Hello everyone, Mazer here and I would like to take some time talk about the passion of “Middle-Tier” developers. That is, developers of video games who do not make so-called “AAA” titles, but instead these smaller games that tend to reflect their personal interests and passions.
However, I would like to take this time to apologize for our lack of content recently. To make a long story short – things have just been too hectic and too hot for me to sit at my home computer to write. Seriously, it is currently 21:38 as I write this and my phone tells me that it is 105 degrees outside. It’s insane.
That said, I would like to take a moment to share with you this clip from our most recent Live Stream: No More Heroes 3.
No More Heroes is about an otaku named Travis Touchdown who wants to be the world’s best assassin. Why? Well the answer is simple. So he can get laid, of course! I’d go into further detail but that’s a story for another post.
The series is the brain child of Goichi Suda, otherwise known as Suda51. He tends to include his passions into his games; passions such as music, anime, horror movies, and sci-fi. Every one of his games from Lollipop Chainsaw to No More Heroes is just oozing with personality and style. It’s no reason why I love his games. And as of last Friday, I finally completed his latest game: No More Heroes 3.
Now it is a tradition of mine to share my thoughts and feelings on a game during the ending credits. No More Heroes 3 was no exception. This time, however, I went into a little rant concerning my love for auteurs like Suda51. About how their games come from a place of love instead of a cooperate office.
I would like to share that rant with you today. So please, sit back, have a drink, and let’s gush about these passionate, and talented, developers.
Like previous Final Fantasies, I bought Final Fantasy XII at launch. I was excited, as I always was, for a new Final Fantasy. My excitement slowly dwindled as I discovered that you did things differently than the previous games.
You had a very MMO style look and feel. You allowed enemies to hit me even as I tried running away. The license board meant I could not equip what I wanted, when I wanted. Gold came from loot instead of normal fights.
The story was overly political the language flowery. You were not my basic Final Fantasy I grew up with.
I distinctly remember the exact moment I stopped playing you. It was in the Tomb of Raithwall, shortly after the Demon Wall. Although you provided beautiful graphics and a surprisingly amount of well-spoken dialogue, you were not my Final Fantasy. You were new and different. I tried to keep an open mind but it wasn’t enough. Final Fantasy had a tried and true system and you changed that. As such, I stopped playing and had since never looked back.
Time has passed. I am now 41 years old and spending my free time live streaming old video games. Several of which being games that I had never finished during my childhood. Eventually, I came across you. Final Fantasy XII. Staring up at me from my game cabinet as if begging for another chance to show me your greatness. Although I had my reservations, I decided to do just that. I gave you a second chance.
Today I stand before you humbled. I have realized simultaneously that I was not only a stubborn child but a foolish one. What I seek from you, as I fall to me knees, is forgiveness. I was blind to the magnificence you tried to show me.
The language that I had originally thought as long winded and boring is now seen as mature and delightful to listen to.
Whereas the story, which I had once believed to be boring and political is now gripping with a sense of constant dread. There are high stakes involved in this colorful world you’ve created.
Furthermore, I no longer see our cast of characters as one irritating and dull. Instead, they are full of life and personality. Vaan, you lovable one-brain-celled fool. Ashe you stoic badass. Balthier you delightful scamp. Penelo, I hope you never lose your hope and kindness.
The combat is so detailed, the Gambit system phenomenal. I had originally thought the Gambit system to be overly complicated but now I see it is nuanced with a great deal of customization. Oh how your future brother FF7REMAKE would benefit from the Gambit system…how I wish it would return.
The dungeons surprising me with dangerous areas full of over-leveled monsters – resulting in my panic and fear. Making me feel things as I race my level 14 ass out of the level 40 enemy swarm.
The plethora of hidden weapons, items, armor, and loot. The hunts. The monster designs; it is all wonderful!
As I write this, I squeaked a win against Adrammelech, the Wroth – my characters only at level 24-26. Yet in a world where facing monsters too early means instant death, you were fair enough to allow me to alter my stratergies and find a way to win. An adrenaline rush given up to me from among high.
Forgive me, Final Fantasy XII. I was but a fool. Today I am one of your biggest fans. Thank you. Thank you for climbing the ranks to, as of right now, being my 3rd favorite FF of all time…
I hope this feeling lasts as I continue my journey!
Released for the Nintendo Gamecube back in 2003, Gotcha Force is an arena-based fighting game that pits tiny robots (known as Borgs) against one another in hopes to save the Earth. Basically, it’s Autobots vs Decepticons if they were 4 inches tall.
I’ll be honest. I had never even heard of this game until a friend of mine gave it to me as a gift. Unfortunately, like Legend of Dragoon before it, I just never got around to playing it. Frankly, I always thought it was a kid’s game. What with its young protagonists and its child-like aesthetic. Apparently, I was wrong.
My live-stream chat later informed me that the game was not only good, but difficult as well. Curiosity peaked, I decided to make it the next game we finished on stream. Which leads us to the following question. Was it as good as Chat made it out to be or was this another game blinded by nostalgia?
Story
Does Gotcha Force have a story? Yes? I guess? Sort of?
Kidding aside; yes. Gotcha Force has a story. It’s just razor thin. Basically it boils down to a young boy named Kou finding an alien robot named G-Red. G-Red tells Kou that the evil “Death Force” is planning an attack against Earth. It is now up to Kou to find allies in order to create a kid army strong enough to defeat the Dark Emperor.
