Tuesday, June 21, 2005
Don't Make Me Throw an Exploding Penguin At You.
How does Carl ease back into blogging? Do I talk about why I have been so busy, and how I am so far behind on all of the stuff I wanted to do this summer? Maybe I should complain about my weight some more, and how I don’t exercise or eat well despite knowing better. Do I talk about my quest to find out what chloroxylenol was? Or maybe I should talk about the church, God, evolution…
Nah. I am going to talk about a video game I have just started playing. I am a nerd.
I still haven’t finished Final Fantasy 7. I have put a hold on starting any new game until I beat it. So, almost 10 years after its release, and 60+ hours into this attempt at beating it, I am all saved up and ready for the final assault. The problem is, there are no save points past where I am, so I know it is going to be a 2 hour time investment without a break to finish it (and that is if I don’t get killed!). So many games are sitting in a que, waiting to played in my ever shrinking free time…
But I finally gave in and started, on a whim, Disgaea. It is a strategy RPG, which means you move characters around on a grid, ala table top games. There are plenty of these games out there, but I am instantly addicted, and I may even think it will overthrow Parappa, Final Fantasy 7, Final Fantasy Tactics, and Metal Gear Solid as my new favorite game ever.
The game is a product of Nippon Ichi; a company known for their quirky and unique games (they even made one about a chef that used his cooking skills to save the world… and I am NOT talking about Burgertime). Disgaea itself is a game that has a huge cult following. To find it used is often a chore, let alone new. Even a used copy will cost you $50. The strategy guide is pretty much nonexistent, and if you find the soundtrack CD or the figures, you have a true treasure on your hands.
I won’t bore you about the details of the game, but I will explain some of its sexiest features. I hope you get a chance to see this game in action sometime. I can tell already it is going to be a game that demands well over 50 hours of play (I had 80 into Final Fantasy Tactics I think).
1. The game is basically a comedy RPG. The plot is that you are the teenage prince of darkness, and you slept for 2 years. While you were asleep, your dad died and the kingdom has "went to hell." So, you are out to reclaim the Netherworld in your name. As you can imagine, there is no end to the weird and wacky citizens of your land.
2. Your best friend is a girl who may or may not be trying to kill you. It is hell after all. Anyway, her special technique is conjuring zombie penguins that say "dude!" a lot. They love to work as teams, so whenever you get 2 or 3 helping each other out, the audio is laugh-out-loud hilarious! "Hey dude, here I go dude, duuuuuude! Whoa dude, good job dude!" Just like the Ninja Turtles or the big turtles in Finding Nemo. Oh, and if you pick up one of these penguins (named Prinnies for some reason), and throw them, they explode. So they are both allies and weapons…
3. You can switch off the English audio and hear the original Japanese voice actors. This may seem trivial, but you have to understand that voice acting in Japan is a high quality ordeal. When we localize games for USA, we rarely translate the games right, let alone have any effect in the voice-overs. The English audio often sounds like a high school drama production. The Japanese voice actors really get into their parts, and it adds so much to the game. There are English subtitles so no worries on following the story.
4. The game is not very linear, and the story line sort of takes a back seat to playing. This is a nice break from the overly serious games we see all around (Grand Theft Auto, God of War, Final Fantasy, and so on). If you like a particular level, you can go back and play it. And there is seemingly no end to how high you can level up (I hear 9999 is the max level).
5. For a game that does not take itself or its genre seriously, it has some very deep features. One feature allows you to call The Assembly, a group of hell’s best politicians. You can bribe them, beg them, or even use physical force to get them to do several interesting things for you. They can create new characters for you, open side quests, add new features and options to the game, and on and on. It is a game within the game to play politics, and the software writers had a lot of fun with the notion that all of the "good" politicians end up in the Netherworld.
6. Another feature that adds to the depth is the way you level-up your items. The items all are made powerful or weak due to little spirits (Residents) that dwell within the items. So there is a witch that allows you to enter the item and fight your way around, cleaning out bad spirits and finding the good ones. You can really pump a weapon up, and there are enough levels in each item to fill dozens of hours alone.
