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Continuing the Old-School Conversation

Boy, we here at 61FPS sure are thinking with a hive mind today--and it's all due to a lovable, fast-talking British fellow who's already popped up a few times on our blog in the past 24 hours. Needless to say, the reactions of our own bloggers have been intriguing, so I thought I'd continue the old-school conversation with my own post.

First of all, retro is undoubtedly back in style--if that isn't contradictory enough for you. I was going to begin this post by going through a list of the most recent retro remakes/revivals, but there's just too damn many. Right now, I'm completely stuck in the past with Mega Man 9 and the DS remake of Dragon Quest IV, and I couldn't be happier. As much as I try to resist the crippling powers of nostalgia, it does get to me; and, in some ways, I realize the tragedy of buying my childhood back, one game at a time.

It's safe to say that I'm on the same page as John and Nadia when it comes to Bionic Commando: Rearmed--but there are certain retro quirks that irk me when they appear in a modern-day game. Take the concept of "lives," for instance; it's something that I've wanted to write an in-depth article about for a long time (and I just may do that!). I'm completely against punishing a player with tedium (i.e., replaying long stretches of a game) for screwing up; but if Mega Man 9 didn't have a lives system, it would feel very, very wrong. Despite it kicking my ass up and down the block for a week, there are certain old-school ideas that work best in certain contexts.

Posted Sep 25 2008, 07:00 PM by Bob Mackey with | with 2 comment(s)

Filed under: yahtzee, zero punctuation, retro, nostalgia, bionic commando rearmed, difficulty, castle crashers

Where I Draw the Line With Retro

Today's Virtual Console release of Mega Man 2 reminded me of the time I naively planned to play through all of the Mega Man games in order through the then-new Anniversary Collection. I miraculously made it through most of the first game--which is pretty damn tough--only to be stopped in my tracks by that asshole on the right. Yes, thanks to the Yellow Devil, I will never know the sweet, sweet joy that comes with finishing our blue hero's inaugural adventure. Please do not describe the endorphin rush, for it would only make me sad.

Posted Sep 15 2008, 08:00 PM by Bob Mackey with | with 12 comment(s)

Filed under: mega man 2, mega man, retro, difficulty, bob mackey

F--k the Moon

I hope Final Fantasy IV can see this, because I'm doing it as hard as I can.

Last week, I cheerily reported on my ongoing affair with the DS remake of Final Fantasy IV, though I did have some reservations about the moon portion of the game, where I was currently stationed. This week, I committed the ultimate act of hate you can do to a game: sending it back to GameFly unfinished.

For bonus revenge points, I also watched the ending on YouTube.

Posted Aug 25 2008, 06:00 PM by Bob Mackey with | with 7 comment(s)

Filed under: ds, square-enix, final fantasy iv ds, difficulty, bob mackey

Final Fantasy IV DS: Love, Hope and Betrayal For the Busy Commuter

Lo, and Nadia purchased Final Fantasy IV and brought the digital tome unto her home. And the Lord sayeth, "DUDE! You got your ass kicked by a sandworm!"

Everything the fangeeks have been saying rings true: Square-Enix mixed up Final Fantasy IV. Up is down, the sky is green and for God's sake, don't assume that magic attacks will save you from the wrath of the Antlion's counterattack.

The change-up was sorely needed, though, especially if you're a geek like me who knows the game better than priests know the Bible. Be warned: Final Fantasy IV DS is quite difficult. Kain and Cecil still begin the game as medieval brick shithouses, but they can die. For one thing, enemies are not afraid to use their special attacks and they counter if you so much as sneeze in their direction. I know more than one player who fell victim to the gradual petrification of the helldiver quartet that roams the path to the Mist Cave. As for me, I met a sandworm on our morning constitutional. It cast Whirlwind without hesitation and that was the end of the Dark Knight of Baron and that jumpy friend of his who wants to follow in his father's footsteps or something.

The good news is that for every instance of enemy tweaking, there is an instance of character tweaking to match it. The most talked-about helper in the new battle against Golbez is the augment system, which allows characters to gain the abilities of other party members--typically the members who croak for story purposes. If you give augments to characters who are destined to depart, you usually get something better in return. Of course, if it's your first playthrough and you have no idea who's staying and who's going, it sucks to be you.

Posted Jul 30 2008, 09:09 PM by Nadia Oxford with | with 5 comment(s)

Filed under: remake, nintendo ds, square-enix, edge, final fantasy iv ds, cid, kain, difficulty, rosa, rydia, tellah, cecil, yang

about the blogger

John Constantine, our superhero, was raised by birds and then attended Penn State University. He is currently working on a novel about a fictional city that exists only in his mind. John has an astonishingly extensive knowledge of Scientology. Ultimately he would like to learn how to effectively use his brain. He continues to keep Wu-Tang's secret to himself.

Derrick Sanskrit is a self-professed geek in a variety of fields including typography, graphic design, comic books, music and cartoons. As a professional hipster graphic designer, his recent clients have included Nerve, Pitchfork and MoCCA, among others.

Amber Ahlborn - artist, writer, gamer and DigiPen survivor, she maintains a day job as a graphic artist. By night Amber moonlights as a professional Metroid Fanatic and keeps a metal suit in the closet just in case. Has lived in the state of Washington and insists that it really doesn't rain as much as everyone says it does.

Nadia Oxford is a housekeeping robot who was refurbished into a warrior when the world's need for justice was great. Now that the galaxy is at peace (give or take a conflict here or there), she works as a freelance writer for various sites and magazines. Based in Toronto, Nadia prizes the certificate from the Ministry of Health declaring her tick and rabies-free.

Bob Mackey is a grad student, writer, and cyborg, who uses the powerful girl-repelling nanomachines mad science grafted onto his body to allocate time towards interests of the nerd persuasion. He believes that complaining about things on the Internet is akin to the fine art of wine tasting, but with more spitting into buckets.

Joe Keiser has a programming degree from Johns Hopkins University, a tiny apartment in Brooklyn, and a fake toy guitar built in the hollowed-out shell of a real guitar. He writes about games and technology for a variety of outlets. One day he will stop doing this. The day after that, police will find his body under a collapsed pile of (formerly neatly alphabetized) collector's edition tchotchkes.

Cole Stryker is an American freelance writer living in York, England, where he resides with his archeologist wife. He writes for a travel company by day and argues about pop culture on the internet by night. Find him writing regularly here and here.

Peter Smith is like the lead character of Irwin Shaw's The 80-Yard Run, except less athletic. He considers himself very lucky to have this job. But it's a little premature to take "jack-off of all trades" off his resume. Besides writing, travelling, and painting houses, Pete plays guitar in a rock trio called The Aye-Ayes. He calls them a 'power pop' band, but they generally sound more like Motorhead on a drinking binge.