Along the way Kou meets up with several neighborhood kids. The youngest being (I think) 5 years old and the oldest being a pre-teen? They don’t really give much information about the characters. They just exist to fight alongside you.
Not all kids are friendly; however. There are three brats who, for reasons that I couldn’t figure out, have joined the Death Force. First you have Sho who, for all intents and purposes, is the Gary to your Ash Ketchum. He’s pretty much your rival. Then you have the rich, snobby brat Tama and finally you have the green-haired Orochi whose motivations I really never understood.
Eventually, you win over the hearts and loyalty of the other kids in the neighborhood and together you team up to face the Dark Emperor. The story is nothing special but it serves its purpose.
Gameplay
As we mentioned before, Gotcha Force is an Arena-Based action game. It’s a high-octane 3rd-person action game where you build a team of Borgs to face off against the enemy team. Every Borg comes equipped with 2 special attacks and a melee attack that can combo.
Teams can consist up to 30 Borgs at a time though you’ll be lucky to get upwards of 5 or 6. You see, Borgs cost “GF Points” and you cannot exceed the amount of GF Points you have in your pool. Smaller bots can cost as little as 200 points whereas the bigger, more powerful bots can exceed 1,000 points. You earn GF Points by participating in battles – which this game has in spades. Most battles will net you a few dozen Points whereas boss battles will provide you with much more. Usually in the hundreds.
Oh. Did I mention that Borgs also count as your lives? Yup. The amount of Borgs you bring onto the battlefield count as your life system. When all the Borgs die, you lose.
This adds a whole new level of strategy to the game. Do you want a whole-bunch of little/medium Borgs to maximize your chances of survival? Or do you want a trio of Heavies and hope they deal enough damage to kill the enemy before dying themselves?
Now having a lot of GF Points means nothing if you don’t have Borgs to summon. Luckily, collecting Borgs is as simple as playing the game. At the end of each battle you have a chance to earn one (or more) of the Borgs you just fought against. This either comes in the form of the Borg itself, or capsules that you need to collect in order to form a complete Borg. So you really don’t need to worry about finding Borgs. You’ll soon own more Borgs than you can handle. That is not an exaggeration either. From what I’ve been told, there are about 200 individual Borgs in this game. Each with their own strengths and weaknesses.
That’s pretty damn impressive!
Then there’s the Ally system. During the story-mode you end up teaming up with other neighborhood kids. These kids each have their own specialized team of Borgs that will fight alongside you in battle.
Now each kid has their own unique team. For example, your rival Sho specializes in heavily armed, melee-focused Knights. Tama on the other hand has a single Borg in his team but its a massive skyship that utilizes multiple cannons and lasers to decimate the enemy forces. Another has Jet-themed borgs whereas another has healers. These options allow you to further customize each battle to better your odds at survival.
For the sake of transparency; I will like to mention that there is a Challenge Mode and a Multiplayer Mode that I hadn’t tried. So, unfortunately, I will not be discussing either in this review.
Review
I like Gotcha Force. I like it a lot. This is one of those games that surprises you. It waves its colorful, childish design around before sucker punching you in the gut with its high-octane action and surprising difficulty spikes.
How do I describe my experience? Okay. So during the first half hour or so, the game lures you into this false sense of security. You’re tearing through the enemy Borgs with little to no effort. You’ll be facing maybe 2 enemy Borgs at a time. They each have very little health so it doesn’t take much to destroy them. Then will come the next wave of 2 enemy Borgs and you’d kill them easily as well.
Then, without warning, you’ll be facing upwards of 5 Borgs at a time. Each with mega weapons that cover the screen with bright, flashing colors and particle effects. You’ll watch as your favorite Borg suddenly gets bodied across the arena as if he weighed nothing. Lasers will blast you into oblivion and before you know it, you’ve lost half your team.
I am not exaggerating when I say that there are moments in this game where I can barely keep track of all the insanity that I’m seeing on screen. So many Borgs, so many weapons going off, so many explosions, so many special abilities firing off – it’s pure madness!
I love it.
For you see, these difficulty spikes forced me to reevaluate my Borg team time and time again. There were moments in the game where I felt like I had assembled the perfect team. A team who could destroy my enemies without a second thought.
Only for the Death Force to completely and utterly wipe me out. These new enemy Borgs rendered my tactics completely useless. They chewed me up and spat me out like so much scrap metal.
For this, I was thankful.
You see, it is all too common for me to fall into the trap of using the same group of characters from start-to-finish. It happens all the time – from JRPGs to Fighting Games. I find a team that clicks with me and stick with them until the end.
Gotcha Force forces me to do the opposite. It forced me to experiment with different Borgs – swapping out my Heavies for those with lower armor but higher speed. There was many a time where I eked out a victory thanks to a Borg I previously thought to be useless. This kept the game fresh and exciting.
Unfortunately, we cannot say the same for the game’s Storyline or it’s Voice Acting.
We mentioned before how Gotcha Force’s storyline is bare bones. It is basically the same plot as Power Rangers and Transformers. A force of good turns to kids to help them defeat their evil, almost identical, counterparts. We don’t ever learn why the Death Force is so bad nor do we ever learn the villain’s motivation. Hell, we don’t even communicate with the Dark Emperor until 3/4ths through the game. As such, I found myself spamming the A button to get through what little dialogue Gotcha Force has in order to proceed to the next battle.
The Voice acting is just as rough. Each character has a series of phrases that they repeat ad nauseum. The problem is that these phrases don’t match up with what the characters are saying on screen.
