Clover's Last Bloom

This was probably one of the things that infuriated me the most about Capcom. It wasn't enough that they destroyed one of my favorite RPG series (Breath of Fire), bastardized one of my favorite action series (Megaman), now they went and axed one of the finest production studios they had under them. Clover Studios scored a massive hit gameplay-wise, art-wise, and music-wise with their title, Okami. Interesting fun fact is that pronounced differently, the name can mean "Great God (ookami) or wolf (okami), which the main character is in this title.

To quote Yahtzee (though this was used for a different game), "If you find the Japanese offensive, then you'll find this game offensively Japanese." Okami is a very stylized version of Japanese mythology, taking unabashedly from its roots and shaping it into a beautiful, innovative title. It takes place in an undisclosed time period of Japanese history, weaving in myths and folklore to tell a new story about the sun goddess, Amaterasu and her journey in the shape of the white wolf, Shiranui to destroy the dark curses placed across the land of Nippon. Having lost the praise of the Nippon people as well as a multitude of her celestial powers as a result, Amaterasu battles the forces of the demon Orochi. Along the way, she rescues the Brush Gods, which grant her the ability to create various effects by literally painting them on the world. For example, Amaterasu herself is the Sun Goddess, and therefore discovers her own ability of Sunrise to change night into day (by drawing a circle in the sky). Another example is Gekigami, the God of Thunder, who's brush power allows Amaterasu to create lightning by drawing a lightning bolt with her Celestial Brush (interestingly enough, this is shaped like Shiranui's tail).
The characters are vivid and interesting, and the subplots of each area rarely interfere with the actual story, and if they do it usually grants a new God power to more than make up for it. The story posesses a few intriguing plot twists, as well as trainable skills and upgrades to your already potent brush abilities as you progress. The controls are very intuitive, and the three different types of weapons helps cater to different styles of play.
The three weapon types are all based on the Imperial Regalia of Japan. The reflectors (based on the Yata no Kagami) are balanced weapons with moderate attack speed, power, and knockback. Beads (based on the Yasakani no Magatama) are weaker powered weapons with incredible attack speed and multiple hits per swing. Glaives (based on the sword Kusanagi) are slow weapons with great power, and the ability to charge up attacks. You can equip a main weapon used with the X button as well as a subweapon that can be used with the square button, allowing a myriad of different combinations. Brush powers are intuitive enough, though some take some practice to get used to. Upgrades often allow you to perform an elemental move without a source of that element nearby to draw from, such as Moegami's Fireburst power that allows you to incinerate foes and obstacles. The combat system becomes interesting in that many enemies only have weaknesses to certain brush powers or abilities, and once you damage them you can perform a coup de'tat with that particular brush power to create a spectacular 'floral finish'. Each battle, which occurs in a pseudo real-time format by walking into moving demon scrolls on the field, is graded and grants money used to purchase items and upgrades.
By far one of the strongest points of this game is its art style. The entire game is made in pseudo sumi-e, japanese watercolor and ink style that was intended to further drive home the point that players have a great deal of interactivity with the world of Okami via the brush powers of the same sumi-e style. While the original 3D photo-realistic version was nearly incompatible with the PS2's processing power, it is this reviewer's belief that the game works better in this distinctively japanese stylization. The game is truly a work of art.
The music for the game is derivative of classical Japanese, with a few modern twists for the more dramatic songs. One such is "Reset" by Ayaka Hirahara, and has become one of my most favorite video game songs ever. The music generally and genuinely fits the mood for wherever the game happens to be, and rarely gets annoying or monotonous to listen to (if you like classical Japanese music, at least).
These facts are all what made it heartrending when Capcom closed Clover Studios a year after Okami's release, subsequently leaving no chance of a possible sequel. I honestly don't understand why they would do such a thing, the game was a gorgeous, innovative, and genuinely fun product. I just wish they'd stop fucking things up. Words fail to describe the spectacle of this game, and it even comes with a New Game+ mode to enjoy with costumes for Amaterasu, including the photo-realistic model they were originally going to use and a bead rosary that makes you invincible.
Why, Capcom? Why did you destroy one of the greatest studios you've had?

