Working Title 9.20.06: Working Feedback Vol.1
Posted by Jordan Williams on 09.20.2006
Remember when I said last week that it was going to get ugly? It got ugly. Not that ugly, but midly ugly. This week we take a break from the standard format and I let you all peek into my inbox as you see all of the feedback I got about last weeks column. Who would've thought it took a spikey haired kid who never talks to get me THIS much e-mail?
So, remember when I said that my take on RPGs was going to get a lot of feedback?
I was right.
I got a metric ASSLOAD of feedback, mostly good, and my first ever nitpick mail (more on that later). So, I figured, if I have all of this mail, I might as well DO something with it. So, welcome to Working Feedback Volume 1. This is going to be all feedback. I know last week I said we'd be starting "Hollywood: The Game" but with so much feedback, I couldn't stand to ignore it.
So, before we get started, I'm going to post something. Hopefully this quells future hate mail/nitpick mail like the one you will see later.
o-pin-ion
–noun
1. a belief or judgment that rests on grounds insufficient to produce complete certainty.
2. a personal view, attitude, or appraisal.
3. the formal expression of a professional judgment: to ask for a second medical opinion.
4. Law. the formal statement by a judge or court of the reasoning and the principles of law used in reaching a decision of a case.
5. a judgment or estimate of a person or thing with respect to character, merit, etc.: to forfeit someone's good opinion.
6. a favorable estimate; esteem: I haven't much of an opinion of him.
Now, why did I post a definition of the word opinion? To show both sides. When I blast on a video game, it's my opinion. It's neither wrong nor right; it's what I personally think. Definition 1 and 2 are the ones that apply most here. So, one more time. The views I express are NOT to be taken as fact, but merely my OPINION.
With that out of the way, we can get to the e-mails. I am going to post them in order that I received them. Also, for those of you who were fast enough, due to some miscommunication, Working Title was up for a brief moment on Tuesday. The article wasn't finished yet (namely I hadn't put Skies of Arcadia in for underrated), so two of the mails reflect that.
Your fellow writer Vincent here. You hit it exactly on the mark of why FF7 is overrated. Yes Seph killed Aeris, but that also happened in Final Fantasy's 4 to 6. Kefka, as you said, destroyed the world, something that overrated emo Sephiroth couldn't! Kefka > Sephiroth.
Short, sweet, and to the point. Not much to disagree with here.
Next, we have words from Carlos Waller, about my lack of SoA in the Tuesday version:
Hi,
I just wanted to make an addition to your underrated list of RPGs. In your honorable mentions, you listed Phantasy Star but didn't include Skies of Arcadia, probably the best RPG by Overworks (the team responsible for the Phantasy Star series).
The plot and overall style of the game more than make up for the excess amount of random battles. Plus it had ship battles to break up the standard on foot battles with something a bit more strategic.
If this game was released on the PS2, it would probably be held in a higher regard like most of the Nippon Ichi or Atlus releases. But since it was released on the Dreamcast and later on the Gamecube (2 systems that are unfortunately more niche than anything), it never really had a chance to be noticed.
I agree. I loved Skies of Arcadia. I never had the pleasure of playing the DC version, but I borrowed the Gamecube version for a long time and eventually got around to beating it (I kept getting sidetracked). It's one of the games I am surprised didn't get a sequel down the line.
Now, we start to get into the lengthy mails. For these bigger mails, I am going to interject between parts with my comments on the subject, it makes it a lot easier for me to reply, and easier for you all so you don't have to scroll back and fourth. Our first endurance typist is Kev, who makes the count of Official Owners of Hybrid Heaven, making the count TWO! He writes:
Hey, just thought I would say I was one of the few people you mentioned who ever owned Hybrid Heaven lol...Fresh with box, just no instruction manual, which made it harder to play at first since I didn't have a clue what was going on. I never really got into it much but I gave my friend as hot of it for a while and he fell in love with it a lot more than I did. Anyway the picture you put up was the cover of the box from the UK version.
