Well, it took some doing, but I managed another RPG double-kill last weekend: Atelier Iris 2 and Secret of Mana. Things got so hairy that I actually burned out and haven't even picked up the controller for a good few days.
Now that I've actually played my two favorite games from the Mana and Atelier fanchises, I still strongly suspect that Atelier (or at least the Iris subseries) borrowed a lot of elements from Mana. I plan to natter about that later, after a bit more research and pondering. Truth be told, I'm actually still burned out on both games for the moment, which is surprising considering neither claimed my free time and resources quite like the last few--hell, the last dozen--RPGs.
Anyway, I've decided on my next big endevour, and a bit of confession time.
I've never actually beaten Final Fantasy VI.
Way back in the day, I played the hell out of it, but for one reason or another, I never tackled the final dungeon. Some of it was that I was playing a borrowed copy, so my savefiles tended to go poof. Other reasons came along, some good, some stupid, and one very bad. When I was an aspiring nerdling, I asked my friend if I could just beat the final boss on his already completed savefile. My friend, being a wonderful dude (I was such a spoiled little prick, but he let me play with his SNES and his games anyway, without griping) let me do so, therefore giving me an excuse to say I beat the game.
I honestly think this is the moment that spark some really nerdy commitment issues, the ones where I pick an RPG, play it up to the last dungeon and just stop. I've managed to get over it, at least for now. So it comes to this. It's foolish, it's childish, and it's frightfully nerdy, but it is long past time I've put this game on my finished list one and for all.
The Harvest Has Triumphed Twice Over! And now it's time for that wonderful little saying: When life gives you lemons, go murder a clown.
Friday, August 25, 2017
Tuesday, August 15, 2017
Killer Bunny Slippers
Time is like a river, and history repeats...
Anyway, after a bit of dithering, I went ahead and plugged my new copy of Secret of Mana into my new SNES. The result has been amazingly therapeutic; a lot of my recent RPG forays have had highlights of one kind or another, but few have been able to rival the just plain fun that SoM has had to offer.
There's this dichotomy about the whole thing. As the same time's it's serious and silly, finely-tuned and buggy, balanced and utterly broken. This is a game where you fight for the fate of the world in the face of apocalyptic forces while bashing ridiculous enemies like animate bunny slippers with a rusty sword found in a riverbed.
A lot of stuff has already been stated and restated about SoM. This is one of the big-time classic RPGs of the 16-bit era; gamers have been poking at it for over two decades now, and probably still poke at it for a very long time to come. The story is fairly weighty. A trio of plucky young adventurers set forth to seal special magical seeds and gather the support of elemental spirits to combat the forces of an evil empire under the sway of a very ancient and vile lich. It was already a cliché when the game was released, but the whole thing was so well put-together that you really don't care and enjoy the ride.
You've got the usual classical elements of fire, water, air, and earth, plus light and darkness. Then you wind up with two oddballs, moon and tree/wood/leafyleafness. All the weapons and spells have a fair bit of utility (up until the final battle anyway), and nothing really falls behind as you progress. The monsters are a fairly diverse bunch, like the bunny slippers of doom, cartoony Thriller zombies, axe-toting goblins that skin the slippers and wear them like hats, killer floating tomato necromancers, duck soldiers, living pumpkin bombs, fish that shoot missiles, and freaky mime ghost things. Yes, there's the usual palette swaps, but the line-up is already pretty crazy to begin with, and since this is an action-RPG with real-time combat, they had to animate the things so it's very understandable.
Overall, Secret of Mana is still a very fun game, and worthy of a place in an RPG enthusiast's collection. The Harvest Never Rests!
Anyway, after a bit of dithering, I went ahead and plugged my new copy of Secret of Mana into my new SNES. The result has been amazingly therapeutic; a lot of my recent RPG forays have had highlights of one kind or another, but few have been able to rival the just plain fun that SoM has had to offer.
There's this dichotomy about the whole thing. As the same time's it's serious and silly, finely-tuned and buggy, balanced and utterly broken. This is a game where you fight for the fate of the world in the face of apocalyptic forces while bashing ridiculous enemies like animate bunny slippers with a rusty sword found in a riverbed.
