Ben-DutkaChristmas is over but New Year's is yet to come. Any important resolutions brewing…?
Konami might actually give us a great new Suikoden
I don't trust Square Enix but I might trust Konami to deliver a true-blue Suikoden sequel.
The latest rumor mill hints at a new Suikoden entry in the works, which is definitely exciting for veteran JRPG fans. If they made one, I'd want them to keep the 108 Stars of Destiny setup (which could work very well in an open world scenario, even though I'd prefer the traditional world map), and I'd like to see an evolved version of the battle mechanic in Suikoden V . The game allowed you to move and attack even though it was still turn-based, and there are lots of great possibilities there. It could even be like a combination of Suikoden and Final Fantasy XII 's combat system, which was a real-time/turn-based hybrid that flowed beautifully.
I actually don't care as much about Final Fantasy XII HD . It was a great game but I wouldn't replay it now. As for Final Fantasy XV , I want an RPG. Not an action game with a few role-playing elements. I already have that in Assassin's Creed Unity . No, see, a role-playing game is like Dragon Age: Inquisition . It's not, "hammer this button and string together combos and hammer that button and perform special attacks." Yeah, no, that's God of War . And that's what FFXV is. God of War with an airship and a car.
I wonder if The Witcher 3's delay was due to 2014's unstable releases
Developer CD Projekt Red says that delaying The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt for 12 more weeks will result in a "smoother and more engaging experience." I'm fine with that and it's not an unsurprising explanation.
However, bear in mind that this developer said they absolutely would not push The Witcher 3 any further. They were pretty adamant about that, if you remember. But maybe they started seeing some high-profile games release with crappy optimization and other stability issues, and they reassessed their own production. Driveclub , Assassin's Creed Unity , and a few others have really made gamers hyper-sensitive about shoddy products coming to market. The last thing a hugely anticipated title needs is bad press due to an unreliable and frustrating game. I just wonder how much of an impact (if any) 2014's letdowns had on CD Projekt Red.
Personal gaming update
You know, I was a little disappointed with Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris . Being a huge fan of Guardian of Light , I expected a tighter, more advanced, more involving production. This one puts too much emphasis on the co-op aspect and it really just looks and feels old. It's not a bad game by any stretch but I still expected more. I'm an Advanced Veteran in Unity now and I'm tackling some of the co-op missions all by my lonesome…lots of Skill Points to earn but it ain't easy going it solo. I don't really care, though; these are solo games. Essentially forcing you to do things multiplayer to advance your character is wrong .
There are still a few other games I have to get to before the year is out (for review purposes), and of course, the Game of the Year Awards are coming up. 🙂
Final Fantasy XV has every right to be named an RPG. Combat does not dictate what an RPG is. Forget it… This stupidity is making my head hurt.
I'll wait until I play the game to see if it's an RPG or not, but it's certainly not looking like that will be the dominant genre featured. I mean Kingdoms of Amalur has God of War gaming going on and it's considered an RPG. The genres are just too blurry these days to say things so definitively.
I'm not sure why anyone is surprised by the way FFXV is turning out. Square let be known from the beginning that it was going to be more in line with Kingdom Hearts rather than Final Fantasy in terms of combat. I think it looks great personally. Beautiful open world with realtime FFVII Advent Children combat? Yes please!
@Jawknee, I agree. Its not like all we saw were CG trailers and then all of the sudden BAM they pulled a 180 and said hahaha suckers its an action RPG.
I don't know what the commotion is about either to be honest. I think it looks great, and I highly doubt you will be mashing on the buttons to string together combos. It will probably be more timing and rhythm based like Crisis core, and the first kingdom hearts.
I think, as an FF fan myself, with FX being the action game it is (even though it was always supposed to be one) it will cement that all future numbered titles have to be action games too. That command based RPG will never return. It rubs on nerves that cause nerd rage.
Yea it's not coming back. Square killed it. But I'm over it. As long as we get something that's still RPG lite like Kingdom Hearts I'm down.
@world, Unless they take a hint from Bravely Default and make a game like that on a console yeah I think turn based is done for them.
The only "stupid" thing around here are your dismissive, inane comments.