[YES! See! I knew people owned that game. Wow, having it without an instruction manual must've sucked since I can't remember there being any sort of tutorial in the game. I hope your friend liked the game, I would recommend giving it another shot down the road; you might find something to like in it.]
As for FF7 I can see where you're coming from with the rest of the games seeming to be rip-offs, but that's never the fault of the first. I loved FF7, and it is one of my favorite games ever...but as for the rest of the series from 8 to X-2, I couldn't even get into them. I thought 8 had a lot of potential early on with the whole soldier in training thing, I wished the missions continued a bit longer before the main story kicked off because I thought they were the most fun part of the game...then suddenly you are in charge and there seems to be no real point to going anywhere apart from to see the next CGI cut-scene lol.
[Cutscene-itis. It's a horrible thing. I agree that the missions were a bit more fun than the overall game, but I liked it a bit more when the ball got rolling. Too many missions might've just stalled the game out more.]
The main reason I think so many people still love 7 though is because for most people it was their first time playing an RPG, it was the first major rpg to hit the PS1 (and probably the first really big game that made people run out and buy a PS1) and you always remember your first, with fond memories...but for me, it was because it was the first time I had played a game that made you feel like you had a massive world to run around and explore. Which brings me to why I couldn't stand FFX, there was no world map, it was walk a few steps...5-10 minute CGI movie...walk a few steps...20 minute CGI movie...and so on and so forth. I don't even consider FFX to be a game but more of an interactive movie lol.
[Now, for all of those people who think I hated FF7 (when I said I didn't, I didn't say I hated ANY of the games I put for overrrated, yet people think I do.). I am going to say this...I HATED FFX. There, you finally found a game I hated. Why did I hate it? There was way too much movie and not enough game. It's a thin excuse, sure, but when I pay for a game, I want to play it, not watch it.]
I don't have any recommendations for most under/over-rated RPGs ever but here are a few old games people never seem to have played or have forgot about...
ALUNDRA 2 (ps1) - I loved this game and even though it's old now it's still fun to play even though if it is a bit of a Zelda rip-off
[Never heard of it.]
SUIKODEN (ps1) - This game had me hooked more than any other ps1 game, even though there's been sequels lately on the ps2 I say the first one is still the best...Having your own castle (which you can name) and then recruiting your army, which is basically your team like any other rpg has, except in this one you'll have over 100 members :P
[You see, I never got into Suikoden 1. The others I was pretty much beaten into submission by friends and family, but I never got a chance to really play the first one too much. A lot of people have played the Suikoden series.]
The next 2 are personal favs from my DC collection
SKIES OF ARCADIA (dreamcast) - This was my favorite RPG on the dreamcast, and is superior to the other versions made for the GC and PS2
[See?]
RECORD OF LODOSS WAR (dreamcast) - I bought this game for 5 bucks in a pre-owned bin in my local GAME. store just because it sounded cool, I looked up some reviews to see what exactly I'd just bought only to see that it'd been slated in the reviews...so I put it on not expecting much and boom, it entertains me for 3 days straight. If you like hack'n'slash RPGs you should definitely play this if you can find it.
[Again, never heard of it.]
Thanks for the mail!
Our next mail is from David Switf, who disagrees with me about FFVII. This was a friendly disagreement, and I'd say it went well:
Dear Jordan,
Well, I have been reading your columns since you introduced it a few weeks back. And I finally decided to place an e-mail. Now, it's in response to FFVII. Fear not! It's not your normal form of hate mail…just a friendly disagreement.
First off, FFVII isn't the first RPG I played. I started with Final Fantasy, Crystilis, and even the U.S.-made Final Fantasy: Mystic Quest (RPG-lite). I've followed the series for a long, long time…I just clearing that up so you won't think I'm one of those FFVII-Fanboys (that started RPG's with 7). Also, I'm not going to say FFVII is my favorite RPG (those roles are reserved for Xenogears and Chrono Trigger…Janus is the bomb and has the best character music ever!).
[Final Fantasy: Mystic Quest. God, that takes me back. That was the best RPG your little sibling could play" ever. And thanks for clarifying; I know FFVII was a first for a lot of gamers, so I don't really hold that against anyone. I love FFIV to death because that was my first.]