There is a lot more cool stuff, but I won’t overwhelming you with nerd-dom. I just wanted to ease back into blogging, so beware. Stay tuned for something more substantial soon…
Horns up.
Nah. I am going to talk about a video game I have just started playing. I am a nerd.
I still haven’t finished Final Fantasy 7. I have put a hold on starting any new game until I beat it. So, almost 10 years after its release, and 60+ hours into this attempt at beating it, I am all saved up and ready for the final assault. The problem is, there are no save points past where I am, so I know it is going to be a 2 hour time investment without a break to finish it (and that is if I don’t get killed!). So many games are sitting in a que, waiting to played in my ever shrinking free time…
But I finally gave in and started, on a whim, Disgaea. It is a strategy RPG, which means you move characters around on a grid, ala table top games. There are plenty of these games out there, but I am instantly addicted, and I may even think it will overthrow Parappa, Final Fantasy 7, Final Fantasy Tactics, and Metal Gear Solid as my new favorite game ever.
The game is a product of Nippon Ichi; a company known for their quirky and unique games (they even made one about a chef that used his cooking skills to save the world… and I am NOT talking about Burgertime). Disgaea itself is a game that has a huge cult following. To find it used is often a chore, let alone new. Even a used copy will cost you $50. The strategy guide is pretty much nonexistent, and if you find the soundtrack CD or the figures, you have a true treasure on your hands.
I won’t bore you about the details of the game, but I will explain some of its sexiest features. I hope you get a chance to see this game in action sometime. I can tell already it is going to be a game that demands well over 50 hours of play (I had 80 into Final Fantasy Tactics I think).
1. The game is basically a comedy RPG. The plot is that you are the teenage prince of darkness, and you slept for 2 years. While you were asleep, your dad died and the kingdom has "went to hell." So, you are out to reclaim the Netherworld in your name. As you can imagine, there is no end to the weird and wacky citizens of your land.
2. Your best friend is a girl who may or may not be trying to kill you. It is hell after all. Anyway, her special technique is conjuring zombie penguins that say "dude!" a lot. They love to work as teams, so whenever you get 2 or 3 helping each other out, the audio is laugh-out-loud hilarious! "Hey dude, here I go dude, duuuuuude! Whoa dude, good job dude!" Just like the Ninja Turtles or the big turtles in Finding Nemo. Oh, and if you pick up one of these penguins (named Prinnies for some reason), and throw them, they explode. So they are both allies and weapons…
3. You can switch off the English audio and hear the original Japanese voice actors. This may seem trivial, but you have to understand that voice acting in Japan is a high quality ordeal. When we localize games for USA, we rarely translate the games right, let alone have any effect in the voice-overs. The English audio often sounds like a high school drama production. The Japanese voice actors really get into their parts, and it adds so much to the game. There are English subtitles so no worries on following the story.
4. The game is not very linear, and the story line sort of takes a back seat to playing. This is a nice break from the overly serious games we see all around (Grand Theft Auto, God of War, Final Fantasy, and so on). If you like a particular level, you can go back and play it. And there is seemingly no end to how high you can level up (I hear 9999 is the max level).
5. For a game that does not take itself or its genre seriously, it has some very deep features. One feature allows you to call The Assembly, a group of hell’s best politicians. You can bribe them, beg them, or even use physical force to get them to do several interesting things for you. They can create new characters for you, open side quests, add new features and options to the game, and on and on. It is a game within the game to play politics, and the software writers had a lot of fun with the notion that all of the "good" politicians end up in the Netherworld.
6. Another feature that adds to the depth is the way you level-up your items. The items all are made powerful or weak due to little spirits (Residents) that dwell within the items. So there is a witch that allows you to enter the item and fight your way around, cleaning out bad spirits and finding the good ones. You can really pump a weapon up, and there are enough levels in each item to fill dozens of hours alone.
There is a lot more cool stuff, but I won’t overwhelming you with nerd-dom. I just wanted to ease back into blogging, so beware. Stay tuned for something more substantial soon…
Horns up.
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