|
Post by Xeogred on Apr 3, 2018 21:48:02 GMT -5
Ooops, Sarge responded to a post I deleted. I misread his post above thinking that was a list of games he hadn't played yet! But it's the opposite. (my original message was: I wonder what you'll think of Kingdom Hearts when you get around to it).
|
|
|
Post by Sarge on Apr 3, 2018 21:51:07 GMT -5
Yep! Well, I'll just post it right back in. 'cause I was going to talk about those games I beat, anyway. Strangely, I enjoy Kingdom Hearts a lot. Admittedly, the combat system of the first game isn't all that fluid anymore, and very mashy. That being said, there was a lot more platforming and exploration; you really were rewarded for poking around. Contrast that with the second game, which is really mostly just battle arenas all linked together. I honestly think the Square Enix elements are the weaker portion of those games. The stories are just a mess of confusion and stupidity. The game is at its best when it embraces the Disney aspects, and the earlier games of the series really put more emphasis on that than later ones. I don't care much for Mickey (never really have) or Goofy, but Donald Duck, man. I get an absolute kick out of him. Seeing him throw a tantrum in the game just brings a big smile to my face. And despite what I said about the Square Enix portions, seeing cameos of FF characters is great. I think maybe to some degree it was a game where you really had to be there. The idea at the time was just so insane, and that (in my opinion) we got a competent game out of the mix is even more mind-blowing, much less an entire series. Sadly, they've interminably drug out the series with spinoffs, only a few of which I would consider good (Birth By Sleep immediately comes to mind). Hopefully Kingdom Hearts III will be great, but man, I expected that to be on PS3, now it's on PS4, and at the rate they're going, they'll move it to PS5!
|
|
|
Post by chibby on Apr 3, 2018 21:54:14 GMT -5
I think a large part of the trouble for me with PS2 and Gamecube era RPG's is my unwillingness to emulate. A lot of the good RPGs are more difficult to find in the wild and expensive to order online. Which is to say nothing of the problem with Steam ports.
I was about to say that there should be some sort of video game sharing commune, but it exists on the internet and it's digital, I'm just not willing to play ball unless it's physical I guess.
|
|
|
Post by Ex on Apr 3, 2018 22:06:25 GMT -5
So was Front Mission 5 translated? I did not emulate it. I played through FM5 on a real PS2 using a burnt DVD, which used an English patched ISO as its source. The game was fully translated into English a few years ago. It is awesome, but I would never recommend FM5 as someone's first FM. Edit: And for the record, I don't emulate PS2 games. I don't find PS2 emulation to be good enough yet for my personal tastes. I either play legit games or burnt games on my actual PS2.
|
|
|
Post by Sarge on Apr 3, 2018 22:10:56 GMT -5
I think a large part of the trouble for me with PS2 and Gamecube era RPG's is my unwillingness to emulate. A lot of the good RPGs are more difficult to find in the wild and expensive to order online. Which is to say nothing of the problem with Steam ports. I was about to say that there should be some sort of video game sharing commune, but it exists on the internet and it's digital, I'm just not willing to play ball unless it's physical I guess. I would definitely consider going the burned route if you're a stickler for real hardware. I know it's not "legit", but it's better than emulation for that era overall. As far as Gamecube goes, while Dolphin is supposed to be great (I don't actually have the beef to run it well), using a hacked Wii is a fantastic solution. I've actually set mine up for that and Wii games. I rip my own games on the Wii/GC side, though; the RPGs I care about I already own.
|
|
|
Post by Ex on Apr 3, 2018 22:15:44 GMT -5
the RPGs I care about I already own. Yeah that's the case for me concerning Wii and GameCube as well. No need to emulate there for me personally, I own the legit games and legit hardware. However Dolphin can dramatically increase the visual quality of said games, at a dramatic wound to your wallet to build a dramatically powerful PC.
|
|
|
Post by Sarge on Apr 3, 2018 22:17:34 GMT -5
When I finally cave on a new PC, I definitely plan on diving into the world of Dolphin and PCSX2.
|
|
|
Post by toei on Apr 7, 2018 21:01:51 GMT -5
I'd say the PS2 is the last good RPG console, though I prefer the two previous generations. I'd say the best I've played is Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits. I always get the two confused, but I mean the SRPG, not the ARPG fan-fiction-level sequel (which would be End of Darkness). Dragon Quest VIII was of course very good. Let's see... Growlanser III is dope, Growlanser IV is amazing but you'll need to play the PSP port unless you speak Japanese, and Dark Cloud was decent. I can't really think of any more off the top, but I know there were others. One of the thing I don't like about this generation, other than this is where RPG really started to get bloated and terribly written, is the voice acting. English voice acting in RPGs is always horrible and if I can't turn it off it severely impacts my enjoyment. And Grandia 2 was mentioned a few times, it's a really fun game but that's 100% because of its battle system. The writing is quite bad. I played it on the Dreamcast, though, so I don't think of it as a PS2 RPG.
|
|
|
Post by Sarge on Apr 7, 2018 23:16:33 GMT -5
Heck yeah, someone else that appreciates both Twilight of the Spirits and Growlanser IV. Those are two of my favorite SRPGs.
|
|
|
Post by Ex on Apr 8, 2018 11:25:15 GMT -5
English voice acting in RPGs is always horrible and if I can't turn it off it severely impacts my enjoyment. When it comes to JRPGs, you're not wrong. I think FFXII was one of the exceptions to that rule. FFXII had AMAZING English voice acting. Albeit SQEX had the cash to actually hire professional voice actors. As opposed to most companies which hire a bunch of amateur twits to spend a day in a California basement "studio".
|
|