I agree with you about Cloud, and moreover Squall, but I feel that Tidus is the anti-Cloud. He's out going and he's actually faced with some serious choices and revelations about him that I feel that very few would know how to react. For the sake of argument…How would an individual react when they find out that by destroying their worst enemy…they destroy themselves (now I understand that his sacrifice was totally ruined by the FFX-2 game…it kind of loses that emotional impact). But, to call him a copy of Cloud/Squall is wholly without merit.
[Yeah, it might've been a bit of a stretch to call Tidus a Cloud-Clone, as he does have a very different personality. But I called him more in a clone of the leading man of the post-VII FF games. I am just get tired over all of the leading man cliché that's been going around. I just want to see something different in the lead for once. A girl lead had my a bit excited until they pretty much told us they were aiming for the third coming of Cloud. And yeah, FFX-2 just cut the legs under Tidus.]
Also, the brunt of my e-mail is about Sephiroth. To actually consider him the worst villain in Final Fantasy (moreover all of videogames), that is a pretty blind assessment. Sephiroth is the most developed villain in Final Fantasy bar-none. All of the villains in 1-5 are pretty cookie cutter and pretty indistinguishable from one another.
The problem with the other villains in the series…they never have as much screen time. You don't really what drives them besides either being evil or wanting to conquer. It's really cut and dry. And actually quite boring in my honest opinion.
Kefka Palazzo is pretty good for the most part…but seems to be too much of a clown or tricksters to be a threat. Also, he doesn't destroy the world…he just changes it. It's still present and habitable, just not as glorious as once before. Also, during the second part of the game…he takes a back seat to allow for other sub-plots to become resolved. He doesn't do anything of notice besides use his death-ray from time to time. So, his character doesn't move forward.
[That's because Kefka was a clown and a trickster. I think that is fairly different than the jaded rebel evil conqueror. Just because you can laugh at a villain doesn't make him any less evil. Besides, a lot of people are scared shitless of clowns. Kefka destroyed the world as you (and the characters) knew it. It was habitable, but barely. Animals and people were dying off constantly, a ton of people died during the process. The world as they knew it had ended. Kefka does take a backseat in the WoR, but I think that was done more to shed light on a lot of the characters who had taken a back seat in the WoB, that way when the game was over you were left with a minimum of unanswered questions...except for Gogo.]
Sephiroth's origins and what drives him is a main part of the story. He's a flawed man and in much of the same way that Dr. Doom is…He has the aspects of what a great villain really posses. He has all the all the potential to be the greatest of heroes and soldiers (but much like Doom) his arrogance, pride, and fate lead him to the path of the dark side.
Sephiroth actually changes the world much the same way Kefka does. And he actually makes the earth do it to itself. He unleashes the Weapons to kill of all life.
This would allow him to ascend and become a God. Kefka is just a lord of chaos that doesn't want to destroy the world…but, make the world his own personal ant colony. He likes to watch people squirm, and Kefka has no plans besides ruling over his World of Ruin.
[Really don't have much to comment on here. I just found that style of villain (Sephiroth's) very boring and done to death. I think what we have here is an agree-to-disagree.]
Also, some of your choices on under-rated are a little off…the Tales series (from Phantasia to Legendia and Symphonia) are HIGHLY clichéd. It's almost laughable.
And it's pretty common knowledge that you don't come to a Tales game for interesting/or a new story. What Tales excels at…is combat and character development.
[That's the reason I listed Tales. While the story is overly clichéd (See: Symphonia) it does take the necessary strides to make sure all of its characters have a good deal of story time and a lot of development. Very few characters ever just dropped off or were just there to fill a niche. I feel that the most recent versions of the game tend to get overlooked there. And let's remember, people. Opinion.]
