[Jihgfed Pumpkinhead]

     I haven't played any of the new console RPGs; the most recent one I played was FF7. So anyway, I was wondering, am I missing much? I mean, I know the graphics are all fancy and such, but are there any gameplay innovations? or anything like that? anything, in a word, which it would be worth imitating?
     Thanks for any input.

[entivore]

The most recent game I've played is suikoden 3. I didn't really like it that much. The graphics were good, but the gameplay and plot were average.

In addition, it has little things peppering it that annoyed me. For example, while moving left and right (I can't call them east and west cause it's not consistent) the screen will rotate, causing you to go in a circle if you don't watch it. The screen's view is also preset at each location, it's not like some other games where you can manually rotate the view.

Furthermore, there are plenty of screens where you walk off to the left, and then appear on the next screen's left side. Whoever designed the maps for that game should be fired :P.

and like the other suikodens, the story battles are a joke.

I haven't played any of the other recent high-fi games. I've been too busy recently.
_________________
*Only in darkness can one truely shine*

[Guest]

hmm, i hear good things about morowind (sp?) from people with 2ghz pc's.. all fancy and stuff but hmm.

[Bjorn]

Yeah, when I bought Morrowind I had an 500 Mhz PC and is was near unplayable (15-30 fps though I already had my Radeon 8500). About a month later I upgraded to an Athlon XP 2000 and the game runs smooth enough (60 fps mostly).

It's a cool game if you like freedom of where you go, which outfit you whear, going on quests for guilds you join and doing lots of reading (both in conversations as in books). As a sequal to Daggerfall, I had expected more randomness though. As of now, there is close to zero except in combat damage calculation and certain monster encounters. The island on which you wander is big enough though and knows much variety in landscape. And this non-randomness does make sure the quests are mostly interesting. The last cool thing i'd point out is the ability to rather easily build your own quests, world parts, race or anything and the ability to distribute then in single packages. Modanung has been making a new weapon, a jaw on a stick and a new hair cut (quite fun :-)).

I guess it isn't really a console style RPG though, though it has an XBox port there isn't really a reason not to just play in on PC. There are numerous good reasons to play on PC rather than on XBox however. Think about patches and third party extensions. And then I haven't even mentioned both of the official expension packs are PC-only.

Edit: Yes, it's single player only. I'm glad it is though, it prevented the game from becoming a fast paced action game like most others.

[Ironshanks]

I agree with everything you said Bjorn. Plus it's just a cool fantasy world.
_________________
That's not a broken link, it's a PICTURE of a broken link. It's really very conceptual.

[Nephilim]

I just picked up "Dark Cloud 2" for PS2.

What strikes me about the new generation of console games (if this game is any indication) is that they really like adding diverse dynamics to the game. So far in this game, I have done:

* standard dungeon crawl dynamic, complete with "boss fights"
* run-around-and-talk-to-people
* search large environments for collectibles
* sim-like city building by placing buildings and decor
* multiple-character controls
* random puzzles
* building up weapons, armor, skills
* "fishing" mini-games
* photography (see below)

It really has no shortage of different things to do. If you get bored doing one thing, there are plenty of other things you can go do.

The 'taking photos' thing was somewhat clever, I thought. In the game, you can "invent" new items. You do this by gathering "ideas" in a notebook, and then combining them to create a plan for building a new item. "Ideas" are kept as photographs of various things in the environment. So for example, if you take a photo of a belt, a milk can, and a pipe, you can think on them to come up with a fuel tank. Of course, the objects are prescripted, as are the recipes for them, but the photography is an interesting dynamic - it connects you to the environment in ways that are more than just "oo purty". It's one of the first "eye candy" games which can actually justify having all the eye candy from a gameplay perspective.

(As a side note, the graphics really are superb. A lot of great environment design went into this game.)