A lot of stuff has already been stated and restated about SoM. This is one of the big-time classic RPGs of the 16-bit era; gamers have been poking at it for over two decades now, and probably still poke at it for a very long time to come. The story is fairly weighty. A trio of plucky young adventurers set forth to seal special magical seeds and gather the support of elemental spirits to combat the forces of an evil empire under the sway of a very ancient and vile lich. It was already a cliché when the game was released, but the whole thing was so well put-together that you really don't care and enjoy the ride.
You've got the usual classical elements of fire, water, air, and earth, plus light and darkness. Then you wind up with two oddballs, moon and tree/wood/leafyleafness. All the weapons and spells have a fair bit of utility (up until the final battle anyway), and nothing really falls behind as you progress. The monsters are a fairly diverse bunch, like the bunny slippers of doom, cartoony Thriller zombies, axe-toting goblins that skin the slippers and wear them like hats, killer floating tomato necromancers, duck soldiers, living pumpkin bombs, fish that shoot missiles, and freaky mime ghost things. Yes, there's the usual palette swaps, but the line-up is already pretty crazy to begin with, and since this is an action-RPG with real-time combat, they had to animate the things so it's very understandable.
Overall, Secret of Mana is still a very fun game, and worthy of a place in an RPG enthusiast's collection. The Harvest Never Rests!
Friday, August 4, 2017
From The Ashes
This isn't quite the usual post. Yes, I've been tearing my way through another RPG (Atelier Iris 2, again) and I've been having some fun. But it's really just acting as a gaming palate cleanser, a bit of a romp through familiar territory before I decide on the next big campaign.
But one thing has been leading into another, and now I'm contemplating something a bit bigger. Over the last few years, I've managed to rebuild my Playstation collection to its former glory, and with some lucky finds and the addition of a PS2 and PS3, actually a great deal better. Finally buckling down and getting my hands on a Lunar 2 boxset has made good on some of my biggest gamer mistakes. I know it's silly, but there's a whole thing behind this; not reliving the past, but actually doing one better and surpassing it, even in an incredibly nerdy way.
It's not something I talk about all that much. My first big RPG collection, it was...tainted. I did a lot of conniving and mooching and even outright theft to get it. I've managed to make amends, and fess up to the friend I stole from. It's kinda funny; everybody has a skeleton or two in their closet, and it's no bad thing to drag it out and be done with it. This skeleton just happens to be really steeped in the Dork Side. More proof of divine humor.
This collection is one that I managed to gain honestly, no theft, no mooching, and the only conniving was some shrewd--but honest and open--trades. I've gotten just about all my Playstation goodies back, and more besides. And then it hit me.
It hit me, indeed; there was another part to it, that I've been ignoring all this time, and for no actual reason. I had a nifty SNES collection, too. I think the time has finally arrived, the clarion call finding its way to my ears. And this time, I will do it right. No bullshit, just patience, resourcefulness, a bit of thrift, and a pixelated Harvest done right.
But one thing has been leading into another, and now I'm contemplating something a bit bigger. Over the last few years, I've managed to rebuild my Playstation collection to its former glory, and with some lucky finds and the addition of a PS2 and PS3, actually a great deal better. Finally buckling down and getting my hands on a Lunar 2 boxset has made good on some of my biggest gamer mistakes. I know it's silly, but there's a whole thing behind this; not reliving the past, but actually doing one better and surpassing it, even in an incredibly nerdy way.
It's not something I talk about all that much. My first big RPG collection, it was...tainted. I did a lot of conniving and mooching and even outright theft to get it. I've managed to make amends, and fess up to the friend I stole from. It's kinda funny; everybody has a skeleton or two in their closet, and it's no bad thing to drag it out and be done with it. This skeleton just happens to be really steeped in the Dork Side. More proof of divine humor.
This collection is one that I managed to gain honestly, no theft, no mooching, and the only conniving was some shrewd--but honest and open--trades. I've gotten just about all my Playstation goodies back, and more besides. And then it hit me.
It hit me, indeed; there was another part to it, that I've been ignoring all this time, and for no actual reason. I had a nifty SNES collection, too. I think the time has finally arrived, the clarion call finding its way to my ears. And this time, I will do it right. No bullshit, just patience, resourcefulness, a bit of thrift, and a pixelated Harvest done right.
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