For example; Sho’s dialogue would read “…” but his dialogue would be “YES!”
To which your character says. “Who was that guy” but his voice would say “OH!”
It’s very conflicting. Sure, it’s funny at first but even I found myself rolling my eyes by the end of the game. I am sure this could be due to translation errors or something but either way; it was rough.
The music however, is upbeat and matches the intensity of the gameplay beautifully. I found it catchy and fun. If I had to make a compliant about the soundtrack it would be that there wasn’t much variety in the music. It had four, maybe five real tracks in the game. That said, the music was pleasant to listen too and I enjoyed it quite a bit.
Conclusion
Gotcha Force was a pleasant surprise. I literally thought it was going to a laid-back game designed for kids. A “Babies First Armored Core” if you will.
I’ve never been so wrong. This game is intense! It’s non-stop, adrenaline pumping madness that keeps you on your toes. What surprised me the most was just HOW MUCH content the game throws at you. You get over 100 battles with the chance to collect about 200 Borgs – each having their own unique gameplay style and stats. Not to mention the multiplayer split-screen component and challenge mode. There’s even a trading option to allow you to trade Borgs with your friends!
The graphics are bright and vivid and the gameplay fast and tight. Even with so much happening on screen, I never experienced slowdown or stuttering. The few issues that the game does have (Voice acting and story) are so minute that it never distracts from the game itself.
I give Gotcha Force a 9/10. I highly, HIGHLY recommend Gotcha Force to anyone able to purchase (or emulate) it.
Hey everyone, Mazer here and today we are going to be talking about video games! Specifically the video games that we’re currently playing.
If I’m being honest with you, I just really could not come up with a topic to discuss this week. I don’t know what it is but I am just drawing a blank. As such, I decided instead to talk about the games we’re currently playing.
Funnily enough, the games we are playing somehow fell into the same genre of Action/Adventure games featuring Mechs! For those of you who do not know, I am not really a fan of Mechs. When it comes to Mech Anime, I find most of them rather dull. Naturally, there are some exceptions. I absolutely love the insanity of Studio Trigger’s Gurren Lagann and Production I.G.’s Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet.
Yet when it comes to Mechs in video games; I love them. I love how heavy they feel. I enjoy the satisfaction of seeing enemy mechs get pulverized, and I absolutely adore the power you feel when you get that massive punch through the enemy mech’s defenses. It’s satisfying as hell.
Do you remember Virtual On? It was a Sega game made for the arcades in the 90s and it served as my introduction to the Mech Game genre. Players sat in these chairs and used tank controls to move their agile mechs across the battleground while fighting off other mechs. What made it even better was the fact that you could battle other players as well. Such a good game!
I digress. We’re not here to talk about the past. We are here to talk about the present! So without further ado, let’s talk about what Mech games we are currently playing!
Gotcha Force (Nintendo Gamecube, 2003)
Gotcha Force is a funny little game. In it you play as a young Japanese kid who is approached by a tiny robotic alien called a Gotcha Borg. The Gotcha Borgs are recruiting children and preteens to help them defeat the evil Gotcha Borg empire – the Death Force. It’s a very Power Rangersesque storyline complete with rivals, betrayals, and twists.
Now, in order to defeat the Death Force, players must train, upgrade, and recruit Gotcha Borgs. This is where the game takes an interesting little turn. From what I’ve been told, Gotcha Force includes over 200 Borgs for you to seek out and collect. By battling other kids, you earn the chance of recruiting a new Borg. The more Borgs you recruit, the better your chances to defeat the Death Force.
Every Borg provides its own unique abilities. Some move faster, others deal more damage; some can teleport, some have rapid-fire weapons, and some can even nuke the entire battlefield. The wide variety of Borgs makes for fun gameplay as I rarely find myself sticking to the same team for more than a handful of battles.
I love this mechanic. I am one of those guys who sticks to a specific party if I find they serve my purposes. If they are getting the job done, what’s the point of swapping them out? Well that is not the case in Gotcha Force. For example; I was rocking a trio of Heavy Borgs – a traditional tank, a heavy melee Borg, and a Borg with a giant chainsaw. They were decimating the enemy! That is until I ran into a group of speedsters. These nimble little Borgs tore my heavies to shreds! This made me rethink my strategy. I swapped my trio out for a group of nimble ninja and gunslinger Borgs. With these faster Borgs under my control, I was finally able to defeat the enemy with few casualities.
Gotcha Force is a surprisingly good game. While it is not perfect (the camera angles can be a problem and the voice acting is laughable at best), it a lot of fun. We are currently streaming it Friday-Sunday at 11:30am – 14:30pm PST.
You can check out our first stream here!
Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon (Xbox Series X, 2023)
Dark Souls with Mechs.
There. That is all I have to say about this game.
Okay, that’s not entirely accurate. In fact, it isn’t the least bit accurate. Armored Core VI is the latest game from developer FromSoft. Known for their soul-crushing difficulty, FromSoft is responsible for such games as Dark Souls, Elden Ring, Blood Borne, and of course – Armored Core. This is, obviously, the 6th mainline game of the franchise and the first I’ve played.
I’m presently still in the early chapters of the game. That being said, I already love what I’ve experienced thus far. Whereas their other games instill a sense of helplessness in the player, Armored Core makes you feel like an unstoppable killing machine.
Well, for the most part.