That is something that Star Ocean: the Second Story has in spades. Also, Indalecio Celestia (that's without his Limiter) is by far the hardest boss fight I've ever experienced. Flippin' two hours to beat the bastard. Also, the story was fairly interesting into itself. Also, Indalecio succeeds where neither Sephiroth nor Kefka can lay claim to. He actually destroys a whole planet…not changes it…not unleashes monster to kill life. I mean Ka-boom-bye-bye...plus the whole skills system was genius. Now, Til the End of Time is a totally different matter. I think that was just a complete letdown of Xenosaga: Episode II proportions.
[Again, not much to say here...but yes. That bastard was quite possibly one of the most annoying boss fights in history.]
I was going to comment on your fighting game choices…but, I've taken too much of your time. And I would like to find more things to disagree on. That's the beauty of being individuals though…we all can make our own choices and all of us can agree…Never play Superman 64.
[Pfft. I am a guy who writes a column about video games. How much time do you think I have? I still cry myself to sleep at night because I remember when I was dumb enough to actually buy Superman 64...when it came out...at full price...]
Again, thanks for the feedback. And more importantly, thanks for the constructive criticism. I get way too many mails of people just going "OMGZLOLS U SUX CUZ CLOUD RULES" and it is SO nice to actually see people who pose their arguments in an intelligent fashion. Thank you for that.
And now...we have my first nitpick mail. This comes from someone who used to write here, Lee Baxley. When I said it was going to get ugly, this is EXACTLY what I meant. Let's just read. Shall we?
Hey Jordan, my name is Lee. I used to write for 411 Games and then for Inside Pulse when the big exodus happened. I always hated it when someone emailed me nitpicking one of my articles, and I didn't want to do this, but I just feel like I have to. I won't do it again, because the quality of writing there on 411 is just too bad for me to bear, and I hate my OWN writing.
[You know, that's PROBABLY not the best way to start off an e-mail...]
Anyway, first off, I had never heard of Hybrid Heaven, so I'm not going to bash you any on that. I'm going to pick it up on eBay so I can try it. But one common theme I noticed on all your Under/Over columns is that the overrated game was a popular game that many people play and love, and the underrated game is one that either nobody has heard of or nobody really likes. I hope the same isn't true here.
[Not many people heard of Hybrid Heaven, so I know that was coming. About the Under/Over's usually being unheard games vs. popular games. I know that comparison was going to emerge when I did the series, but it's honestly not the intention. A lot of the overrated games I own and do indeed like. I not once said I personally hated any of the games, it's just I felt they got more respect than they deserved.]
And for the record, I agree with many of your overrated picks (Halo for one). Just so you know, I'm not going to be a complete hater here.
Anyway, my gripe #1: most of the honorable mentions you list are NOT underrated. Phantasy Star? FFIX? Tales of Symphonia? Please. I've never read anything negative about any of these games. If anything, some of these would be what I'd consider OVERrated. FFIX is just something Square put out so that fanboys griping for something "old-school" would shut up. I'm not saying I didn't like it. I just didn't like it any more than FFVII or FFVIII. And Phantasy Star is regarded by many to be one of the greatest RPG franchises of all time. Just not one of the Genesis titles (III or IV, I can't remember which one most people hate).
[Now, this is where I have gotten the most gripes about so far. I understand that my picks for honorable mentions this time were not popular, but even though it sounds like a thin one, these all come down to my opinions of the game. I am not saying my opinion is 100% right. I am saying that these are my thoughts and opinions. I personally felt that Tales was underrated in these latter editions. Phantasy Star is one of the best RPGs ever, and honestly if I was able to go back and edit the article, that would be the one I would remove from underrated. In retrospect, it was a BIG stretch to call it that, so I admit to that one. As for FFIX, I felt that game simply didn't get the respect it deserved because it was still overshadowed by FFVII and FFVIII.]
Oh, while I'm on the topic of FF's, I'd like to add that most of the FF's you say you enjoy are ones with crystals, while I don't remember crystals so much in the Nomura FF's.
[4,5,6. My favorites. Two with crystals.]
Anyway, choosing FFVII as your overrated choice was so terribly obvious, because that's what EVERYBODY chooses. Everything you said has been said a million times before by much more talented writers. Simply put, WE GET IT. FFVII isn't the best game ever. I'm not defending the game, because I agree with most of what you said, but I agreed with every other writer also.
