61 Frames Per Second : square enix

Xenogears Perfect Works Translated

Bob Mackey — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 17:30:00 GMT

Classic PSX RPG Xenogears may have had its share of flaws, but its ambition was impressive; the game contained so much mythology that much of the story ended up being untold (or told poorly) due to budget problems. Fans of Tetsuya Takahashi's epic tale followed the writer through a labyrinth of Xenosaga games some years later, but most were disappointed by a follow-up series that didn't stick to the plans laid out in a little book called Xenogears: Perfect Works. This Xenogears bible, released in Japan by DigiCube in 1998, wasn't just an all-encompassing source of information for all things Xenogears; it also indicated plans for the series as a whole, as Xenogears was intended to be the fifth episode of an epic saga. Unfortunately, this book has only been available in Japanese, and is notorious for its insane resale price--so you may want to sell your copy now that a completely scanned translation (AKA "scanslation") is available on the Internet for free.

Apparently, Xenogears fan Ultimate Graphics dumped five months of his life into this project, and the results are amazing. The fact that he (and I'm guessing it's a he) managed to translate and physically edit over 300 pages of Xenogears-related text should even impress those--like me--who played through the game a decade ago and can't see themselves going back. But if you've got an urge to plow through Xenogears again with knowledge about what the hell was actually happening in the story, you'll definitely want to head over to the project's flickr page to see what you've been missing.

Special thanks to the Retronauts Twitter for the news tip.

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The Japanese PlayStation Store Gets Final Fantasy VII, Life Declared "Unfair"

Bob Mackey — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 18:00:00 GMT

Let's face facts; the American PlayStation Store is...not so good. Just take a look at the number of original Playstation games you can download in Japan, compared to what's available here. Go ahead, I'll wait.

Surprised? Then you probably haven't been paying attention. No offense intended, of course, but if you've been following PlayStation Store release news since the PS3's launch, then you're probably familiar with the disappointment all PS3 owners feel when they see so many of their favorite games just out of arm's reach. Of course, it's always possible to go through the rigmarole of creating a Japanese account and "tricking" the PlayStation Store into thinking that you deserve access to its superior Japanese marketplace, but you shouldn't have to. Hell, if Sony got their act together and started pimping the PS3 as the place to get your affordable fix of their respectable and immense library (especially the PS2), I'd consider adding their new console to my rickety fire hazard of an entertainment center.

And to add insult to injury, one of the most beloved, sought-after games in Sony's history, Final Fantasy VII, has just popped up on the Japanese PSN store, causing Final Fantasy fanboys country-wide to start wailing in agony.

Despite being so successful and so reprinted, Final Fantasy VII inexplicably goes for unreasonable sums on sites like eBay. Its price in PlayStaion Store? 1500 yen (roughly 15 bucks), which isn't too shabby for a game approaching its twelfth birthday. So far, Square's released quite a few games for the PlayStation Store--including the ultra-rare Einhander--but they've entirely ignored their American fanbase. Making Final Fantasy VII available outside of Japan would basically be like printing money, though it's important to note that Sony seems to have taken a firm anti-money stance this generation. Whatever their justification, I hope they at least think about expanding their American PlayStation Store soon--if only to quiet those misguided fools who still regard Final Fantasy VII as the "best game ever."

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Gradius ReBirth and The Joy of Sisyphean Gaming

John Constantine — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 15:00:00 GMT

Every few years, I get the itch. I’ll be reading a book or sitting in café, enjoying the air and taking in some company, when my conscious mind will simply shut off. My eyes glaze over, I drool a bit, and whoever I happen to be with at the time starts to worry. They wonder if they’ll regret not bringing a tranq gun by the end of the day. It’d probably be wise for me to start wearing a medical bracelet. It should read: “John Constantine. Irregular shmup addiction. Administer either space/terrestrial, horizontal/vertical shooter immediately. Contact Dr. Vic Viper at Up, Down, Left, Right, B, A, Select, Start.” At the very least, it would ensure that no one gets hurt.