Your mech feels satisfyingly heavy. Every step you make, every move you take (I’ll be watching you!) results in a satisfying THUNK. When you jump off a building, you FEEL the impact of your mech hitting the ground. Whenever you use your boosters, you FEEL the speed.
But it is the SCALE of the game that makes you feel like a bad-ass. What I thought were small drones were, in fact, full sized Helicopters. They were the size of my Mech’s arm! Tanks might as well be toys as I crunch them beneath my feet.
And the equipment! Oh the equipment! There are so many options from weapons to body parts that you can get lost in customizing your mech to your exact playstyle! Personally, I lean towards the heavily armored builds but the fact that I could swap out to a speedster build on the fly is fantastic!
That said; although you can rip and tear your way through the game’s version of Goombas with ease, don’t you dare think that this is a cakewalk. This is first and foremost a FromSoft game and it comes with the same difficulty the company is famous for. The rival mechs (the full-sized ones, not the fodder) can easily rip you apart if you aren’t paying attention. And the bosses? Forget about it! They are wonderfully insane and I look forward to tackling the challenge they present. Here is a clip of us facing off against one of the game’s early bosses.
Unfortunately, I am still early in the story so I cannot go into any further detail about its story or combat. But from what I’ve experienced so far, I love it!
Sand Land (Xbox Series X, 2024)
Sand Land is an Open World action game based off the manga (and later anime) of the same name. Written and drawn by legendary manga author Akira Toriyama, Sand Land was one of the last projects worked on before his untimely passing.
The game’s plot is as follows: Natural disasters and endless war has left the planet a desert wasteland. People and monsters alike struggle to survive on a daily basis. Taking care of the monsters (classified as demons) is the Prince of Demons, Beelzebub. The precocious scamp steals water and supplies from the greedy king’s forces and hands the supplies over to his people.
One day he is approached by a human sheriff named Rao. Rao informs the Prince that he may have discovered a water spring that could end the desert’s drought. Unfortunately he is not strong enough on his own to tackle the task at hand. He offers an alliance with Beelzebub – exchanging the location of the spring for the Prince’s strength and abilities. Beelzebub agrees and together they venture off into the desert to find the spring.
As of this post, I am only an hour and a half into the game. Just far enough to encounter my first mini-boss and first stealth mission. That said; I am loving everything that I’ve encountered thus far. The graphics are bright and colorful and just dripping with Akira Tomiyama’s artistic charm. The writing is akin to his other works as well. Charming, silly, with just the right amount of menace to make the villains feel like a threat without ever getting too serious.
Gameplay – mixed between driving around in your car/mech and moving on foot – is tight and entertaining. Usually in open-world games, I end up ignoring enemies while on my way to the next waypoint. That is not the case here. The combat is so satisfying – mixing up light and heavy attacks to build combos – that I find myself jumping out of my car at the first sign of enemies.
Sadly, I cannot really comment any further as I’m still very early in the game. I have yet to try out any of the mechs or tanks that have been shown in the trailer so unfortunately I cannot give my opinion on that mechanic. However, if the early gameplay is anything to go by, I feel like I’ll be enjoying the mech combat as much as the rest of the game.
We’ll return to this topic once I get further into the game but for now I just wanted to share my early impressions as it is one of the three games I’m currently playing!
What are you playing this month? Let us know in the comments!
Legend of Dragoon is a JRPG developed by Japan Studio and released on the Playstation 1 in 2000 (United States). It follows the story of a young man named Dart who is on a journey to find his family’s killer. Along the way, he meets up with a group of characters and together they end up tasked with saving the world from an ancient evil.
I bought Legend of Dragoon at launch though I didn’t actually play it until this year (2024). Why? I don’t know. This was during the height of Final Fantasy’s popularity – with Final Fantasy IX coming out the same year. It would not surprise me that I set Legend of Dragoon aside in favor of Final Fantasy IX. IX is hands down my favorite of the 3D Final Fantasy games so it makes sense that I gave it all my attention.
After that, I just never got around to Legend of Dragoon. However this year I decided to stream a butt-load of JRPGs on my twitch channel. We started with Skies of Arcadia, then Secret of Mana, and we just recently finished Legend of Dragoon.
So. How did Legend of Dragoon fair? Was it a fine glass of wine that gets better with age or did it turn into so much vinegar in our mouths?
STORY
The story of Legend of Dragoon follows a young man named Dart and his childhood friend Shana. By the time we meet Dart, he is on his way back home after a years-long journey hunting a mysterious creature called The Black Monster (Creative name no?). The Black Monster is responsible for the destruction of not only his village, but his parents as well. Having sworn revenge, Dart ventured out in hopes of finding The Black Monster.
During his return trip home, Dart discovers that the local empire has destroyed his village (He can’t get a break can he?) and kidnapped his close friend Shana. He learns all of this from mysterious armored woman named Rose. She assists him in pushing back the remaining imperial forces. It is during this battle that she reveals that she is a Dragoon – a mystical knight imbued with the powers of the legendary dragon. To Dart’s surprise, she informs him that he is a Dragoon as well!
Together Dart and Rose team up to rescue Shana from the Imperial prison. Along the way they discover a plot to overthrow the world. A plot led by Emperor Doel and his right hand Lloyd (Yes, that is his actual name).