[I would hope it would be obvious, seeing as I pretty much told everyone what choice it was going to be almost a month in advance. Go back and see. Everything I have said has been said before--okay, I get that. Does that mean I should change my opinion because someone else has said it? And I am going to take this time to point out that I can tell you are a former writer, because while you are nitpicking me, you are taking the time to reassure me that you do agree on certain points and I thank you for that.]
Oh, and for honorable mentions, you pick Kingdom Hearts and Star Ocean series. Have you played Star Ocean 2? I'd be willing to bet money you haven't. SO3 is overrated, but SO2 was an incredible game.
[Again, this is going to go back to my opinions. I found KH to be very overrated, even though I loved the original idea; I just thought the execution was missing something. Now, with Star Ocean, I felt SO1 was overrated, I felt SO2 was good, and SO3 was largely overrated. Now, again. With Phantasy Star, if I had the chance to go back and edit, I would clarify that I meant specifically 1 and 3, 2 was overrated, but not so much in the sense that it deserved to be on that list.]
Two other gripes and I'm done, I promise.
[It doesn't end...]
You talk about RPGs without failing to mention what REAL RPGs are. RPGs came from tabletop gaming, where you play a real role, meaning YOU really are the character and YOU decide how they act. What you call RPGs are "console RPGs" which are usually very different from PC RPGs, which are more like tabletop games like D&D. MMORPGs fall into that category as well. Not mentioning the difference and just discounting MMOs because you don't consider them to be RPGs is rather ignorant.
[I didn't talk about tabletop RPGs because I wasn't discussing tabletop RPGs. I am an avid DnD (and other d20) game player, but tabletop RPGs were not the point of my discussion here. I am talking about console RPGs, if you read earlier issues; you'll notice I almost exclusively cover console games, not even handheld games. Although I did put Quake III has an HM for Overrated. I still don't consider MMORPGs the same as console games, while they are RPGs, and most people will play them as such. I have seen far too many of them just dissolve into excuses to nab a party, kill some stuff, grab some expensive/rare item, and go PvP. I'm sure there is a story in there somewhere, but I rarely see it. And, if it means anything, even if I -DID- include MMORPGs on the list, none of them would've made either list. Opinion~~!!]
Lastly, you make yourself sound like a knowledgeable gamer, when you aren't. You make yourself sound all high and mighty because you played a game that nobody else did. (Usually there is a reason why people don't play games and they get lost in the shuffle, but I digress). But 99% of the games you mention were all popular RPGs. You don't mention ONCE the Dragon Quest series. You don't mention Shin Megami Tensei. You don't mention any of the great, unique games put out by Square and Enix, like Vagrant Story, Valkyrie Profile, Actraiser, Terranigma, and on and on. These games are more underrated than any you mentioned, but they are also either older or less known. You shouldn't have written this column, because you simply don't know enough about RPGs. You have played some, but then again, so has everybody by now. Hating FFVII doesn't make you an expert.
[I never claimed or backed up the point that I played every game ever. That's impossible. Now, for the games I didn't mention:
Dragon Quest - Haven't played it, can't judge it.
Vagrant Story - Played it, didn't feel it needed to be on either list.
VS - Haven't played it, can't judge it.
Actraiser - Played it (and own it). Although unless there are two games with the name Actraiser out there, I don't think this was an RPG. The Actraiser I remember was an SNES game that was one half platformer and one half SimCity style gameplay. I may be wrong.
Terranigma - Honestly never got into it enough to judge it.
Shin Megami Tensei - I've been meaning to play it, but it's next to impossible to find in stores and I lack the resources to order online.
Now, as for me not being the one to write the column. How does that figure into anything? I've stated this from the very beginning, this is, and will always be, my column with my opinions. That might not be the popular opinion or what everyone else thinks, but they are still my opinions nonetheless. You may not agree with them, I know most people won't, but that doesn't mean they are wrong simply because of that. And, I'd like to see where I ever stated I was an expert about anything? Seeing as I still have a lot of games to play before I am even a 'purist' in some regards should be enough to show that I am by far not an expert. I never said I was, and I never came across like I was. Also, can someone show me where I said I hated FFVII?]