While Derrick’s been having a renaissance with the genre and Joe’s all but abandoned it, my predilection for shoot ‘em ups has been constant over the past two decades. As I said, it isn’t regular. It just comes out of nowhere. It starts with having to track one down, preferably horizontal, with a killer soundtrack, and bright color. Then I go for weeks without playing anything except for stray, half hour sessions with them, games like Einhander, Life Force, or R-Type Final. Thing of it is, I’ve never gotten good at any of them. I wouldn’t say that I’m terrible. I can usually get through the first level of a shooter without dying or, in extreme cases, continuing on the first try. But I’ve never beaten one without cheating and I’m usually struggling to keep up just a few levels in. I love the ebb and flow of a great shmup, the movement from speed and escape to the sluggish crawl that almost always precedes some giant conflict against a screen filling boss. When I die, I smile, and start over. Bullet hell or Konami standard, I take immense satisfaction in pushing the rock uphill and letting it tumble back over me.

Which, when you get down to it, flies in the face of what we expect to be a satisfying experience, right? When we judge games, the most damning thing you can say about it is that it’s frustrating, the highest praise that it challenges us in a way that makes us want to persevere, to master it. If you aren’t good at it and you don’t get better, what’s the point?

Maybe it’s an issue of play vocabulary. If something is closed and linear, defined by a beginning, middle, and end, the way we play is defined by adhering to that linearity. That’s the game language we understand. For games like a shooter though, the pleasure comes from locomotion and reflex, moving a digital phantom limb about the screen and having it respond to your intent. Winning, beating it, getting to the end doesn’t need to be the point. This might be why we feel fighters and shmups feel like evolutionary dead ends design wise; they aren’t being designed to be fun even if you fail.

I’ve got the itch right now, and I know I’m going to have to clean out the Wii fridge one day very soon. Gradius ReBirth is a scratch worth scraping at. I won’t get past the third level, I know. But I’ll push against the stone, pick up a few options, and have a hell of a good time.

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Question of the Day: Ogre Battle and How Much Tutorial is Too Much?

John Constantine — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 22:00:00 GMT

Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen hit Wii’s Virtual Console today. This is good for a variety of reasons. Quality Virtual Console releases are a rarity here in the far flung future of 2009. Ogre Battle is rare itself; its two English releases tend to fetch a pretty penny on Ebay. I’ve never played Yasumi Matsuno’s first foray into dense fantasy opera, so I’m looking forward to checking it out on the cheap.

My history with the Ogre series is confined to Ogre Battle 64. OB64 was one of the only N64 games I ever owned and I spent many, many hours playing it in the spring of 2001. I had almost no idea what I was doing. OB64 throws you into the deep end as soon you start, burying you under a mountain of circuitous cutscenes and leaving you to figure out its blend of TRPG and RTS play on your own. I was pretty proud of myself for getting thirty hours into OB64 without a guide. That is, until I read a FAQ and found out about the nearly endless number of stats you have to consider if you want to actually see the game’s ending. Nothing in the game tells you about party loyalty or how to measure a unit’s leadership potential. Nothing in the game even indicates that these are things you’re supposed to account for.

I love it when a game trusts me to learn how to play. I think that’s why people have responded so well to Retro Game Challenge. Even beyond its Famicom devotionals, the games trust you to learn their rules through play. Nothing is more frustrating than turning on a game and having to sit through an hour of tutorials, forcing you to plod through poorly acted scenes of someone telling you to press X to jump. By the same token, games like Ogre Battle are so complex that you need to have an in-game guide to teach you their rules by example. It’s very difficult to incorporate a successful guide. Make it all text, and you risk the player not retaining any of the information. Make it all cutscene or real-time lesson based, and you risk boring the hell out of your audience.

How much tutorial is too much? How much should a game teach you about the way it works while you play? Should games always leave the player to fend for themselves, foraging for success through trial and error? Let me know, dear reader.

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Star Ocean: The Last Hope Is Creepy as Hell

Bob Mackey — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 17:00:00 GMT

Whenever I see media for Square-Enix's Star Ocean: The Last Hope (out this week if you didn't know), I can't help but feel a deep, troubling sickness in my soul as my skin literally tries to crawl off of my body to a safe place where the game's creepy anime RealDoll versions of human beings do not exist. Of course, I could just be feeling residual effects from having suffered through Star Ocean: Till the End of Time oh so many years ago, but that doesn't mean something is not very wrong about Star Ocean 4's creepy puppet people--especially when you consider the fact that the director harbors a desire to make "adult" games. I don't know if you can picture dead-eyed automatons like the one above bumping uglies, but I imagine the rape scene in Silent Hill 2 is far more arousing.