As is tradition, we learn that there is more to this story than meets the eye. While journeying to learn the truth, we come across a wide variety of interesting characters including the 16-year old dancer Meru, the barbarian Kongol, the knight Lavitz and his king Albert, the solider sister Miranda, and the martial artist Haschel. These heroes make up the rest of the legendary Dragoon Knights. Together they must find a way to stop Lloyd before he can bring about the end of the world.
Gameplay
Legend of Dragoon uses turn-based combat with a twist. That twist being an early form of Quick Time Events – that is, pushing a specific button when prompted. These are called “Additions.”
The way this works is as follows: Whenever you attack an enemy, a blue square appears in the center of the screen. A secondary square then flies across the screen to align with the static one. You are supposed to press the X button when the two squares align. This builds your combo. Think of this like a primitive version of Guitar Hero or a Rhythm game.
Each Addition has it’s own combo length and timing. One may have three inputs whereas another has five. Some have a slower input window whereas others are a lot faster. It’s an interesting premise that felt fun at first but wore thing as the game went on. But we’ll get into that later.
Every time you perform a successful Addition, you gain Spirit Points (SP). Spirit points not only level up your Additions but they also level up your Dragoon Abilities. The more SP you accumulate, the more attacks you can do while in Dragoon form.
Dragoon Form can be activated whenever you accumulate 100 SP. Upon activation, your character will undergo a Sailor Moon style transformation in which your character dons on their Dragoon Armor. Their offense and defense increases while also gaining the ability to use Magic.
Every action while in the Dragoon State uses up 1 level of Dragoon Spirit – with a maximum of 5. So if your Dragoon level is 2, for example, you can use 2 actions before your Dragoon State runs out.
But the Dragoon State is not the only time you can use magic. You can use it in your normal state as well but, like with the Additions, there is a twist. Instead of being an ability, Magic is treated like an Item. Magic spells are purchased from shops much like you would weapons and items. To use Magic, you select it from your items list and watch as your character “throws” it at the enemy. Depending on the spell, it either activates immediately or you have to mash the X button to increase damage. Either way, magic is a limited commodity. However, even this has a downside. Again, we’ll talk about it below.
Weapons, Armor, and Accessories are treated with a more traditional flair. You equip the best ones you find to increase your chances of survival. Simple.
Review
It took us approximately 53 hours to complete Legend of Dragoon. As far as I can tell, we completely a majority of the game. We found all the stardust (a collectable required to gain access to a hidden area). I was able to defeat the optional bosses. We max leveled some (not all) of our Additions and Dragoon levels, and we were able to finish the story.
So how did it turn out?
Honestly? It was rather average. Nothing too horrible but nothing too memorable either.
First off, lets talk the cast. Although we have several interesting characters, a majority of the game revolves around Dart, Rose, and later, Meru. This isn’t a problem early on but by the end of Disc 2 and start of Disc 3, the game’s focus shifts more towards these three. We don’t really get that much development out of the others until the final disc but by then, I found myself no longer interested. They were just side stories that felt more like padding than actual character development.
It didn’t help that the story felt quite generic. I will admit that this is likely my fault. Back in 2000, before I experienced other JRPGS and anime, this story may have felt fun and fresh. By playing it today, after 2 decades of anime and RPG experience under my belt, it felt predictable and tropey. We were able to guess practically every twist and turn that Legend of Dragoon threw at us. As such, I won’t blame the game for it’s story but more myself for my experience with the game’s tropes and story beats.
But what I will find fault with is the game’s combat and item system. While I appreciate Legend of Dragoon doing something different – keeping players actively engaged with its combat system – I did find myself growing tired of constantly mashing the X button for every attack. This goes double whenever I find myself backtracking. The game forces you to travel through previous dungeons which increases the chances of you running into more enemies. This meant, for the sake of progressing through the game in a timely manner, I had to either run away, or use some repeatable spells to end the battle as quickly as possible.
Now don’t get me wrong. There is nothing wrong with the combat. Leveling up additions is easy (and not to grindy) and seeing the different attacks play out is fun. I like seeing how each character fights. It is vastly different than other JRPGs at the time which kept characters swinging their weapons in the same manner no matter what their level. So I give them points for that. It’s just frustrating to complete a string of ever growing combos when you’re trying to get from point A to B as quickly as possible.
What did bother me, however, was the unusual inclusion of an Inventory Limit. Weapons and armor are capped off around (I think) 99 items. Fair enough. Even by the end of the game, I don’t think I got close to that limit. Items on the other hand had a hard cap of 32. So there were several moments throughout the game where I couldn’t open treasure chests because I had met my item limit. This also meant that I was constantly juggling Healing, Resurrection, Magical, and Ailment Items. Eventually, I just gave up on carrying Ailment Items and limited my Magical items to the tiniest handful. Most of my inventory was reserved for healing/resurrection potions and reusable magical items.
Yet again, I must give credit where credit is due. The aforementioned Reusable Magical Items was a fantastic addition to the game. With the limited inventory space, the inclusion of specific items that could be used over and over again (with a limit of 1x per battle) really helped balance the game. These items would either boost our characters’ speed, defense, and power, or act as a magical spell to damage enemies. So points for that!
My final frustration comes from the experience points and gold gained after every battle. Admittedly this comes from someone who loves grinding and making myself as over-leveled as possible but it did irritate me that the game provided you with the tiniest amount of Experience Points and Gold after every battle. Now I know why they did this. They wanted the game’s bosses to provide the majority of the gold and experience. That’s fine. But when you are low on funds and having to grind a bit to earn enough for a new weapon or piece of armor, that tiny amount of gold earned ends up being rather annoying.