Oh, one last thing: "Why did they let a great yet mediocre game become the new quality standard?" You can't have great and mediocre at the same time. Mediocre means average, not good and not bad.
[Oh darn, you got me.]
Apparently, calling you overrated means I hate you.
Mmmm. Tasty.
Now, onto happier news! We get Kristian Sena with this lovely little tidbit:
Hey Jordan...
Great column this week.....just had to let you know that I not only played Hybrid Heaven I bought it the first day it came out!!! I used to subscribe to Nintendo Power and I was so hyped for months about this game because of the magazine. I'm not a huge RPG fan but Hybrid Heaven just looked so unique and different that I was drawn to it. And everything you wrote about it was so true. It was indeed a HUGELY underrated game. Sadly I don't own the game anymore but I still do have the player's guide I bought for it. After reading your column I now wish I still did have the game. It was awesome!!! Also I agree with your assessment of FFVII. I've played it and it was a good game but definitely not the greatest game ever. I still think FF3 was the best FF game and yes Kefka was a huge badass!!! My personal belief is that the greatest RPG (maybe even game) of all time is Chrono Trigger. Talk about a game with a serious storyline and great characters.
Anyways keep up the good work!
That ups the official count to THREE! About HH, I did not know Nintendo hyped that game up so much until I was skimming through friend's back-issues of Nintendo Power. When I found the game I honestly just grabbed something because the game I wanted was gone, and the box art looked interesting. I still say it was one of my better rental choices. I want to see Konami pick it back up and do a sequel. Thanks for the e-mail. And as of right now that makes the FIRST FEMALE FEEDBACK (aside of Jis the Editor)! EVERYONE PARTY!! (Jis the Editor's Note: Wee.)
..Wait...what?
Another e-mail?
Hey Jordan....
Just wanted to correct you....I'm not a chick....I'm a dude....LOL...don't feel bad...people fuck up my name all the time too....But it is Kristian...like Christian...only with a K...hahaha....anyways...thanks for the reply...
and hell yeah a Hybrid Heaven sequel would be sweet!!!
...
...
Stop the party. Moving along. (Jis the Editor's Note: I'm still partying.)
Next up is another lengthy one from fellow 411Games writer Sean McCabe:
Another Retrospective invasion, I have some awesome news for you. I played Hybrid Heaven! Hell, not only that, I actually owned it. It was a very unique game, and yes, highly underrated.
[Four!]
Anyway, first to talk about the FPS column. A-freaking-men to just about everything you said. Your column was literally perfect in everyway, but you just missed one thing and one thing only. Breakdown, which definitely deserves an honorable mention in the underrated category. I loved that game and it remains one of the few genuinely decent exclusives on the Xbox, because Halo and KOTOR were never what they were cracked up to be.
[Never got a chance to play Breakdown since I only had an Xbox for a limited time (it sort of exploded after a good 7 months). I might try to track it down.]
Now onto RPGs and anybody who's been keeping up with me will know I have two words. Shadow Hearts. Whilst Hybrid Heaven was underrated, no doubt, the reason Shadow Hearts wins out for me is simply this. The original combined with Covenant, and taken as one game much like you would do with Golden Sun, are the best damn J-RPGs ever made by a country mile and I do I mean by far. Granted due to reviewers lambasting any RPGs not made by Square or Enix (though at least most Enix games are generally quite good and whilst successful critically, don't have the gazillion Fanboys harming their reputation) it means the list of underrated RPGs is a long and tragic one. Like I mentioned in my own column, Enchanted Arms is a recent one. It's funny, but whenever I read a review of a game like that... they are never anything more than incessant whining about little things, like they are trying deliberately to find flaws with the game. I mean, what on earth makes Final Fantasy X (possibly my most hated game ever) better, other than opinion? Nothing, absolutely nothing. Not the gameplay, not the writing, not the art. Whilst I tend to think most RPGs play similarly to the point where talking about gameplay is rather pointless, it's all about the art and the writing, and that is where Square games often fails in my estimation. FFVII didn't, and FFIX didn't, and the earlier games for the most part didn't, but FFVIII, X and X-2 are freaking terrible. Anyway, here is my attempt to generalize:
[I still hate the term J-RPG. It just sounds so redundant to me. And yes, I know you love Shadow Hearts to death...You tell us at every staff meeting. I'm afraid one day you are going to show up in cosplay...I'll have my camera ready.]