I'm hopeful for the Suikoden rumor.
For myself, I can't quite place FFXV totally in the same category as GoW or AC. GoW and AC allow you to finish their stories on actions alone if you so desired. I somehow doubt FFXV will let you get by without upgrading anything about your character. There's got to be at least some mingling of RPG'ness with the action for progress.
PGU: Been playing some Ultra SFIV. I impulse purchased Enslaved Premium Edition from Steam for $5 today. The graphics haven't aged well but it's still cool. I really like that first sequence of escaping the falling aircraft. It does run a heck of a lot better now btw. It's pretty weak by way of PC ports though. It doesn't lavishly layer on all the custom visual settings like MGS GZ does. The game needs to be remastered for PS4.
I've spent the most time with Xenogears this last week. I'm close to the end. I know who the "Wiseman" is now 😉
It's a great jRPG. Sometimes I get annoyed by how convoluted the story feels, like it could use a revision or two in clearing out some bloat, but otherwise it's like a perfect example of how the Japanese can tell stories most westerners don't try with their games. Not sure why they have this weird infatuation with nano machines, genetic manipulation, multiple personality disorders, and amnesia, but it's all here in full force with Xenogears. Complete with cool mecha stuff and a massively epic feeling plot. This disc 2 has been like one massive story sequence after the next with some good heartfelt moments. I really believe of all jRPG's that could benefit the most from a remake it would be this one. The terrible camera and dated tech really hinder it. Even the controls are a bit laggy for like jumping over chasms. Anyway. I now understand it's rep. I look forward to seeing how it all ends.
Last edited by Temjin001 on 12/28/2014 12:24:43 AM
You had to upgrade Kratos too.
Ugh I impulse bought Dark Siders 2 for Wii U because it was on sale in the eShop for like $7. Waste of money.
Is Xenogears in relation to Xenoblade or the new one coming to Wii U by chance? Or are they separate franchises by separate developers?
Did you like Darksiders 1? I really liked part 2 for like a week cuz the dungeons were super puzzly and Zelda-ey but it eventually got boring and I didn't finish. They tried to make that an RPG too.
when did you have to up his stats though?
Guys don't have to upgrade his attack power, combos, etc to beat the game. It just makes it easier. Mad skills can get you through with your actions alone. I'm sure FFXV requires you to pay attention to that stuff to even cause damage in later levels in the game.
I liked Darksiders. I was hopefull for the franchises future at that point. Darksiders II couldn't hold me. I remember being bothered by how rip-offish it felt. It's like a big everybody-else's-game game. For me it felt like every direct and obvious game it was aping it did it worse than it's inspiration. The dungeons I played felt weak compared to Zelda's. And enough with the rolling big balls around. I also didn't care for the looting in it. The combat was okay I guess but I like GoW or NG or something better. The platforming was like Prince of Persia lite. The graphics felt dated to me. It drew way too much from LotR as well with some story parts. I feel like maybe I was too hard on it but idk. I sorta feel like I was looking for reasons to knock games off of my backlog so i was critical. spmetimes gaming gets so plentiful we can afford to be picky. oh well, it's in the past now.
EDIT: Jawknee. I think Xenoblade draws from the same sort of mythos of Xenogears, like Xenosaga, but I don't think it's any kind of direct sequel. I hear it's even like a mecha based Skyrim or something. I suppose it's sorta like how Final Fantasy is. Sometimes new games bring new worlds and settings etc.
Last edited by Temjin001 on 12/28/2014 1:19:28 AM
I only played the demo for Dark Siders one. I didn't like it too much. It was really the deal that nudged me to buy the second one. $7 vs usual $29.99. I figured why not? Now I know why not. XD
oh and Xenoblade is by Monolith. Pretty sure they did Xenosaga. Not sure about Gears though.
The weird thing about the whole RPG argument is, there are always the hardcore who beat these games without upgrading there characters at all.
People even beat FF10 without touching the sphere grid. Crazy right.
Just like how in Dark Souls, and GoW you don't have to upgrade the characters to beat the game.
Its getting really hard to define an RPG, because the only things that actually fall under the definition are games that follow the DnD rule set, and allow you to upgrade your character.