This rings especially true if you want some of the game’s most powerful armor and accessories. At 10k a pop, these items are practically unobtainable unless you grind what the game calls Unique Monsters. These monsters have very low health but very high defense and agility. This means you’ll miss a majority of the time. But this is balanced by the aforementioned low health. You just need to score between 3 to 5 hits to take down one of these Unique Monsters. The reward for defeating them? Either a ton of gold (lowest being 300, highest being 1000) or experience. So, while frustrating that I cannot grind the normal way, there is a system in place to help players like me gain that armor.
This is the developers saying “Hey, if you WANT to get this hardcore armor, you can. You just have to work for it.” A bit irritating, sure, but doable. Once again – a frustration is balanced.
And that’s pretty much how I’d describe the entire Dragoon experience – Frustrating but Balanced. For everything that irritated me about the game, there was something that I found quite enjoyable about it. It was never too hard nor was it too difficult. Game Overs did occur throughout my playthrough which came as a welcome surprise. I don’t usually experience classic old-school Game Overs as much as I used too as a kid so whenever I fail in such a manner, it comes as a shock. I go “Oh, that just happened. Let’s change up our strategy and try from a different angle!” It was fun.
All that said – I will be remiss if I didn’t talk about the two things that had no redeeming qualities whatsoever. The first being a part of the game’s design, the second being a glitch that drove me insnae.
On the design front there is something that Legend of Dragoon does that I’ve not seen in any JRPG. That is the game’s requirement of changing discs when backtracking.
Back in the day, games, especially Jrpgs, came on multiple discs. When you completed a specific area in Disc 1, it would save your progress and ask you to insert the 2nd disc to continue the game’s story. If, at any time, you decide to return to a town or location from Disc 1, you may do so without interruption. Sometimes there is a story element that prevents you from going back but usually by the final disc, you can go anywhere in the world without problem.
Legend of Dragoon doesn’t do this. Some towns are locked behind specific discs. There was one moment where I went back to one town while on Disc 4 and had to swap out to Disc 2. When I finished up in the town, I started a side quest that required me to switch to Disc 3. Now while this is a minor inconvenience, it is still an inconvenience that shouldn’t exist. As far my experience goes, this is the only JRPG that I’ve played with this problem. It’s odd and quite frustrating.
Lastly comes the “Fade to Black” glitch that I encountered three times during my playthrough. So from what I understand, the Fade to Black glitch occurs when gamers are playing Legend of Dragoon on anything other than the original hardware. This means if you are playing on a Playstation 2 or 3, or in my case, emulating the ripped discs on a computer, there is a chance the game will freeze after a boss battle.
The way the glitch works is as follows: During specific boss battles, if you transform into your Dragoon state while playing on anything other than the original Playstation 1, there is a chance that, after the battle, the game will fade to black and free. We didn’t encounter this glitch until the end of Disc 2 when we fought the Kraken boss. After discovering the glitch, a quick Google search resulted in evidence that this is a well-documented problem. That was rather disappointing to find out because now I had to do some extra research to find out which bosses I could and couldn’t use my Dragoon State on.
But you know what the kicker was? It was during the final boss of the game. After spending an absurd amount of time defeating him, I was treated to Legend of Dragoon’s final cinematic. Once the cinematic ended, however, I was not given the end-game credits but instead…
ANOTHER BLACK SCREEN CRASH!
Luckily, I had already seen the game’s final cut scene (unless there is one after the credits – I have not looked yet) so I just turned off the game and left it at that.
Conclusion
Legend of Dragoon isn’t a bad game nor is it a phenomenal game. I would describe this game as “one that exists.”
Of course I’m joking.
It’s fine for what it is. It has an interesting premise, an experimental combat system, some seriously catchy music, and – despite being a bit forgettable – a decent cast of characters. While it is true I was frustrated with a lot of the game’s backtracking and high levels of enemy encounters; none of these were enough to sour my experience altogether.
There are no regrets when it comes to Legend of Dragoon. For what it was, I enjoyed it. I am happy that I was finally able to remove it from my backlog and I am glad I was able to share my experience with those on my live stream.
Overall, I would give it a solid 7/10. A good, but flawed game, that was daring enough to try new things even if those new things weren’t always successful.
I recently discussed one of my favorite horror video games, Silent Hill 2. In that post we talked about what makes Silent Hill 2 such a successful horror game and why it still holds up well to this day. That I failed to mention, however, was one of the creepiest parts of the game. I would like to rectify that mistake so let’s get to it.
In Silent Hill 2 you play as James Sunderland, a man haunted by memories of his deceased wife. One day he gets a letter from her asking him to meet her in their special place in the town of Silent Hill. James ventures off to the small lakeside town to seek out the truth behind this mysterious letter.
James arrives to a deserted Silent Hill. The streets are empty; not a soul to be see. There is no one in the tavern or even the bowling alley. It is as if everyone in town had suddenly vanished. On top of that, there is a thick fog that baths the town in a shroud of darkness. It obscures James’ (and by extension, yours) surroundings.
Along the way to discover the truth, you encounter a wide variety of horrific entities. Creatures that can only be described as things of nightmares. Men-like beasts who look as if they had been wrapped in fleshy straight jackets, scantily clad nurses with bandaged faces and wielding pipes and handguns, a pair of living legs sewn on top of another pair of legs, and of course the dreaded Pyramid Head – a terrifying immortal that stalks your every turn. These are just some of the monsters that James encounters along his journey.
