.

@Juan22 – ah, you noticed that shit too? I always wondered why reviewers are so keen to rag on a characters outrageous hair and yet not bat an eye when a game blatantly rips off Tolkein…

you know, everyone talks about how the JRPG is one hit-point away from passing its last bowel movement but I’m not sure I believe it. everyone goes on about how the’s only a few JRPGs that anyone gives a shit about (read: buys) but are western rpgs really that better off? the only WRPGs that people really buy in large amounts are on the consoles, from what I understand. Gothic ain’t pullin Mass Effect numbers. even if you count WoW that’s only one more very popular one. now that I think about it, what were the really popular WRPGs before Mass Effect: Virtual Orgasmic Rape Simulator and Fallout 3 came around? and how popular were these other games, really? I won’t deny that the JRPG has had better days but are WRPGs really doing that much better?

I get that the big JRPGs are made by one company but it seems like the big WRPGs are made by two, Bethesda and Bioware (I’ll count Blizzard when they actually release something).

and fuck elves. unless the have Underboob and/or Badonkadonk. but then only the women.

What an odd assertion. Of course Ethan is going to like what ever he likes however much he likes it. I don’t see how Ethan is to profit by liking what he likes any less than he already likes it, so I don’t see how it is wrong for him to do so. If Ethan has to like something then so much the better if it happens to be one of the best RPGs ever made … your love for FFVIII blinds you to all of life’s other joys evilpaul, you can’t see past where you’re going to draw your next hit of Thundaga from.

@Lane: If JRPGs borrowed more MMO mechanics then I’d probably stop playing them altogether.

Also, @Ethos, the more you know!

And Lane, you liked Rogue Galaxy? Believe it or not, I don’t really link to my site from this one, but nothing summarizes my feelings for Rogue Galaxy like this article.
http://riddlethos.com/2009/09/wrong-hole-darling-%E2%80%93-love-story-misses-countdown-2/

About as many as Square-Enix will put out in the plucky rebels fight evil empire genre.

The problems are (1) JRPG gameplay hasn’t been significantly updated from the FIGHT MAGIC ITEM RUN command menu system (Final Fantasy XII was the best attempt); (2) JRPGs endlessly repeat the same tropes that are scrutable to the Japanese but old and played out to Western audiences; (3) minigames get mistaken for “depth” and replayability; and (4) Western RPGs have evolved past crude D&D clones and the comparisons aren’t as stark.

The solutions are: (1) new and better story lines that have complex characters and not a spiky haired swordsman, comic relief mage, and spunky princess; (2) game mechanics that borrow more from MMOs and action games and require more active input from the player; (3) abandonment of minigames and crafting systems wholesale, no exceptions; (4) technical precision and good production values (seriously, no more tearing and judder and bad rendering in video); and (5) more control over character development.

The last “good” JRPG I played was Rogue Galaxy. Apart from a stupid crafting and minigame system and a punishing grinding system, it was a really excellent game. Unfortunately, even among JRPG fans, White Knight Chronicles sounds like doody so I won’t be buying it. Demon’s Souls was a well-made game but beyond my ability to invest time in it. And no Asian company has been able to create a Western-casual-friendly RPG. I mean, I think raiding 4 nights a week for 4 hours at a time is “semi-hardcore.” I can’t compete with some Korean kid that has a sponsor and plays 18 hours a day. I just can’t.

FFIX I don’t think was that amazing having replayed it again recently though. Not much happened really in it. You just kind of had a plot that was an excuse to ferry you around to different set pieces. Sure, they were pretty cool, nostalgia-poking set pieces, but still: set pieces. Then there’s the 11th hour, obligatory, post-FF7, mindfuck Reveal. Then another, quite cool, set piece (Pandemonium/Crystal World), the game pulls a Necron on you, and it ends with a mostly happy ending.

I liked the character progression system and the set Jobs, but still providing some customizability. The Battle System was just slow though. It’s a complaint I’ve got with most PSX RPGs I replay. SNES RPG random battles load instantly, are fast paced, and end quickly. FF7, FF8 (UGH, and FF9 are slow loading and laggy by comparison. I’ll have given all my dudes commands and a good thirty seconds later the fourth enemy is doing its slow as shit dry humping Quina’s face attack animation. I know they don’t have to be slow. Replaying Chrono Cross which also had a slow battle system they give you a Fast Forward button!

I guess my point is FFIX is a pretty good game, not at all deserving the FAN HATE it gets from FF7 fanboiz, but Ethos is wrong to like it as much as he does.

Also, does Tales of Vesperia still use berries as curative items? That always seemed kind of arbitrary and stupid to me. I mean I realize I can’t shoot lightning from my fingers, kill dudes with my mind, or ressurect dead people, but eating the thing of blueberries in my fridge I wouldn’t expect to change that.

Then again, Mario 64 taught me that swimming, but not drowning, heals you completely. So I guess my real point is that Tales games and all the 3D Mario games I’ve played are retarded.