RPG Progress Report

[flash1987]

Is there a link to Exhuminator's blog?

http://ardentexhuminator.blogspot.com/

I wrote that blog from August 2014 to November 2014. There's a total of 19 entries. It starts with a review of Crystal Beans - From Dungeon Explorer, and then goes into a lot of theory about video game culture and why things are the way they are. The final entry is just me being disappointed with lack of feedback and walking away. The blog might have lasted longer if I had bothered to promote it whatsoever.

If you're short on time, these are the three entries in my old blog I think are the best:

Don't Scratch on the Story

The Five Golden Rules of Good Game Design

Push A to Kill



I also made my own video game last year:

http://ardent.atspace.cc/Ardent%20Shado ... 20Ash.html

It's an adventure game, that is to say a small visual novel with puzzles. It only takes about 30 minutes to finish. I did everything in it myself; graphics, music, writing, puzzle design, all of it. If someone is sensitive to subjects like suicide, they might want to pass though.

I think using guides for older RPGs are fine, if I'm stuck for more than 10 mins I definitely do.

I want to be more clear about what I said about walkthroughs.

All of this is entirely my own personal elitist opinion, so no offense intended:

I don't think using walkthroughs if you're completely stuck in an RPG (or any game for that matter) is bad. Sometimes designers just do a bad job of communicating to the player what they want them to do. Sometimes this was on purpose even, to promote the sale of a strategy guide in tandem with the game itself. So yeah, using a walkthrough once in a while, just to get yourself back on the right track, isn't bad IMO.

What I don't agree with, is using a walkthrough or strategy guide the entire time you're playing an RPG. As in, you constantly refer to it as you play through the game. This removes a lot of the challenge from the experience, because the guide is always telling you where to go, and it tells you how to setup your party for optimal battle preparedness, and usually the best ways to take down bosses. At that point, the guide is beating the game, not you. With that scenario, you might as well just watch a Let's Play of said RPG.

Now some people use guides as they play RPGs, because they are deathly afraid of missing something. My answer to that is I don't care. I'd rather miss stuff, than never have any surprises, because the guide is constantly telling me what's going to happen next.

Now, all that said, if you're playing a Japanese only RPG, and you can't read Japanese, then there is no shame at all in using a walkthrough the entire time you play it. Just so you can actually make your way through the game. But that only applies to games you can't actually read.

So that's my personal philosophy on walkthroughs. I expect no one to agree so please carry on folks.

Cheers I'll take a look. No classes thanks to TET (new year) so plenty of free time at the moment.

I see what you mean about guides, I don't really feel like I'm playing the game if I follow a book to find/get everything.

[Sarge]

It is possible to use guides judiciously, but you have to find one that just gives you a bit of a checklist, so you're not spoiling everything. But for the most part, it is probably better to just go in blind and refer to one if you're really stuck. Kinda like back in the day if you had Nintendo Power or the like.

You can definitely run into a situation where trying to get everything saps your enjoyment of a game. I remember using a guide I had borrowed for a friend for FFVIII, and by the middle of the third disc, I was really tiring of trying to do everything, so I just threw it aside and made a push to the end.

[MrPopo]

When I played Persona 3 and 4 I used a guide religiously for the S.Link system so I could max it all in a single playthrough. But considering Persona 3 has exactly ONE day of leeway and is an 80 hour game (should you decide to max everything over two playthroughs you're looking at 160 hours) I didn't feel bad about that at all.

[Ack]

Yeah, there's a part where two characters are speculating about how good the others are in bed, and a line along the lines of "I bet she f**** like a tiger" or something. It's stupid and juvenile.

I actually still say this line at times. It works great at parties.

[Exhuminator]

@Popo

If you're worried about 100% maxing things or finding every possible secret, then yes guides are the answer. That is usually by design, actually.