Normally, the monsters alone would be enough to elicit a player’s whimpers, and yet it isn’t enough. Not for a game like Silent Hill 2. It continues to assault the senses by providing the player with an environment as visceral and disturbing as the enemies themselves.
One such example would be Room 208. In the Woodside Apartments, the first real “level” of the game, you come across Room 208. It is an important room in which players must solve a puzzle in order to progress. The first time players visit the room they may notice how sparsely decorated it is. The only bits of furniture in the room are a coffee table, an old television set, and a gross armchair. Consequently, it is nothing out of the ordinary. Therefore why should you question this room?. After all, we’ve seen other rooms that look similar. Why should this apartment be any different??
It is only after you find the clock key that the room changes. Even as the room loads into view, you can immediately tell that something is wrong. The sound of static now fills the once quiet room. Walking into the family room will expose players to a grisly sight – a trail of blood leading from one side of the room up to the chair. A splash of blood on the television and in the chair itself, a corpse.
All the while the television remains tuned to a channel of constant static. An eerie soundtrack to the grisly scene lying in front of you. That is what I mean by the environment being an unreliable narrator. Silent Hill 2 immerses players in an ever-changing environment. Similarly, the town, much like James, is an unreliable narrator; constantly changing what is real and what is make believe.
Yet there is something more chilling than Room 208. I am not talking about the prison level; filled to the brim with some fantastically horrifying sound design. Nor am I talking about the endless pitfalls beneath the Museum (If you know, you know.).
No. I am talking about a small, almost forgettable moment early in the game that, to this day, sends chills down my spine.
In Neely’s Bar, a tavern that you can explore during the first half of the game, you come across a window. Plastered upon the window are newspapers and written upon the newspapers (presumably in blood) are 8 simple words.
There Was a hole here…
It’s Gone Now.
Chills. I have chills.
There is something inherently wrong about this sentence. I cannot put my finger on it. Like, who wrote this? What is the hole that they are referring? Is this a physical hole or a metaphorical one? What made it vanish?
I am picturing some poor soul who, like James, is trapped in their own personal hell. Within the walls of Neely’s Bar is someone who has seen a hole – a hole big enough for them to notice daily. Eventually, there comes a day where the hole no longest exists.
I imagine this shattering their world. That there is this constant in their life that had suddenly up and vanished. The hole has gone away and it took their perception of reality along with it. Furthermore, if that was not strange enough, they also feel the need to tell others about the hole. They paint the window with a warning for others to see. To let people know about the whole.
Of course, this is just a theory I have. . There are some fans out there that feel like this message represents James and his possible alcoholism. That the hole is the pain he feels over his wife’s death and by drinking, he has filled that hole. Either way, it is still an eerie message that sends shivers down my spine.
Although I wish I could explain it better, I can’t. The message triggers this primal fear from deep within. Therefore I cannot help the almost Eldritch-like feeling I get from reading this. Almost as if there is something more ancient, more evil than Silent Hill out there waiting for us.
Feeling almost Eldritch in nature – as if the hole is part of something more ancient, more evil than Silent Hill itself.
No matter how you interpret the message, you cannot deny the sense of wrongness and dread that comes from reading it. Just another example of the brilliance that comes is Silent Hill 2. That even something so small, so simple, can elicit terror in the player.
Now I ask this of you, my dear readers: What subtle moments did you find equally scary in Silent Hill 2? Please let us know in the comments below and thank you for joining us today!
I distinctly remember the exact moment in which I became interested in Silent Hill. I was in high-school and reading a game magazine (either Game Informer or Electronic Gaming Monthly) and there was an interview with one of the creators behind Silent Hill 2. Unfortunately, I cannot remember if it was with writer Hiroyuki Owaku or director Marashi Tsuboyama but what I do remember is how they described the game.
You see, before Silent Hill, horror games were all about the interaction. You interacted with the monsters in some degree. Whether engaging them in combat (Resident Evil) or running away and hiding (Clock Tower), you were constantly interacting. Thus, the design of these games followed the idea of “Showing” instead of “Telling.”
Games like Clock Tower, Resident Evil, and Dino Crisis wanted you to see the enemy. They wanted you to see the zombies, the Scissor Man, the dinosaurs and while these games relied on jump-scares; they also focused on Survival. So much so that Resident Evil often referred to as the father of “Survival-Horror”. That is having players manage their limited resources to make it to the end of the game. And sure, there can be an argument towards the Clock Tower franchise being the first – I mean it is literally about surviving an unstoppable enemy – it is Resident Evil’s mix of action and horror made it the go to example of the Survival Horror genre.
That all changed with the introduction of Silent Hill
Silent Hill was released on the Sony Playstation in 1999. At first, it was seen as nothing more than a Resident Evil clone but for those who sat down to play it; they discovered it was so much more.
Where Resident Evil focused more on jump-scares and inventory management, Silent Hill focused on atmosphere and the fear of what you can’t see.
Silent Hill takes place in a small town that is as foggy as it is barren. This fog acts as a visual barrier – keeping the players guessing at what horrors could be just beyond the curtain. It was common for players to be walking towards their destination only to have a monster appear in the distance. Shrouded by fog and emitting terrible, inhuman sounds; the glimpses of these creatures proved scarier than Resident Evil’s infamous jump-scares.
