Kimi no Yuusha: polished 90s-like JRPG

(tags Dual Screen, Kimi no Yuusha, RPG, game)

I finally finished the story mode of Kimi no Yuusha (キミの勇者, lit. "your hero") after about 50 hours of play. This 2008 single-player CERO A-rated game was train ride entertainment, 30 minutes at a time JRPG. The main reasons I stuck through it were the forgiving, casual difficulty, the easy controls, and the moé-like character graphics (by the same artist as Doki-Majo).

As a JRPG, my basic comparisons always start with my Final Fantasy experiences. Immediately, KnY can be compared to early FF 1-6 with the battle field showing enemies on the left and my 4 characters on the right. KnY does follow the pattern of young blood up and coming, but the story is much more immediate and slice of life. The main story is epic, but only because there only seems to be one hero party doing great things for the world. That's just fine for me. The side quests remind me of after-school cartoon episodes with bite sized moral lessons, with a bit of otaku-ism added.

Ryunette reserves 6 book copies for 2 people, the typical otaku argument, while Tio looks on. From side quest 39.

I really like how easy it is to get into the game. Starting the cart up is a breeze with no company logos in the way. The familiar DS feature of closing the lid works well and saving works at the over world map and before major points. The chapters are organized in 30 minute anime-like segments. Dialogue can be forcefully skipped with the B button. Chapter summaries can be reviewed in the Diary mode complete with unlocked graphics.

There are up to 10 controllable characters, but I only bothered with the female avatars. Ha. Actually the ratio is 4 guys and 6 girls. My party consisted of the hot-headed blonde hair "Magic Driver" magic user named Tio, the male hero named "Wanda" that carries an oversized key as a sword weapon (no I have not played Kingdom Hearts), a sexy onee-chan cat girl named Aroma, and a battle tough sexy mermaid named Silk. Sexy yeah because that's the way they are drawn. CERO A, though. I was hoping Tio and Wanda would get it on, but they don't even ... oh spoilers, sorry. Time to write a fan-fic.

Wanda. Hahah. Why is this male lead lacking so much masculinity? Tights, a one-piece cloth which is more dress than smock, and wears a cap with cat-like ears. I guess you could input your own personality into him? Tio is cute but too hot-headed for her own good. Still she smiles a lot and doesn't stop trying. Aroma is accompanied by her sarcastic younger sister, Sera (girl #7), who speaks through her acid-tougue puppet, Tom. Tom and Tio get into verbal sparring while other characters question Tio's sanity. Silk is supposed to be a princess of the merfolk but she just like to battle like girls do. But this girl speaks in old-man Japanese, moé me up.

The other characters are supposed to be charming, right? There's this tough guy that doesn't say a thing but he doesn't look tough. He's a rotund cat that always thumbs up with a smile. He's accompanied by his dainty wife (girl #8) who communicates for him. Huh. Then there's this elven archer type that is the closest to the recent fan-homage stereotype, the shut-in otaku. How about the wind magic user that just happens to be a petite girl even though she says "boku" ("I" but usually reserved for males and tomboys) all the time?

Though this is a casual game, there was an attempt to complicate the game system. For example, there's an additional menu-based (not reaction based) combo system that one can uncover, which gives bonus attack damage. This advanced level game play is not necessary and merely serves as another checklist to uncover.

I can't believe I played another menu fighter, but at least there was an auto battle mode. Just press Select and they always "Fight". Sometimes my 4-person party will tag-team, and the baddies go flying across the screen. Perhaps there's a tag-team attack bonus but it was hard to discern and I can't control when they tag-team. The previously mentioned menu-based combo system was hard to uncover and also required me to dig through and equip spell books. The pay off is something like 5 to 10% attack damage, which probably adds up but unfortunately it depends on the tag-team system, which isn't dependable. So why bother.

At least I didn't have to grind for levels so much. I was just doing side quests all the time. I think I was over-leveled for the last boss.

The music is totally forgettable, owing to the limitations of DS presentation but also because there's no comparison between listening to music on my iPod or listening to these bleeps and bloops. The same battle music hits me over and over again. The per-town music always cuts off because the store music cuts in. And there are voice samples but only for attacks and battle wrap up and they become pretty repetitive.