Last I checked not a lot of games are following the DnD ruleset anymore.
@Jawknee,
Xenogears, and Xenosaga have similarities, there were some easter eggs in Xenosaga that apparently Xenogears fans "got". Xenosaga is kind of like how FF games are related. Similar names used, etc. There are some theories that Xenosaga is Xenogears episode 1 retold in a different universe but yeah other than that, its not a direct sequel or prequel.
Xenoblade maybe had similar themes, but both the Wii and WiiU Xeno games are kind of their own things.
Cool. I missed out in the Wii Xenoblade. Ima get the Wii U one for sure.
Maybe now that Darksiders will have to be indie it will have the kind of flavor you are looking for.
First off, totally off topic: as most of us know the PSN/SEN is back up and there is a ton of deals going on. I dont know if the two relate or not but I bought DA:I this afternoon for $38. And The Walking Dead games (both seasons) including all episodes are 75% off. Tons of other stuff available.
I doubt The Witchers delay had to do with any other games other than its own circumstance. I'm giving CD Projekt Red the benefit of the doubt here. I think it probably had the most to do with them getting the game on consoles. And that delay is fine by me. At least they took the opportunity for more time and hopefully will come out of this with minimal issues.
PGU: I couldn't move forward in GTAV for some reason. It's as if I didn't complete some side mission to move on in the story. So after numerous hours of trying to get a main mission to appear and being unsuccessful I moved on to Shadow of Mordor. This game is unbelievable. It's easily my GOTY so far. I obviously havnt started DA yet but since it's literally downloading right now, if I get through SoM this week I'll start it soon. Anyways love the game, glad the PSN is back up.
Last edited by bigrailer19 on 12/28/2014 12:52:03 AM
I still can't sign in on my PS4. I made the mistake of signing out when the mess started. Now I can't get back on. Keeps timing out when trying to connect to their servers.
Last edited by Jawknee on 12/28/2014 12:57:02 AM
What's weird is I didn't have any problems until I read about it on here and then it hit me. But it came back online for me this morning.
lol, that's how my long time spent in GTA IV ended. It just stopped giving me main missions and nothing I did would perk the game up to the fact that I was alive and playing it. Said *fck this piece of sht game* and sold it. Garbage.
Yup, I'm still getting error code NW-31194-8. Sh**ty.
World: Yeah what gives? I unfortunately can't sell it as I downloaded it so I'm stuck with it.
Jawknee: That's weird my man. Their website says it's back up.
Their status page says its up for PS3 and Vita. Down for PS4.
EDIT: Now it says it's up. I'll try again later.
Last edited by Jawknee on 12/28/2014 12:35:58 PM
I was able to sign in only after changing the MTU to 1470 in the network settings.
Oh haha how did you figure that one out?
Google. Haha but now I have to re verify my email address. That's not working because sony hasn't sent the link yet.
"I already have that in Assassin's Creed Unity. "
Only Square won't put out a subpar product that require a bunch of patches to fix their game. This is one of the things companies like Square still do right. They actually eliminate bugs and glitches before their games hit the shelves. Not to mention the combat in AC is pretty stiff and repetitive.
Progressing in GTA5. I'm actually enjoying it a lot more than I thought I would. Those pot petition missions with Trevor and the clowns and Michael and the aliens were comedy. Also just downloaded Captain Toad. It's awesome. The level designs are fantastic as usual in the Mario universe.
I dunno man, it seems to be taking Square Enix a long time to iron out the Lightning-in-every-game bug their games get all the time. I don't think she's really gone.
Lol, well at least she's abscent from FFXV. I'm just glad there are still some developers out there who don't release halfarsed software knowing they can just patch it later. I miss the days when developers were forced to iron out every last bug before the game shipped. Good on those developers who still try to maintain that level of quality in today's industry.
According to my memory the "iron out every last bug" was a time that never were.
What I remember are bugs that we just had to ignore cause we knew they'd never go away. Today we complain about every last little visual glitch, demanding them to be fixed.
Last edited by Beamboom on 12/28/2014 7:10:57 AM
I think she will show up as DLC in XV.