The Last Hope developer tri-Ace seems to have a serious problem with making human characters that don't want to make you jump through the nearest window; just check out their work on Infinite Undiscovery--the 1:55 mark is when you should start screaming.

There seems to be a strange set of mixed priorities at work here; namely, how developers like tri-Ace motion-capture actors who over-gesticulate like costumed theme park characters, but pay absolutely no attention to how everyone in their games have the facial expressions of corpses. I'm not sure if Japanese developers turn a blind eye to The Uncanny Valley, but the effect seems to be at work more often in Eastern games--which is odd when you think about how willingly the Japanese audience accepts a more cartoony aesthetic. I guess the only way to teach them a lesson is to not buy Star Ocean: The Last Hope, unless you feel safe about a loved one or family member possibly walking into your living room and seeing something like this:

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The Why, God, Why Report: Dragon Quest IX Delayed in Japan

Bob Mackey — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 00:30:00 GMT

I shouldn't have to point this out here, but Japan takes their Dragon Quest seriously. Very seriously. It's been quite a long time since the country has seen an installment of the franchise that's such a national craze; the mega-awesome Dragon Quest VIII came out in late 2004, which means that fans have now been waiting over 4 years to destroy cute little slimes in a whole new incarnation. And, unfortunately, it looks like they'll be waiting just a bit longer with today's announcement (via a NEOGaf tip) that Dragon Quest IX's release date has been pushed all the way back to July 11--quite a ways away from the intended release date of March 28th. It goes without saying that this is bad news for Japan, and bad news for us; I was personally hoping for a Fall 2009 release in the States, but this substantial delay could make that a bit tricky.

The silver lining to this otherwise dreary cloud is that now couldn't be a better time for a Dragon Quest delay, due to how much of the franchise we're being bombarded with lately. With the release of the Dragon Quests IV, V (coming next week), and VI remakes on the DS, it's not like we're at a loss for DQ content; in fact, this delay should give us Americans plenty of time to catch up on the two installments of the series we originally got shafted on thanks to Enix's lack of mid-90s luck in the States. So by the time IX eventually shows up on out shores, we'll all be studied Dragon Quest scholars, ready to play the game with a lit pipe and a furrowed brow. As for Japan, we can only help that all of the civil unrest doesn't tack even more months onto Dragon Quest IX's development time.

Related Links:

The 61FPS Review: Dragon Quest IV – Chapters of the Chosen
Dragon Quest IV: Re-Reading the Chapters of the Chosen
The 'Bout Time Report: Dragon Quest IX Gets a Release Date

On the Importance of World Maps

Bob Mackey — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 17:00:00 GMT

One of the major reasons JRPGs lost me a little during the last generation was the stripping away of one of the genre's most defining features: the explorable world map, which was taken out of many games in favor of less resource-intensive travel options. Now, I'm still a little conflicted about this; on one hand, I do like the intuitive menu-based exploration of games like Persona, and I've repeatedly learned (especially this fall with Opoona) that making a player traverse large expanses of land is an excellent way to pointlessly stretch out a game for dozens of hours. On the other hand, including a Super Mario World-ish map in an RPG always felt a little cheap and cop-outey to me; when I saw this choice show up in Final Fantasy X, I assumed that Square had signed some sort of contract with The Devil himself (little did I know they had done this a few months prior with Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within). It seems that the whole world map issue is entirely about fooling players into thinking your game world is more than a bunch of "rooms" stuck together, all while making sure not to bore them with interminable traveling.

It's a tricky balance.