Unfortunately, I don't feel motivated to go through it again even though there is stuff I haven't yet unlocked. There's no "New Game+" and it is necessary to restart from the beginning with no carryover. Infuriating. It's not going to take another 50 hours but I will probably have to gamefaq it to keep myself from doing things over again. The premiere gamefaq for this game is the unofficial Kimi no Yuusha kouyraku wiki (キミの勇者　攻略wiki).

There is one after-story dungeon. Although the final boss was somewhat nerve-wracking perhaps this will make me notch my game up.

Well this wasn't a totally unique gaming experience, but for 2200 yen at used it was a pretty fun ride.

I was not playing Dragon Quest IX

(tags game, Dual Screen, RPG, Kimi no Yuusha)

I did a rare thing today and played my DS during my lunch break at work. My immediate boss came up behind me to look at the game. I go "Huh?" because he never checks out my gaming during the other rare times.

Then today I finally catch up on my feeds and see the Dragon Quest IX release fury, including this whimsical tale. Huh, did not know.

Just now I put the two and two together. He probably thinks that I am playing DQ IX. I am going to tell him tomorrow that I ain't that Japanese.

How could I miss a Dragon Quest launch? Easy, I was meeting real gamers traveling thousands of kilometers just to meet me in person (ya right), and (more likely) to enjoy the Kansai area, especially Osaka Nipponbashi Den-Den Town. At least I learned something about PC Engines and the rarity of Bomberman '94. It was fun to share the passion of crusin' the area to track down old games, even stopping into Retro Gaming Revival multiple times. Greetz and howdy, gentlemen, thanks for stopping by.

Feeling a little JRPG

(tags Chrono Trigger, Dual Screen, Trusty Bell, Xbox 360, RPG)

Acutally I haven't been playing much of Trusty Bell (Eternal Sonata). It's not that it's not fun, only that I rather not sit in front of my computer/Xbox 360 monitors. And, I have been playing some DS, just a little bit. I finally opened Rhythm Tengoku Gold, and it was kinda novel but I only finished the first two sets. I rather press buttons than flick the variable friction screen. Also I tried out Nanostray in English which I bought for 1800 yen a couple of weeks back, and I find it hard to get into. It's as if danmaku never existed.

Speaking of which, Zun's Shanghai Alice "Touhou" CDs are slowly disappearing from the shelves at Tora no Ana. I need to pick some of the soundtrack only releases. Lucky me I have all the games. At Melon Books they bundled the whole stack of Zun audio CDs and games and the total came out to 23500 yen. Nice.

So yes, Chrono Trigger. I decided to FAQ it. Well I did beat the game and got two endings. I was just wondering if I should go do the New Game+ or just continue levelling up? Right now I'm just levelling up doing the cheapest method possible that doesn't take much brain power. It requires the berserker rings, so that the AI takes over.

I read the GameFaqs forum, and there are some pretty hardcore acronyms there: LLG (Low Level Game) In other words, play the game intentionally at a low experience level for extra challenge. Ugh? Naw, I'm just going to have fun my normal way, complete all the items, endings and let the game go.

Actually it's funny, there was an guest essay in Weekly Famitsu this week by some pro-wrestler writing about Chrono Trigger. He didn't say much at all, just that CT was one of his favorites and he played it back in the day and now he's reliving it on the DS, just before jumping into the ring. I wonder why the editors chose to run that essay now, since the game came out four months ago.

Finally, (this is just thoughts scrambled) I did a rare combing through the DS used softs for the Final Fantasy JRPGs. On the DS, I found III and IV. There were no GBA stuffs. Actually I wanna try my hand at Final Fantasy VI (3US) again. That stupid software glitch back in the day killed my save data and my FF fandom. Then again maybe I should just pick up Pokemon Platnum somewhere, since I still haven't experienced it.

I should just get back to Trusty Bell. Really, it's cheaper that way.

Chrono Trigger in English

(tags RPG, Chrono Trigger, Dual Screen, English, Japanese)

I was totally surprised that Chrono Trigger for the DS is also in English as well as Japanese. W00t!

No fancying Phantasy Star Universe

(tags game, Xbox 360, RPG, Phantasy Star)

Phantasy Star Universe for the Xbox 360 is ugly and repetitive and slow. Well I did get it for about 980 yen so maybe that makes up for it. I'm only two hours into it, though. The songs are in English, oh so laughable. About the only thing that makes up for this is the zettai ryouiki, but I'm already grasping straws if it comes to that.