If you just want to play an RPG as your own personal experience, and roll with it as it unfolds, and beat it on your own merit, than the no-guide approach is the way. That's how I like to play personally. I think RPGs are funner that way.

If I really care after I beat an RPG, I sometimes look up a walkthrough to see if I missed anything of serious merit. That is rarely the case. The only time I can remember being amazed at what I missed was Valkyrie Profile's "best ending". Something you would never find on your own without a guide anyway.

[Sarge]

I think we've had this discussion before about VP. The hints are definitely there, but the game almost requires a second playthrough to really suss it all out. It's La-Mulana level arcane, but spread out over a much longer game.

[Daria]

I started the Chinese bootleg Tales of Phantasia. I was enjoying it up until characters started swearing in a really annoying Western way ("Piss off", "This band sucks ass".)

Looking it up Im guessing this is the DeJap translation, apparently things only get more graphic. Hopefully it doesn't take me out of the experience too much.

Yeah, there's a part where two characters are speculating about how good the others are in bed, and a line along the lines of "I bet she f**** like a tiger" or something. It's stupid and juvenile.

Well it was translated by high school kids.

It's amateurish, but back when the SNES version was the only english option you just sort went with it. But yeah, the PSX version is definitely the way to go, plus there's two translations to choose from there.

There's no excuse to play the GBA version though. I'll take occasionally profanity over botched combat any day.

[Sarge]

Ha, the GBA version is the one I beat.

[Exhuminator]

The hints are definitely there

I don't think so. I mean:

http://www.gamefaqs.com/ps/199175-valky ... /faqs/7190

HOW TO GET THE BEST ENDING (ENDING A)

0. Start off carefully
- don't go to the small meadow, encounter Rucio in Jeravellan, or meet
Bram until chapter 4
- don't take off the Nibelungen Ring yet
- keep a relatively high Estimated Worth

1. As soon as Chapter 4 starts, send up a person who meet Frei's
requirements. This should get your Seal Rating to about 100.

2. Now, without going to any other events, do the following:
- visit the small meadow: -15
- meet Rucio in Jeravellan: -15
- meet Bram, choose not to fight: -15
- Defeat Rezard in his castle: -15

These four events, plus doing any other side events, will make your Seal
Rating plummet from around 100 to about 41. Now take off the Nibelungen
Ring before the Sacred Phase (and take it off prior to other Sacred
Phases from now on). The ring does give you 50% against "Dark" so it's a
useful accessory otherwise.

3. When Chapter 5 starts, go recruit Meltina and Rucio for your party.
Meltina will take off -15, and Rucio -18 from your Seal Rating. Doing
about 3 side events will take off -6. And if you took the Nibelungen
Ring off before the Sacred Phase, that's another -2. At this point,
your Seal Rating should be hovering around 1 point or so.

Now send Rucio up. This will boost your Seal Rating, but since the goal
is to keep it below 37(?) and since sending people up nets you a +12 it
shouldn't be a problem.

4. Now, when Chapter 6 ends, if your Seal Rating is below 37(?) then you
should see an event during the Sacred Phase with Rucio (Freiya and Loki
will be talking). Witnessing this event is THE KEY to getting the good
ending. (In other words, if you don't get this event - you blew it

After this it won't matter what your Seal Rating is, so you can send
people up to Valhalla if you want. But remember to still keep your
Estimated Worth above 40 before the end of the game.

5. When Chapter 8 starts, press start and it should tell you to go to the
small meadow. But before you go, it may be a good idea to visit other
dungeons to collect items and boost your levels.

This is one of those times when I just can't agree with you ol' chum.

[Sarge]

Oh, it's definitely complicated, but it really comes down to witnessing certain scenes that will reduce your Seal rating, and realizing that your Seal rating dropped. And question, "Huh, wonder what would happen if I could keep my approval high enough but drop the Seal rating really low?" Like I said, really arcane, but if you're poking around enough, you'll eventually get it. How long it takes, though? That's why I referred to La-Mulana.