Out of Bounds

Decided to go in a totally different direction this time, turning back to an old ROM I found. Normally anything involving sports seems boring to me unless they have a legitimately fun gimmick (Mario Kart, Mutant League Football, etc), but since this was an action/adventure game, I decided to give it a try if only for the absurdity factor.

Named one of the top ten worst games by Nintendo Power magazine, Michael Jordan: Chaos in the Windy City is definitely one of the most craptastical games I've ever played. You play as MJ himself, with strange new powers as he tries to rescue his teammates from an undescribed threat so that they can perform a charity show (hurrrr). These powers take the form of different kinds of basketballs; for example, the Freeze Ball can damage enemies and create ice patches on the floor, the Bomb Ball creates explosions, etc. He can also perform a slam dunk attack, which is used to activate some power up and open new areas with basket switches. Most of the game revolves around the repetitive task of finding keys, then using them to unlock the prisons Michael's teammates are locked in.
Most of the enemies as far as I played ended up being wierd basketball player zombies with balls for heads, along with critter things like bats and rats. Altogether the game seemed pretty lackluster, as if cobbled together to feed off the tetes of, at that point, Michael's incredible popularity. For a platforming title, there was very little challenge involved in this game; yet another title aimed at children most likely, though seeing zombies walking around with basketballs for heads is so absurd it might be scary. Might be.

I Herd U Liek Card Games

One of the most irritating thing I've noticed lately is games that abuse the use of card games or similar systems where it doesn't belong, or just the overuse of card-based concepts in general. It sucked for Pokemon, it sucked for Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, it even sucks for all the excessive Yu-Gi-Oh video games save a few of the GBA titles.

I don't know what this obsession with cards is that the Japanese have, but at least one game got it right, and became one of my favorite Gamecube titles. Lost Kingdoms II, or Rune II in Japan, was an action/RPG title that had elements similar to other action RPGs like Zelda, but with a card game twist on it. The heroine, Tara Grimface, uses magic granted through her True Runestone to bring cards to life, and uses them to battle in realtime fights with monsters that roam free (in other words, no random battles).
The card system usually becomes too convoluted in many card-based games, but Lost Kingdoms II made it simple by dividing the cards into four different types; weapons deliver single strikes (sword slash, beam spell, etc), summons deliver a single attack or effect before disappearing (like a summon monster in most final fantasy games), assists walk with you and perform their effects or attack, traps (proximity explosions and such), and transformations change you into various shapes to access other areas (birdman to fly over gaps, golem to break down walls, hellhound to jump high walls).
Cards are collected by throwing Blank Cards, purchased from town, at sufficiently weakened creatures, or by finding them in treasure chests. When entering an area, cards from your assembled deck are picked four at a time and assigned to a button (Y, X, A, B). Many cards possess multiple "charges", meaning they can be used multiple times or stay activated for prolonged periods of time before the magic is depleted. The myriad of cards in this game ensures you can make a variety of different decks, completely customizable to your needs or play style.
Battles occur in real time, with monsters roaming about. As objectives are completed in areas, or new cards or obtained, other areas of a level open up or new monsters appear. The levels are designed interestingly enough, however the game suffers from short play time and mediocre story. The other issue that I have with this game is the music -- it's not so great, and gets monotonous quickly (especially the overworld music). Monsters are interesting enough, though some of them borrow a bit excessively from real world lore. Of course, this is made up for by having a cthulu-wannabe card that has a useful effect.

Lost Kingdoms II was a pleasant play, and the innovative play style more than made up for its shortcomings. I only wish it had been longer.

Words cannot express my disgust.

I loved Capcom. I loved it to death, till they destroyed so many beautiful and great series in a few fell swoops. Breath of Fire,
Bastardization of good series seems to be a reoccuring theme in my blog, and Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter is no exception.

I love the Breath of Fire series to death. 1-4 are probably all very high on my "Favorite Games of All Time" list. This is why Dragon Quarter cuts so deep into my nerve that I can hardly even think of properly express my sense of betrayal by Capcom.