Most underrated:
Honorable mentions: Suikoden series besides IV, Shin Megami Tensei series, Persona series, Tales series, Mana series, Hybrid Heaven, Breath of Fire series, Legaia series, Grandia series, Parasite Eve series, Legend of Dragoon, Atelier series
Winner: Shadow Hearts series, especially the original+Covenant
[Again, I don't think Suikoden was really underrated. I think it got just the right amount of respect, and I think more people have forgotten about it than given it respect. As for Shin Megami Tensai, I have yet to find a copy of it that isn't scratched to hell or reserved, so I can't judge. The rest we've touched on, sans BoF, but I'm not really a fan of the series so I didn't play much beyond BoF3.]
Most overrated:
(dis)Honorable mentions: Baten Kaitos, Chrono series, Xeno- series (not terribly though), Kingdom Hearts
Loser: *drum roll* Final Fantasy series
[BK was just bad, not overrated. Chrono Series wasn't all that overrated, I think Trigger lived up to its name...Cross not so much. Xeno, nah, it's fine. I agree about KH.]
Who didn't see that coming? But FFX individually wins, that game was just so, so bad, I wept when it was named the greatest gamer ever in Famitsu, and I'll never look at the Japanese with the same level of respect again. Anyway, great job with the column, keep up the good work.
[I think FFX would've worked better as an Advent Children type movie, withFFX-2 being the game to follow up on that story. Think about it. FFX was already 70% movie anyway.]
Thanks for the invasion, Sean. One of these days I might have to pop over into your column...like when you do a Retrospective of Megaman.
Next up we have (I told you it was a lot of friggin feedback) Cory Schibler. He doesn't really have anything to add, but hey, let's hear it:
My name is Cory Schibler and I am emailing you to inform you that not only have I played Hybrid Heaven, but I still own a working copy of it and still go back and play it regularly. It was and still is consistently one of my top 5 rpgs of all time.
Five!
Thanks for the mail, Cory.
Next up is someone with one of the most badass names ever, Tack Angel, with his views on Hybrid Heaven:
Yes, I have played Hybrid Heaven, I remember trying my hardest to learn the Sharpshooter but then having to take it back. Never finished it though. I remember having fun with the 2 Player vs. mode with my friend.
Although I'd have to say that I find Final Fantasy Tactics Advanced underrated based on the presumption that people had of the game trying to be a sequel to Final Fantasy Tactics and failing miserably. Where in actuality it was a FF game that used parts of the engine from FFT, it didn't make it any less fun though.
That damn Sharpshooter. It was one of the best leg moves in the game, but it was friggin IMPOSSIBLE to learn because half of the time the person who did it would never do it, or it'd kill you in one hit. I personally liked the Piledriver and the Armbar. About FFT/FFTA, I think they are both pretty underrated, FFTA a bit more so for the reasons you cited. But FFTA has one major claim to fame: Marche. Marche is the single worst FF villain ever. His friends are all in a world of happiness. Ritz's hair is fine, Mewt has a mom, Doned can walk. What does he do? End the world. What an asshole. Thanks for the email!
And now for our FINAL feedback. This guy is VERY lucky because he almost didn't get in, I was checking my e-mail and his mail was there, so I decided to read it and it was good enough to get in. So, Theo Fraseris a lucky guy. He writes:
It's funny you should highlight Hybrid Heaven in this week's column. I remember years ago reading about the game in my Nintendo Official Magazine, and getting really excited about it, spending literally hours looking at screenshots over and over again. And then....nothing. Absolutely nothing. I never saw it in the shops. OK, I live in the UK, where N64 support in game retailers was lackluster to say the least, but still...I never saw another word mentioned about Hybrid Heaven. That is, until about 2 weeks ago when I happened to do a search on eBay, just for the hell of it. A few days later, my copy of Hybrid Heaven came in the post, for the grand total of £2.50.Bargain.