My preferred take on the RPG world map--and one you don't see very often--is when the "outside world" of the game is on the exact same scale as the rest of the areas you explore (towns, caves, towers, etc.). Obviously, if you're trying to make your game world a complete, explorable "planet," which is the choice with 99% of all RPGs, this is quite a tall order. Some of the more successful examples of this school of design are Earthbound, a game that felt much more colossal than the standard, epic, medieval RPGs of its era, and Dragon Quest VIII, which to this day feels like the only fully-realized RPG of the PS2 generation--and the fact that everything in the game is on the same "scale," so to speak, may have something to do with that. In fact, the game sort of brags about its epic scope with an early mission where a character asks you to retrieve something from under a red tree off in the distance; he doesn't tell you how to get there, and the entire trip involves careful exploration with nary a loading screen to be found. Very effective.

So, what's the verdict from the rest of you guys on world maps: an important element of the JRPG, or yet another thing I'm blowing way out of proportion?

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Trailer Review: Final Fantasy XIII Looks Disturbingly Interesting

Bob Mackey — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 20:00:00 GMT

I'll admit that the creative direction of Final Fantasy XIII always bothered me a little--I was never a fan of Tetsuya Nomura's Japanese pop culture aesthetic--but after seeing the new trailer for Square's upcoming RPG (thanks 1UP), my tune's started to change a little. Only recently I've realized that I've begun to grow a little bored with the typical medieval trappings of JPRGs; I'm currently yawning my way through Tales of Vesperia, hoping something outside of swords and sorcery will eventually grab my interest. It's actually pretty exciting to see something from the JRPG extend far beyond the limitations of J.R.R. Tolkien and Gary Gygax, despite what my snotty 17 year-old self whined about FFVIII.

"It's supposed to be Final Fantasy," indeed.

Many of Nomura's games (or at least the ones he's had a hand in) have been slowly grasping at imitating the American blockbuster movie, and so far, Final Fantasy XIII seems to be the most extreme--or, according to some people, egregious--example of this mentality in action. Hell, when compared to the ninja acrobatics, machine gun fire, and exploding sky trains of XIII, Final Fantasy X almost seems like an art film. But, flashiness aside, perhaps the most notable feature of this new trailer is the actual gameplay on display; I'm not exactly sure what the hell's going on, but all of those numbers flying around certainly look exciting.

Suddenly, the 15+ month wait for Final Fantasy XIII just became much more painful.

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All the SaGa, A Fraction of the Time

John Constantine — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 21:00:00 GMT

It hasn’t been easy, going this long without playing a single SaGa game. They’ve always been within reach and they’ve always been tantalizing. Every game in the series, with the exception of the Super Nintendo Romancing SaGas, has been released in English, and every one of those games has been gorgeous. But the beautiful graphics, art, and music, are apparently not unlike the vibrant coloring on dart frogs; they’re a warning, not an incentive to come and play. The SaGa series is probably the only franchise I’ve ever completely avoided based on reviews. When games are that widely reviled, it’s probably for a reason.

The upcoming DS remake of SaGa 2 has me feeling a little reckless. I’m going to play that game when it comes out, because I’m curious, but before then, I feel I should build immunity to the poison. Now I just need to decide where to start.

Lucky for me, Square-Enix just put out this video of clips from every single game in the series. It’s like looking at a menu.

I think I’m leaning towards the PS2 remake of Romancing SaGa. SaGa Frontier 2 is pretty, and I already adore its soundtrack, but I’m told the gameplay in that one is especially heinous. If anyone has any other suggestions, let me know in the comments.

(Link: Siliconera)

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Final Fantasy XIII Delayed to 2010--Wait, Where Are You Going?

Bob Mackey — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 17:00:00 GMT

Was 2006 really the last time we've seen the release of any major Square franchises? It may be hard to believe, but ever since Kingdom Hearts II and Final Fantasy XII hit store shelves, the company's been spinning their wheels with ports, remakes (admittedly, some worth playing), and abominable new franchises like The Last Remnant and Rediscovered Nondiscovery. At this point, I'm not holding out a lot of hope for seeing Final Fantasy XIII anytime soon--which is why I wasn't at all shocked to read a Guardian report proclaiming that the latest game in Square's most-famous franchise won't hit American shores until April of 2010 at the earliest.