One of the great things about Breath of Fire was it's expansive world, full of places to explore and people to meet. Capcom said fuck that, sticks you in an underground tower with two really bastardized iterations of Nina and Ryu (the Breath of Fire version of Zelda and Link). The whole task is to reach the surface from this underground hellhole, which has a very post-apocalyptic type feel which is VERY much non-canon for the series. I can understand trying to make something different, but turning the whole series on its ear is just retarded.
The only redeeming quality I can find in this game is the ability to set traps and run in real time during combat -- the problem with this is that your actions and movement are limited by your activity; walking and doing something both take up your "activity" gauge, and it's irritating to end up right next to an enemy and not be able to do anything. Your party is boring, the characters are difficult to empathize with, and the most interesting character is your rival, Bosch.
Perhaps the most infuriating thing is that in some cases, you HAVE to die in order to become strong enough to progress. You can die and keep all the experience you gained between save points, and they abuse this system to a bloody pulp by making you literally suicide until you're strong enough to kill bosses. Your most powerful abilities are limited by a countdown that still goes up, EVEN IF YOU DON'T USE THE ABILITIES. If the countdown reaches zero (sped up by using the dragon abilities), it's an instant gameover, which fucks over the save system and the EXP system that only appeals to masochists.
I honestly couldn't play more than a few hours of this. I was too infuriated to continue.

Final Fatality X-2

For a series with the word "final" in it, these games don't seem to end anywhere. Even more surprising is when Square-Enix start making actual sequels and spin-offs of their own "final" games.
I've had Final Fantasy X-2 for a while, but I hadn't played it much till now. Now, I'm a big fan of Final Fantasy, and I loved the prequel to this game to death; this was the reason that I felt both elation and irritation at Square-Enix for FFX-2.

Final Fantasy X had such a finality to it's ending that I saw no possible way that they could continue the storyline. The story seems a bit frayed, in that to begin, you're searching for evidence of something that no longer exists -- the whole reason that Yuna, the female protagonist from the last game, became a Sphere Hunter was to find possible clues to another character's whereabouts. In the process, she gets involved with a totally new storyline not altogether involved with Final Fantasy X, which is kind of nice but at the same time it feels like a bastardization of something that was great.
The fact that a reserved girl like Yuna is running around in skimpy short-shorts even at the very beginning of the game heralds another issue I have with this game. It appears to be a blatant attempt to milk one of Square-Enix's most popular Playstation 2 and the reach to the fanboy base who likes skimpy outfits. They try to reach to the girls with a "girl power" type message, the three female heroines forming "YRP" (Yuna-Rikku-Paine) and the Gullwing crew. Think of the anime version of Charlie's Angels, minus Bosley. Yep. This doesn't belong in a Final Fantasy game. Sorry.
This part I'm kind of on the fence about. The Dressphere system, which lets you switch between jobs (Warrior, Gunner, White Mage, etc) on the fly, is a great idea, and very flashy. However, it's just like playing dress-up with your characters. It has a shamefully effeminate feel that, while it doesn't bother me, probably killed a lot of male interest in the game -- or would have, if the outfits weren't so skimpy. It's kind of interesting to be able to switch jobs even during combat though, to be fair, and the Garment Grids (cards that you set Dresspheres into) give useful buffs and abilities. It's a fresh idea, but considering FFX didn't even have defined "jobs" (any character could do anything you wanted them too, if you had the proper items for the Sphere Grid system), it doesn't seem to fit well in the scope of the series. Hell, no Final Fantasy game since 5 had a defined job system except for Tactics, XI, and the GBA games.
The other problem I have with this is the Story % completion -- for each event in the game, you get a certain amount of story percentage completed, even for some of the most mundane stuff like talking to someone. If you miss any of these before progressing to the next chapter or sometimes even just to the next area, you're screwed out of that story %. You can't even get 100% in one play through, but they at least had the decency to put in a New Game+, which lets you start over with your levels, money, items, story %, and garment grids intact.