[SIX!]
Touching story, eh? But the fact of the matter is...I have yet to play it. No good reason, to be honest. I built a new PC recently and my Geforce7900 means I can now play Oblivion and FEAR etc, so that has been taking up a portion of my time. But after reading your column this week, I think I shall plug in my N64 and give Hybrid Heaven a whirl. So thanks for re-energizing my interest in the game.
[Oh man, Oblivion. I'm surprised no one has brought that game up yet. Hm. Hey, no problem. That's what I am here for.]
On to my next point; Final Fantasy VII. Again, it's interesting you should mention this now. My old computer had a pretty decent graphics card, but it broke, and to cut a long story short, I got totally RAPED by "PCWorld" and ended up with a shockingly awful graphics card which could only run a 10 year old game...the PC version of Final Fantasy VII. So in between my old graphics card going bust, and getting a new PC, I played a hefty amount of FFVII, and got right up to the final battle with Sephiroth. And I loved every minute of it. So it was very interesting to read your opinions on the game, and one thing caught my attention; the point where you stated that the people who had played FF games prior to VII looked down on it. VII was my first Final Fantasy game, so maybe you are correct on that point. I loved Final Fantasy VII, I loved Final Fantasy VIII, and was gutted when Final Fantasy IX didn't come to PC (bah, I'm a Nintendo boy through and through, I didn't want a PS). I recently bought the remake of FIV for the GBA, and its great stuff, but I still look at VII as the best of the series. IV is quite a 'hardcore' game in terms of difficulty, so I was wondering if that had something to do with your dislike for VII too. In my run through VII this past month, I encountered very little trouble. I think I saw the Game Over screen once. Perhaps you prefer your games a little more hardcore and as such FFVII didn't live up to the expectations set by the previous games.
[Interesting point you make there. As for Pre-FFVII players, I think a lot of the storytelling got lost post-FFVII. For games so small, FFIV and FFVI had some pretty big-scale stories. I actually didn't find any of the Final Fantasy games terribly hard. Okay, I take that back. FFIV was a bitch the first time I played it (I was like 8). I don't think I like my games with more difficulty; I think I just like more story to it, revolving around not just one or two characters but all of them. In that respect, I think FFVII didn't live up to its older siblings.]
Also, I just wanted to pick you up on one thing. You said "I saw a fairly thin RPG with some pretty cliché and tame characters (the innocent girl, the brash dude, the engineer, the annoying team, etc.)" I may be very wrong on this, so please correct me if I am, but I thought it was FFVII that basically created those kinds of characters. Everything else that followed paid homage ('ripped off'?) to FFVII which basically set the standard for future turn-based RPGs.
[No, FFVII didn't create that cliché; it's actually been around for awhile. I was saying that for a game that became the new gold standard, it really didn't -do- anything different. Outside of maybe Barret and Red, I didn't see a lot of creative new characters. Well, there was Cait Sith, but to be fair, none of the pre-FFVII game had many creative characters. I think the most creative before VII was Umaro. You just don't beat a friggin Yeti.]
Anyway, I have gone on far too long here. But thanks for a great read, as always. Now I think I'll go and beat up some aliens in Manhattan. :)
Thanks for the feedback. Actually, I want to thank ALL of you for the feedback, good or bad. You might not realize that we writers love this sort of stuff. It shows that people are actually reading and listening to us. For a new zone just starting up, this amount of feedback is a GREAT thing. So again, thank you.
No more delays!
Alright, no more delays! Next week we will kick off Hollywood: The Game. We all know Video Game movies are usually pretty bad, but hey, we can still have hope.
Thanks again, and this is Jordan Williams...and this column HAD a name, but I misplaced it.