Perhaps the biggest reason behind the game's delay is the simultaneous American release on both the XBox 360 and PS3, which hasn't yet been made mandatory in Japan. But the fact that Square's talent seems to be spread so thin these days may account for why XIII hasn't yet seen even a Japanese release nearly three years after the debut of XII. I'm not the biggest fan of artist/designer/belt enthusiast Tetsuya Nomura, but I kind of feel sorry for the guy; after all, he's responsible for 6(!) games currently in development in both the Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy series. If working on Final Fantasy XII nearly killed director Yasumi Matsuno, you have to wonder why Nomura currently isn't in a coma.

Even though these delays are adding to my XIII apathy, they're also making me more than a little curious as to what the hell the final product is going to look like. I've always thought that XIII was a misstep in creative direction, but I may just pick it up if only to see what the hell these guys were working on for so long.

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Why, God, Why: More SaGa Games on the Way

Bob Mackey — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 22:00:00 GMT

I don't "get" Akitoshi Kawazu. More importantly, I don't get his games. And I certainly don't get how anyone could possibly enjoy the SaGa series. No offense intended if you happen to be a Kawazu fan, of course; but for me, playing the SaGa series has always been the equivalent of heading outside to enjoy a nice summer day and immediately getting taken out by a sniper before making it past the front porch. When you play a SaGa game, it's like entering into some bizarro video game world where all the rules have changed and you might need to saw off one of your feet to escape.

Needless to say, I wasn't too thrilled when I saw GoNintendo's report (via Japanese mag Shonen Jump) that the second SaGa game, released for the original Game Boy in America as Final Fantasy Legend II, will see a DS remake this year. I'm slightly consoled by the fact that SaGa 2 isn't quite as devious as some of Kawazu's later games, but this kind of thinking will only lead to me trying it and then hating myself just a few short hours later. I'm not about to embarrass myself and tell you the exact number of times I've come crawling back to the SaGa series thinking things would somehow be different, but here's a hint: too damned many.

It's not clear if this game is going to make it over to America, but one thing is certain: Kawazu's contempt for the human race will continue unabated.

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New Year’s Resolutions For a Few Of Our Favorite Publishers

John Constantine — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 00:30:00 GMT

Now, to close out the first full week of 2009, we will do for videogame publishers what we did for console makers: we will tell them how to live their sordid, godforsaken lives! You’d think developers would make the list, but no. No, I tend to trust them, so they will be left to their own devices, free from the crushing logic of advice from 61 Frames Per Second.

In 2009, the following folks should resolve to do the following things:

EA – Stick to your guns and keep investing in new IP. 2008 was good stuff, Riccitello. Keep promoting Mirror’s Edge and Dead Space, they will find their audience. And EA Sports? How about SSX4 already.

Capcom – Resolve to support Dark Void with an aggressive marketing campaign and release it during the summer. Do not let this one die during the holiday rush. Also, Street Fighter III HD Remix. You know it would be sweet.

Atari – Do not release Ghosbusters until it is perfect.

Namco – Push Klonoa like you have never pushed a game in your entire lives. Tell people it will make them lose weight, tell them it will make them smarter. And knock it off with the nickel-and-dime DLC already, what is this, 2006?

Square-Enix – S-E, I want you to go out tomorrow, hop on a train, and pay Jupiter Games a visit. You cut them a check, and you tell them to make whatever they can imagine. The people who made The World Ends With You should be allowed to make whatever they like.

Konami – Release a press statement claiming you were forced to make Rock Revolution at gun point.

Midway – Um. Hang in there?

Activision – Give Neversoft the vacation they so desperately need and deserve.

Atlus – More PS1 reprints!

Take-Two – If Bioshock 2 looks stupid, don’t be afraid to cancel it.

Ubisoft – Release Beyond Good & Evil 2 by the end of the year. Please. PLEASE!

XSEED – Keep on keepin’ on, you guys. Can’t believe you actually localized Retro Game Master. Just awesome.

Tecmo-Koei – No Dynasty Warriors: Dead or Alive games. Just don’t. I know you're thinking about it.

SEGA – Disband Sonic Team. It’s over. Enough.

And that about covers it. Happy New Year, everyone.

