RPG Progress Report

[ElkinFencer10]

Playing Xenoblade Chronicles X... slowly... its a really fun game though

That might just be my favorite RPG (after the entire Hyperdimension Neptunia series, of course; those get solidified in my #1 spot for all time).

[touchofkiel]

Fine! I just, er, acquired the fan translated first game.

If you're talking about the original Japan-only King's Field, it's not a bad place to start. It's graphically and mechanically the simplest of the bunch, and is also the most straight forward to finish. It's highly linear whereas KF2 and KF3 are very nonlinear. KF1 is also the easiest KF of the bunch. (BTW KF4 is a nice mix of linear and nonlinear, it's balanced.) Anyway I wrote a big fat review for the original King's Field if you want deeper thoughts: http://ardentexhuminator.blogspot.com/2 ... eview.html

King's Field III has been very tough thus far. I think it's actually the most difficult of the four PlayStation entries. It still hasn't reached KF4's insanity levels yet, but there's still plenty of time. I've only got 5 hours in so far, but I've already been through some serious trials. From Software really did make each KF harder than the last.

Most recently I traversed and barely escaped alive from a massive hedge maze full of poisonous giant mushrooms and acid spewing yellow demons called "grave pots". I barely made it out alive, and almost all my resources are gone. The really bad thing is I think I will have to traverse it again in reverse soon, to get back to where I was before, after acquiring an item. Gonna have to get real comfy with the run button.

Cool, sounds like the first game is a good way to ease into the series. Most of the time I prefer to start at the beginning anyhow. Gonna check out your review now.

Edit: Really loved your review. It's a shame you abandoned it... I liked the rest of the blog too. Who knows! My blog is nearly 2 months old at this point, and traffic isn't so hot (I really don't know how to self-promote...). Maybe I'll feel the same in a month! But I just do it for the fun and satisfaction of writing anyway.

[Betagam7]

I finally beat Lufia and the Fortress of Doom.

Phew.

I've now begun playing E.V.O Search for Eden (SNES)

It's one that always interested me, an odd 2d sidescroller with RPG overtones.

Does it count as an RPG?

[Exhuminator]

I really don't know how to self-promote

That's truly the most difficult thing about doing any publicly oriented creative project. Promotion. Especially blogs, because the concept itself is such a saturated field. Another problem is a lot of people just can't be bothered to give you any feedback. I mean hundreds of people might read your blog, but if no one comments, it just feels like you're pissing in the wind. So if you love a blog folks, comment on it often, and let the author know. You might actually help keep the blog alive.

And I know there's the "well just write it for yourself then" aspect, people use that excuse a lot. Doesn't work for me though, rationally. See, I already have all those thoughts in my head. They're already mine and well ruminated upon. What's the point of typing them all out for myself then? It'd just be redundant and a waste of time.

--

Got 7 hours in KFIII now and have made quite a bit of progress since that damnable hedge maze. This KF hasn't disappointed me yet. There's some hefty differences about this KF versus others I've played, looking forward to writing the review and explaining them. Might be a while though, as I'm playing this without a strategy guide*, and it's tricky business.

*As a general rule of thumb I never play RPGs with strategy guides or walkthroughs.

[BoneSnapDeez]

My blog is literally just the type of crap I post in the Games Beaten thread. Only difference is that with a blog I can control the appearance, formatting, whatever.

And I use walkthroughs. I have limited time to play video games and tend to gravitate to ancient obtuse ones. I just don't have patience for certain things anymore.

[Ack]

I was actually unaware of Exhum's blog while he was still writing it, though I have since gone back and read some of it. Bone's I've been reading as he updates it. It's nice to read both of your thoughts, though I prefer to engage with you guys here on the games I have played.

Anyway, I've mentioned a few times that one of my long term gaming goals is to beat every NTSC-U SNES RPG. Illusion of Gaia is another notch on the old belt as far as this is concerned. I own several that I have yet to beat, but I also have to face the age old question about what constitutes membership on the genre list. For instance, I've seen games like Goof Troop, Incantation, Big Sky Trooper, Harvest Moon, and King Arthur & the Knights of Justice listed as SNES RPGs. The question becomes whether to include these on my beaten and unbeaten lists or to remove them entirely, especially when I don't list A Link to the Past(yes, I've beaten A Link to the Past), E.V.O., or the likes of Young Merlin.

[Exhuminator]

And I use walkthroughs. I have limited time to play video games and tend to gravitate to ancient obtuse ones. I just don't have patience for certain things anymore.

For 8-bit untranslated FDS JRPGs I think that's totally fair.

[Ack]

Hey, Exhum posted wondering what I had left to beat in my personal mission to eventually beat every NTSC-U SNES RPG, so I figured I'd go ahead and give him a breakdown.

Ack's NTSC-U SNES RPG Quest:

Beaten

7th Saga
Arcana
Brain Lord
Breath of Fire
Breath of Fire II
Chrono Trigger
Earthbound
Final Fantasy II
Final Fantasy III
Final Fantasy: Mystic Quest
Illusion of Gaia
Lagoon
Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals
Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen
Robotrek
Secret of Evermore
Secret of Mana
Shadowrun
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
Tecmo Secret of the Stars
The Twisted Tales of Spike McFang
Ys III: Wanderers from Ys

To Beat

Brandish
Dragon View
Drakkhen
Dungeon Master
Eye of the Beholder
Inindo
Lord of the Rings, Vol I
Lufia & the Fortress of Doom
Might and Magic III: Isles of Terra
Obitus
Paladin's Quest
Soul Blazer
Super Ninja Boy
Ultima: Runes of Virtue II
Ultima VI: The False Prophet
Ultima VII: The Black Gate
Wizardry V: Heart of the Maelstrom

Unsure

This is a category for the weird games that I've seen labeled as an RPG somewhere on the Internet. I'm not sure if I should bother seeking these out:

Big Sky Trooper
E.V.O.: The Search for Eden (BEATEN)
Equinox
Goof Troop (BEATEN)
Harvest Moon
Incantation
King Arthur & The Knights of Justice
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (BEATEN)
Young Merlin (BEATEN)

[ElkinFencer10]

I use walkthroughs. I have limited time to play video games and tend to gravitate to ancient obtuse ones. I just don't have patience for certain things anymore.

That's exactly why I use walkthroughs if I get stuck for more than about ten minutes and why I rarely play on any difficulty above the default (and I often play lower than that if it's a genre I'm not good at).

[Sarge]

Oof, yeah, not a ton of good stuff left, but there's at least two fantastic games on that list: Soul Blazer and Dragon View. Brandish is an acquired taste, but I really like what I've played of the PSP remake.