Beam, there were no such flaws in FFXIII. Nor any I can remember in any of the other Final Fantasy games. In fact it seems it's mostly western developers who shove their games out the door with flaws on the level of AC and BF.
The only thing better than a perfect game is a perfect game with a flaw or two, something to complain about on the interwebs for days 🙂
Yeah, the reason Square Enix can do that is because they've never put out a game a quarter as ambitious as Unity. Nothing in the FF universe has pushed the envelope of consoles in years.
That's hardly a testament to anything.
Lol okay Ben. Ubisoft has been releasing one AC year for how long? And they still haven't released one that didn't require massive patches to fix it?
Totally ambitious.
Last edited by Jawknee on 12/28/2014 10:46:40 PM
I'd love it if Suikoden VI came out as a AAA JRPG with that classic 6-man turn based battle system, and of course the duels and wars. And I'd love it if it was a smash success, stabbing Square Enix and Final Fantasy right in that foul heart of darkness that corrupted them unto death.
I'm all over the map playing games, someone tell me what to play consistently! Mood swings keep bringing me from game to game. Slender man is freakin me out!
I don't think I even wanna do Inquisition the justice of calling it an RPG. All the boxes are checked like, here you can do all this stuff with your weapons and armor, but you don't need to and you always find things better than whatever you can create. Plus there are tons of items and accessories with cool names that all do the same handful of things. Then you've got the missions, humdrum adventures in mediocreland for 25 hours before something matters. /rant
2014 was bleak for those not into Assassin's Creed. I hope that's not the case with 2015 but I think if there were more top games than The Order and The Witcher we'd know about them by now.
Persona 5 would make it a year to be remembered, but you can't trust those guys to not keep making weird Persona 4 spinoffs instead.
i wouldn't say so much that the reactions and influx of shoddy unstable releases has influenced them, if anything there the only studio out there who wouldn't release a half finished game they already have very high standards just look at the witcher 2.
the delays just due to as what they said, timing.
just now is everything starting to fall into place, everything completed and put into place, and only now are they grasping the scope and size of the project and how much work there is to do.
having each department working away on there list is fine, but its not until everyone sits in one room and every piece fits the jigsaw till you realise truly how big it is and how much work there is to be done.
driveclub, unity, inquisition, FC4, all could of released being the best polished games in the history of the industry and the witcher 3 still would of been delayed.
speaking of unity i can't play that anymore its just boring the f*ck out of me!
there on the right track they have returned the series allot to what the original 2 were like in their mission structure with small lead up missions then one big open assassination.
everything feels how it should, but thats the problem its like the perfect meal but only with one piece.
the perfect pasta dish with only tomatoes, no herbs to flavour the sauce, no salt to flavour the sauce, no olive oil, no pasta, no meat, no wine, no bread.
just the very basic of basics.
the level designs a perfect example of this, i mean AC4 99% of the missions you could complete fully in stealth not get seen once, every step you had to take had a hiding spot.
unity the opposite so much more open, and very few hiding spots your constantly standing on a rooftop saying how the #$%^ am i suppose to get past all those guards?
4 was obvious it had hay boxes, tall grass, cloth boxes littered everywhere everything felt perfectly placed.
unity felt like someone drew out all the levels and placed it in a blender than threw them in a fan and where they landed was the mission structure.
one thing i really hate about this generation everything feels right, but so empty, so half a$$ed.
FC4 was the same, FC3 was the epitome of action games it really was perfect the level design was probably the best I've ever seen in a game!
4 on the other hand was a crapshoot!
proof that ubisoft, hell everyone, needs to stop this yearly/ second yearly releases its just destroying these franchises!
take unity innovation in the parkour system and changed combat and mission structure, and mix it with AC4s level design and you have the perfect AC game!
better than AC2!!!!!!!
Next year is on good pace. MGSV and U4 are D1Ps. The Order, No Man's Sky and The Witcher are still undecided. Still waiting to hear more on GG WRPG project, whatever it is Cage is up to, and vapor ware or not The Last Guardian is in the sights.