Related links:

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My Top 10 of 2008 in No Particular Order: Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen

Bob Mackey — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 17:00:00 GMT

It's the end of another year, and that can only mean one thing: it's list season. Inevitably, you're going to see top ten lists by the thousands; and, as an official member of the enthusiast press, I'm afraid I can't violate my directive. But, to make things a little more interesting, I've decided to assemble my 10 favorite games of this year in non-hierarchical form because--let's face facts--it's hard to pick a favorite. And unlike other top 10 lists, this one will be doled out to you in piecemeal over the next several excruciating days! Please enjoy.

It seems that surprise has been a common factor in nearly all of my top ten of 2008 entries; with quite a few of the games that ended up as my favorites this year, I either didn't know what to expect, or I wasn't expecting much. But the DS remake of Dragon Quest IV was a little different--after all, it was a Dragon Quest game, and those buggers are about as familiar as you can get. Of course, I assumed the same thing of Square's Final Fantasy IV remake earlier in the summer, only to find the impressive technical improvements outweighed by a baffling new skill system and an unwarranted increase in difficulty. Thankfully, Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen took a markedly different path; instead of warping its gentle features into the twisted form of a more modern RPG, the Enix side of Square Enix (and I can only assume the company is run this way) decided to preserve the super-fast, super-addictive game play of the original title by sprucing up the graphics a tiny bit, and generally making the already-simple NES RPG even more user friendly than it was in 1990.

For me, a lot of the joy caused by Dragon Quest IV came from the simple fact that I was finally able to play it. My story probably doesn't differ from most American console RPG fans who were getting into the genre at its least popular point: I had asked for Dragon Warrior III and IV for two different Christmases, but Enix's tiny print runs forced my parents to find alternatives (one of these was Crystalis, so I didn't have it too bad). And the original PSX version of DQIV's remake--which is what the DS version is based on--was promised in the American Dragon Warrior VII manual, but never actually came to America. When I finally got a chance to sit down with the game some 18 years after its original release date, I wasn't surprised to see how timeless it was--after all, that's what Dragon Quest is known for--but I was surprised to see how the dramatic departure from the typical Dragon Quest formula worked so well. Dragon Quest IX looks to be the same sort of shake-up, and I'm trying my best to stay alive for its inevitable American release. And you should do the same.

Related Links

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Every Day is Better With Two Scoops of Final Fantasy XIII

John Constantine — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 23:00:00 GMT

There’s some speculation out and about on the internets that, even though there’s going to be a Japanese playable demo in March, Final Fantasy XIII will not be released outside of Japan until 2010. That means a full four years will have passed between the game’s debut and when we actually get to play the game. That is just shy of a videogame console’s traditional lifespan. Clearly, Square-Enix hates us all. And since there’s nothing quite like salting a wound, S-E is releasing a magazine in Japan tomorrow entitled Re: Final Fantasy XIII. The mag has a bunch of art and screens that people have been staring at for some two and a half years already as well as a DVD with the trailers for Final Fantasy XIII and Final Fantasy Versus XIII that were shown at last summer’s DKS3137 event behind closed doors. Yes, Square-Enix is making people pay for trailers for their games. That is not nice.

But, thankfully, the internet exists, and so, naturally, these trailers have already been ripped from the DVD and are free to watch right here.

This is the first time I’ve gotten to see this Final Fantasy XIII footage in such high quality and while the CG is beautiful, as expected, there isn’t even a millisecond of actual gameplay. No running around an overworld, no fights, no nothing. One day, we will find out if Final Fantasy XIII is indeed a game or if Tetsuya Nomura’s team has dropped all JRPG pretenses and just made something to watch.

The Final Fantasy Versus XIII trailer is a bit more interesting since very little high quality footage of the game has leaked at all. Unfortunately, it too is all CG. Fancy CG, but CG nonetheless.

What’s the good word, FPSers? Think FF XIII is going to be worth the wait?

(Link: Final Fantasy XIII.net)

Related links:

Screen Test: Final Fantasy Versus XIII
E3 Day One: Microsoft, Sony, Final Fantasy, and For Whom the Bell Tolls
Square-Enix: Reeling in the Devotees For More, Playing the Console Market With Aplomb
Square-Enix's Coup Brings Back Memories
Screen Test: Dissidia – Final Fantasy