Another aspect of the taking photos is that you can get "scoops", which are basically great photos that the poor unadventurous losers in the village would like to see. Basically, you become a combat journalist. "Get a photo of that boss monster just as he's launching missiles at you!" This is interesting because it takes a smooth hand to rip out the camera to get a good photo while still avoiding getting your ass handed to you.

So far, other than the first instance which introduces you to the dynamic, the invention and the scoops dynamics are not required aspects of the game - they are introduced, and you can take them or leave them after that.

The "sims" influence of city-building, the fishing game, the dungeon crawling, the collecting, etc., are all varied enough to keep you from getting bored, and appear deep enough that there is experimentation and options to take.

Don't know if this is of any use to us old-school RPG programmers, but, for what it's worth...

[Terry]

I think it's worth mentaining the newer final fantasy games. To sumerise, FF7 is incredible - in my opinion the peak of the series. FF8 does some pretty strange things, and takes the series in a wonderful new direction. However, it's got a terrible battle engine. FF9 is a joke - plain and simple. I haven't played FF10, but I've heard good things about it.

There's an awesome 2D RPG for the playstation called 'Alundra', which is well worth getting - it's got one of the best RPG plots of all time. It's sequel, however, is a horrible, grotesque mistake. Another cool new RPG is 'Golden Sun', for the GBA. It's very much a SNES era game, but it's really something.

Bioware's infinity engine games are just past thier prime now since 'Icewind Dale II', but some of them are really good. In particular, 'Baldur's Gate II' is awesome. I've heard good things about NeverWinterNights, but I havn't bought it myself :|

I've been thinking of using FF7's 'static background' effect to make a 3D RPG once I've finished my current project. But that's probably just a pipedream :)

- Terry
_________________
http://www.distractionware.com

[Mandrake]

[Ironshanks]

Well, I have Golden Sun, and I'm not terribly enthralled with it. It's exceptionally easy, the story isn't engaging at all, and there doesn't seem to be anything particularily innovative in it. Still, it's an alright time waster.

Is FF9 that bad? I've never played it, but I saw a lot of the concert art and thought it had a pretty wicked and distinctive style.
_________________
That's not a broken link, it's a PICTURE of a broken link. It's really very conceptual.

[lazee barok]

final fantasy ix's great! i've played it alot. the onlything i don't like is all the melodrama... yuk.

hey ironshanks, if you're not too thrilled with golden sun, wanna sell it to me? ;)

[Jihgfed Pumpkinhead]

     Hmm... okay, thanks.  I guess, now that you mention it, there has been a definite trend towards including numerous little mini-games within the game proper.  And it's great, of course; injects a little spice and variety into the game.  I'm really hoping to be able to include one in my game; but we'll see; time's an issue, as always.
     By the way, as I mentioned, the most recent console-RPG I've played is FF7; am I the only one who found that confusing as Hell?  Something about cloning and switching identities and whatnot.  Can anyone explain that plot to me?  They aren't all like that nowadays,are they?

[Adam]

Im just gonna say FF7 and Crono Trigger are the only two Square Games ive finished. The others ive played (FF6, FF8, FF9) i got sick of.

It could also be that Magus and Vincent are my favourite Square characters =P
_________________
https://numbatlogic.com

[Ironshanks]

FF7 sort of doesn't make sense, then you think about it and it does, then you continue to think about it and it doesn't. It teeters between being totally non-sensical and profound.
_________________
That's not a broken link, it's a PICTURE of a broken link. It's really very conceptual.

[Suchiiben]

All FF games are like that. Then you go... Hold on, all FF games are like this.

Then you stop playing. fufufufu

[Tenshi]

- Personally I loved FF7 (it was the only one I actually played through repeatedly), FF8 was great. I think it's battle engine was much, much better than FF9's, which just was too slow for me. FFX has great gameplay and a great battle system, you should give it a try.

- Unfortunately, FFX-2 will be nothing but a slut-fest. =(

- Kingdom Hearts is a great little game to play, also. My girlfriend played through Suikoden III, from what I saw, it looks like a cool game, not my type, though. =T
_________________
- Jaeda