Some bigger titles for the Vita in 2015 sure would be nice…
PGU: Rainbow Moon. Still undecided about this one. It's turn based! But a little on the repetitive side. I'm going to stick with it and see if it fleshes out.
The Last of Us: Remastered is everything I wanted it to be. It's one of the best games of all time at twice the frame rate.
Finished the main quest on BL2 vita style. Should have played around in non vault hunter mode. I liked overpowering my enemies. That's how I play my RPGs.
I apparently gave up on Rainbow Moon before some spot where it gets super good, whatever that means. So good for you sticking with it.
I'm happy with the Witcher 3s delay. That studio knows whats up and how to make a good game, if they said they needed more time they needed more time and I can wait.
I still have to firmly disagree with Ben on FF15 being a pure action game. There are so many elements that go into making a game and RPG or an Action game that you can't just see a video and decide its an action game. Its one of those things you usually have to play to get the feel for it.
For example, RPGs what is an RPG anymore? A lot of the best JRPGS have very fast paced combat, Tales games, Star Ocean and Eternal Sonata these games you mash on the buttons to string together attacks, the only difference is there is a menu(FF15 has this) and there is a battle screen.
Not to say that there isn't strategy to be found in those games, there is, but I'm just saying that they have very fast action combat systems.
From all the footage I have seen of FF15 it looks like there is more weight to the attacks, like how in crisis core no matter how much you mashed the combo came out the same speed, BUT finishing the combo wasn't always smart so mashing could get you killed. Sometime in CC you would just want to take a pot shot and roll away etc. I consider Crisis Core an action RPG, not an action game with RPG elements btw.
So in the end I think that this is going to be an Action JRPG, similar to kingdom hearts 1 and crisis core thats what it looks like to me. It doesn't look like DmC, play the trailers beside each other one looks decidedly more twitch action than the other.
PGU:
Trading in Destiny today and going to pick up either Shadows of Mordor or Dragon Age, not sure which one yet. They both look pretty good.
Otherwise I'm just playing Dota 2 and CS:GO.
Get Mordor
My dad is picking it up now, funny he was out shopping and is a huge LotR buff and saw it on sale for 30 bucks and called me to see if it was any good.
I'll get Dragon Age later maybe if there is a game drought and it is cheap. Otherwise I'm waiting on the witcher 3 for my RPG fix.
DA and Mordor are both on the cheap on the PSN. I picked up DA for 38 yesterday and I'm pretty sure Mordor is under 40 still. Anyways I havnt played DA yet but Mordor is a lot of fun. I'm 8 hours in and 24% complete so it's lengthy too.
Thanks Bigrailer, I like hearing all the feedback, seems like I couldn't go wrong with either.
Target has Mordor for 30 bucks, so I think I'm going to pick it up first. Even if its lengthy I assume it is shorter than Dragon Age. I will pick that up to tide me over until bloodborne and witcher 3 me thinks 🙂
FFXV is an action game first and an RPG second. It's an action-oriented adventure with role-playing elements, just like most "safe" games today.
Dragon Age is an RPG. Tales is an RPG. FFXV quite obviously is not. This isn't complicated.
I can handle an Action-RPG, but not Crisis Core. Sorry guys, but I couldn't, and still can't, get into it. I found it too repetitive, and the fighting menu felt tedious jumping between items with the shoulder buttons. Made me fumble unnecessary. So I'm hoping FFXV is nothing like it that.
I can only handle that game in small doses. I've literally been playing it on and off for 3(/4?) years now, making progress in small strides.
Ben, you can mash the attack button in both Dragon Age Inquisition in between using your special attacks, and Tales games have very action heavy combat. The witcher 2 has a combo system, you can dodge when you want block, perry ect. Skyrim has the same action heavy combat yet is both are considered RPGs by everyone.
How can you say that FF15 is obviously not an RPG when you haven't played it? Everything about its combat sounds like an Action-RPG not an action game with rpg elements like DmC or GoW.
Everything I've heard about FFXV so far screams action/adventure. Which is exactly what we expected from FFvs.XIII.
It does not sound like an RPG. But even going back 5 years ago, it wasn't supposed to be then, either.
Last edited by Underdog15 on 12/29/2014 1:53:42 AM