RPGCast - Episode 165: "Epicality"

[sabin1001]

RPGCast - Episode 165: "Epicality"

Dragon Age II is getting close to release and they've got the PR stunts to prove it. Saiyuki is attempting to journey into Western culture once again. Sony reveals the PlayStation phone, but does anyone care?

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[Nyx]

Okay, the translated name for the Saiyuki story is "Journey to the West." There's a version translated by Arthur Waley (<3) simply titled "Monkey" which was a pretty good translation of the story.

Also I still wish I could get Magicka to work on my computer. Are you going to review Magicka for us when you finish it, Paws?

[Paws]

Also I still wish I could get Magicka to work on my computer. Are you going to review Magicka for us when you finish it, Paws?

That is the plan, yeah. I'm going to try again to finish chapter 6 solo, but if it crashes again I'll just move forward with 7 in multi-player.

Also, I totally forgot to mention the awesome M-60 machine gun I found playing with shoptroll.

[VonBeardly]

Loved Dragon age origins but hated going into the fade. Was just a boring aspect in the Mages tower storyline.

[sabin1001]

Loved Dragon age origins but hated going into the fade. Was just a boring aspect in the Mages tower storyline.

WoW, I really loved the fade. I like trying to figure out if someone's who they say they are like you were doing in there.

[risingsun]

I think my biggest problem with the fade was how long it went on and how little warning you had that you were about to be knocked into a dream realm for the next 2 to 3 hours while in the middle of another dungeon that you were clearing out. But the Fade itself was very cool I agree.

[VonBeardly]

I think my biggest problem with the fade was how long it went on and how little warning you had that you were about to be knocked into a dream realm for the next 2 to 3 hours while in the middle of another dungeon you were clearing out.

Thanks for wording it better than I could.

[HyphyKezzy]

The fade was dope.

I'ma go with loved Mass Effect 2 hated mining. I tended to listen to RPGCast while doing it to alleviate the tediousness.

[Ocelot]

I love the Fade, especially once you get to turn into Stompy the Stone Giant. STOMP!

[Quin]

The letter I mentioned that Ryukishi07 (The main writer of Umineko No Naku Koro Ni) sent to the Witch Hunt translation team.

I finished reading Episode 4 late last night, which closes the first half of the series. I've never been big on VNs, but dearie me this was one heck of a good read. The last time I got lost in something like this was when the last Harry Potter book came out.

[noodle]

who's that guy in your avatar? he is hot and has beautiful flowy purple hair.

[Quin]

Shuu Shirakawa, one of the oldest original characters in Super Robot Wars.

[caddyalan]

Good RPGs with frustrating segments... there's a lot of games that fit that criteria. I definitely recall liking Dragon Quest 2 quite a bit, but getting frustrated because I couldn't find the one item needed to get to Rhone (the final area in the game). Had to wait for quite a few Nintendo Power issues before I could figure that out.

Ultima 4 has a lot of good ideas, but the magic system requires a lot of item collection. The more the characters have to rely on magic, the tougher the game gets.

About three-fourths of the way through FF6, the characters can theoretically get to Kefka's tower, but it's painfully difficult without gathering the other characters who were scattered over the world. I'm not sure how I feel about that part -- it's not terrible, but the pacing definitely changes.

The most infamous section of FF7 was chocobo breeding and racing. It's optional, but the Knights of the Round summon lets the party defeat almost anything.

Finally, a single puzzle in Lunar 1 for Playstation became a guessing game because -- according to what I've heard -- the translation didn't include a vital clue.

...Sounds like Chris might be looking for a worksafe school simulation game. He might like Fading Hearts (for Windows/Mac/Linux, full version $20 US) or Shira Oka: Second Chances (Windows/Mac, full version $25). I'm not sure he'd enjoy RE: Alistair (Windows/Mac/Linux, free) or Magical Diary (in development, alpha build on discount), but perhaps fans of cute, girl-oriented games would.

I've never been big on VNs, but dearie me this was one heck of a good read. The last time I got lost in something like this was when the last Harry Potter book came out.

I'll grant you that. It's kind of depressing to think how non-porn, non-romance visual novels are still rare. Very few non-harem games get translated, and even though there's some good content written in English, it's usually hidden in freeware archives and obscure forums. Two different English speaking fans have ranted about this. In order to get any respect for this media form, it's gonna take quite a few fans willing to write unique stories, and companies/groups willing to translate worthwhile stories.

So yeah, that's what's on my mind. I apologize if this post was too long, or had too many links.

[Quin]

I'll grant you that. It's kind of depressing to think how non-porn, non-romance visual novels are still rare. Very few non-harem games get translated, and even though there's some good content written in English, it's usually hidden in freeware archives and obscure forums. Two different English speaking fans have ranted about this. In order to get any respect for this media form, it's gonna take quite a few fans willing to write unique stories, and companies/groups willing to translate worthwhile stories.

Sturgeon's Law, sadly. 90% of everything is crap, but sometimes, the remaining 10% is worth dying for, such is the case I found with Umineko.

[Savorien]

Good RPGs with frustrating segments. Final Fantasy 8 and the magic draw system used to maximize your stats. Because nobody wants to spend 2 hours in a single random encounter drawing all of the magic you need for your stats, for every character.