It's not that bad of a game if you treat it as it's own entity, instead of comparing it to other Final Fantasy titles. It's challenging, but doesn't feel like you have to grind for experience points like you would have in most RPGs. It was kind of nice to revisit old areas in FFX and see what's changed, although some of the plot points in the post-FFX era in the world seem rather off in context with how characters were in the previous game. Meeting new characters while finding old ones has a strange nostalgic feel, and at some points, it feels like the whole game is meant to celebrate one of the most interesting worlds Square-Enix has made in their games.
FFX-2 just feels like a giant side-quest to FFX, an extended epilogue milking the spent udders of a good game. It's not bad, but it just doesn't live up to it's prequel storywise. It tries to be too gimmicky with the girl power and skimpy outfits.

Turnabout Blog

To get the bad taste of Lufia: The Ruins of Lore out of my blog, I'll review one of my favorite games this time.

When I first heard of a game revolving around litigation, I was understandably skeptical. How could a game involving one of the most hated and suicide-inducing careers in the world be interesting, albeit fun? Capcom answered that question with Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney. The game starts out with a bang (you'll be empathizing with characters from case 2 onwards, at least) and keeps the ball rolling through all 5 cases.
The qualities that I like in this game include interesting stories involving each case, some interwoven between each other and all containing more plot twists and guesstimation than you can shake an index finger at. You play as Phoenix Wright, a rookie defense attorney under the tutelage of Mia Fey, a well-known and established attorney. All of your cases appear to be murder trials, and the way The system revolves around two forms of play: the Investigation, where you gather clues for a case before taking them to the Trial, where you lock intellectual horns with the prosecuting prodigy, Miles Edgeworth. While I'm sure none of the stuff you can do in this game is really within the bounds of legality for a defense attorney, you'll feel more intelligent as you play and solve harder riddles.
The difficulty curve staggers at some points, within and through cases. It's a refreshing intellectual challenge, and one that the characters and story make you want to meet. Capcom's translation team did an excellent job with localizing a lot of the cultural differences, which are important in a text based point-and-click like Phoenix Wright.
In reality, only 4 of the cases are from the actual game; since Phoenix Wright was originally a Gameboy Advance game in Japan, they upped the ante on the US version and added a preview for the next installment of the series in the form of Case 5. While this might confuse players, with the release of Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney recently, it all comes together.
I enjoy this series very much, but then again, I'm a sucker for a good, convoluted story. It only lasts for 3 games before handing the reigns to Apollo Justice, but it's a wild ride that gets all loose ends tied up in a neat little bow in the end.
Give it a shot. You won't be disappointed.

Atlus shrugged

Oh my, that title makes me feel witty.

In any case, the subject of this blog will be one of the worst bastardizations of one of my favorite series ever -- Lufia: The Ruins of Lore.
Lufia was once a proud and beautiful series on the consoles, but this foray into handheld tanked so hard that Maxim felt it from the prequel to the first game. This was published by Atlus, the same people that gave us such gems as Disgaea: Hour of Darkness, Shin Megami Tensei, Tactics Ogre, and Trauma Center. Having received this series from Natsume, however, seems to have given them license to kill [an incredible series].
The game suffers from graphic degradation where it was very much unnecessary. The series, made popular on the Super Nintendo with Lufia: The Fortress of Doom and Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals were not necessarily intense in the graphics area, but at least they didn't look like bizarre rip-offs of Harvest Moon characters (that's not a knock at Harvest Moon, I actually like that series a lot). The music and graphics feel like they were put through a meat grinder and fed to sick cows before reaching the consumer.
The other beef I have with this game is the blatant ripping off of both Pokemon and Monster Rancher in a game where it should have been unnecessary. Buying special Discs (cave, grass, etc) lets you capture monsters you have weakened and add them to your party to aid you in combat. While Lufia II had a pet system as well, it was at least somewhat original; there were only six assisting monsters, one of each element, and were discovered like treasures throughout the world. You raised them by feeding them items and equipment of various types, and they leveled up with you. What was so bad about that that Atlus decided to change it?
The story is boring as well. While previous games in the series kept me riveted for hours, I was able to put this down without any qualms about finishing it after about 4 hours into playing. The characters are bland and uninteresting, and I found myself unable to empathize with any of them.
I was very disappointed in a company that I have so much respect for. I wasn't expecting a graphical powerhouse on the GBA, but I wasn't expecting one of my favorite series to be put through the shitblender either.