Silent Hill 2 took this idea and ran with it. As I said, I was reading an interview with the game’s developer. They explained that it was scarier knowing that something terrible exists than being surprised by its existence. The example they gave was something along the lines of: “Imagine you enter a hallway. In the distance you see something waiting for you. But instead of it coming for you, it turns around and leaves.”
So now you know there is something in the hallway. You know it’s there and that is the direction you need to go. Now you must make the conscious decision to trek down the dark, scary corridor with the knowledge that something is waiting for you. You don’t know where it is nor if there are others waiting with it. Only that it’s there.
Building upon this mechanic was the addition of making your character “combat inefficient”. James, the protagonist in Silent Hill 2, is not a cop, nor a soldier. He is a regular guy. He has troubles swinging heavy weapons and is not the best marksman with a firearm. This forced players to adapt to a new playstyle. That of “fight or flight”. Do you take the time (and the risk) to fight every monster you come across? Or is it better to just avoid them altogether, juking and dodging around them?
That is not to say that other games didn’t use this mechanic. Resident Evil, again, encouraged players to conserve their ammo by avoiding enemies whenever possible. However, this was not always the best (or easiest) option. Resident Evil’s infamous tank-controls made avoiding enemies rather difficult. On top of that, Resident Evil heavily relied upon backtracking – that is, returning to previous locations. By ignoring the monsters you leave yourself open to dealing with them upon returning.
Silent Hill 2 avoids this by sticking to a more linear format. Yes, you do have to backtrack throughout interior locations, the overall experience is still linear. This means you have a lot more freedom in avoiding your enemies, thus making most combat optional.
Which brings me to the point of today’s post. Team Blooper, the developers for the upcoming Silent Hill 2 remake just dropped a gameplay trailer titled “Combat Reveal Trailer”.
Now, I pride myself on keeping an open mind when it comes to remakes of classic games. I understand that things must change in order to fit in with modern sensibilities, but usually involve quality of life changes. Better controls, updated graphics, ability to save more often – things of that nature. What worries me is when a remake alters the fundamental nature of the game.
In the case of Silent Hill 2 – putting a higher emphasis on combat and mobility.
Do not get me wrong. The trailer starts off well enough. The return of classic puzzles, the beautifully updated graphics, the music, and environments; these all look wonderfully done. Then the trailer cuts to the combat.
It is here where my worry begins to sit in. Let’s go down the list.
My first concern revolves around the use of an over-the-shoulder camera. The original game used a somewhat isometric style (for the most part) with the camera high in the air at a sharp angle. This means you had a good idea of what’s directly in front of you and a little bit behind. Even in dark environments you can tell when something is sneaking up from behind.
Left – original
Right – Remake. Can you see what’s happening at all?
With this new over-the-shoulder camera, it feels a lot more constrained. During the trailer there are moments that seem so claustrophobic and so dark that I cannot even tell what’s going on except that we are being attacked. While this may be intense for a while, if not done properly it will be more irritating than it is scary. Hopefully this is just an early beta example with the camera and lighting being tightened up before launch. As of now, however, it feels a bit TOO close to the action to where everything seems cluttered and frustrating to deal with.
Secondly, I am disappointed with the introduction of Quick Time Events. We watch our main character tussle with one of the monsters – and the player needs to mash the X button to escape the monster’s grasp. Silent Hill 2 should be above such things. It should not be about button mashing but instead about losing yourself to the sights and sounds of the world around you. This works in more action-orientated games like Resident Evil 4 but just feels out of place with a slower-paced game like Silent Hill 3.
Finally, let’s talk about the mobility of the enemies. Specifically, at the 01:14 mark where we see one of the Nurses hopping, somewhat comically, over a barrier to reach your character.
Now I am not saying that we cannot update the movement and speed of our enemies but there is something disappointing about seeing one of these horrific monsters hopping around the environment as if it were a tactical shooter. In the original games, the Nurses were enemies that could equip weapons. They moved with creepy, unnatural movements (usually dragging seemingly broken limbs behind them) while carrying a variety of weapons. Weapons that include pipes, knives, and even handguns! They would limp towards you, their weapons glinting in the light of your flashlight; every movement bringing a sense of terror to the player.
And, like I said, the terror came not from the fact that they were agile and quick but because they were durable and moved in unnatural ways. So, seeing them becoming these quick, agile things in the remake just feels wrong. Maybe it’s the nostalgia in me, but I still believe that seeing something move in an unnatural state is a lot creepier than something rushing me like a normal person could; regardless with how they look.
So where do I stand? As of right now, I am cautious. Not cautiously optimistic, not cautiously pessimistic; just cautious. Silent Hill 2 is hands done one of my favorite games of all time. It’s no exaggeration either. I still stream this game every year for Halloween. I love this game so it makes sense that I would be worried with how this remake will turn out but as of now, I cannot form a more definite opinion without seeing actual gameplay. What I need is a full minute or two of actual gameplay. Let me see how our character moves, how the lighting looks, how the combat handles from start to finish. Once I get that, then I can make a more informed opinion.
I have hopes that Team Blooper is able to handle the complexity and psychological aspects that makes Silent Hill 2 such a timeless game. Just as I hope they remember that combat is not a necessity to the original Silent Hill games. Only time will tell.
Let’s see what the next trailer brings us. When it drops, you can be sure we’ll be revisiting this topic but until then, I am not holding my breath.
Tell us, readers: what are your hopes for the Silent Hill 2 remake? Are you excited or are you in the same camp as me, worried with a dash of caution? Let me know in the comments below!