Is that DS ejecting a cart in your pocket? Shiren

(tags game, RPG, Dual Screen, Shiren)

To tell you the truth, I haven't been playing Shiren since last Friday. On that day, I decided to chance an epic adventure through many floors I haven't seen. Unknown floors, unknown danger! And I got past them with luck and skill on my side, even while escorting a NPC. I think it was floor 16 or something, where I got to the third town. I felt really satisfied with Shiren, despite the constant fear of losing my progress while on my concentration-breaking commute.

Anyways, I had to put away the DS for a moment, so I closed the cover while the power was on and stuffed it in my bag. The next time I checked up on it, though, the cart was sticking out. Oh no! Yes, I lost my progress, because "this save game is corrupt so resetting your save to level 1". Argh! I don't carry epic swords any more, but to think that all that time levelling up gone made me... not turn on the DS for a week. Haahhaha. :-/

It's a Monster House!

(tags game, RPG, Dual Screen, Shiren)

In Mysterious Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer, I recently playing through the same floor 8 over and over again. I found that the usual room corridor room layout was replaced with one huge room filled with baddies. This configuration is called a "Monster House" in game. I got away from one Monster House through luck, and the second time around, though I was totally surrounded by Spike Bombs, I got through one using some skill. Yay me. Then again it's only floor 8.

I am getting impatient because I don't know if I have enough progress (XP and/or items) to handle the next unknown floor. And the next unknown floor will definately kill me, since I play like I'm in Zelda and not a Rogue-alike. Pretty much when I die, I suspend exploration to re-level up my character, which is pretty much lost time.

I am reminded of the Slashdot thread "Have Modern Gamers Lost the Patience For Puzzles?" Perhaps my Final Fantasy gaming has caused me to first consider overpowering any game tactic with brute force. Then again I still like Sudoku (even though I am never going to play it again) and Rubik's Cube.

Unfortunately I keep on bouncing between floors 1 through 10. I only get the rank of "Baby Adventurer" so I must be missing out on a lot of the game. I need more gold to build better weapons, or I need more weapons so I can get rid of or get pass enemies, but this game doesn't drop enough stuff.

I am not looking at a Gamefaq, though. No matter how many times that thought comes to mind I am not going to give in. I will either quit the game or keep trying.

Put two and two together: Chrono Cross

(tags game, PlayStation 1, RPG)

I realized something recently.

I have Chrono Cross for the PlayStation 1, U.S. region. I think I bought it 5 or 6 years ago from a Toys 'R Us.

I also have a PlayStation 2 Slim US region I bought last year around this time.

I could play Chrono Cross on this U.S. region while waiting for Chrono Trigger DS.

Stupid me. :-/

Beyond excited: Chrono Trigger DS

(tags game, Dual Screen, RPG)

Chrono Trigger. I would probably claim that this was the best (J)RPG for me up until Final Fantasy XII. I, along with many people, have been waiting for a remake on a recent console. Now its coming to the Nintendo DS. Yes! YES! (thanks DS Fanboy, DS Fanboy)

Um, I could have always played the PlayStation version, which seems to reward you for replaying the game.

Hello Xbox 360, jealous of my Game Boy Micro?

(tags Idolmaster, purchase, Xbox 360, demo, Burnout, racing, RPG, Final Fantasy)

Well I have to turn on my Xbox 360 today, because I have to buy this month's sale DLC in Idolm@ster. Bye bye 2800 points. Yeah, "Japan Downloads Idolm@ster Content Big Time" (thanks Kotaku). It doesn't seem like there's any announcement for the next catalog or sale. It's time to concentrate on Live 4 U.

Yesterday, I finally checked out the Burnout Paradise demo. I want this game. It looks pretty cool and I can really dig into the stunts. With a city this big and seamless, it would be a shame to not have any taxi mini game. But no Burnout to date has any images of people, so it doesn't make sense. Some parts of it remind me of driving around Los Angeles, like the big white Paradise sign and the beach area. Oh yeah, the announcer is in Japanese, except for the part where he says "right here, on Crash FM". It sounds okay, but wierd. Japanese radio announcers are so cool, they speak perfect intonation (American) English while shredding it up in Japanese. I wanna be like that.

I bet you Xbox 360 owners have downloaded your Undertow for free right? It's an apology gift. (Game Watch: マイクロソフト、Xbox LIVE アーケードで「Undertow」を期間限定で無償提供 )

And I am still playing Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. It's not hard, it's just a easy treadmill of leveling up and acquiring spells/skills through combat points (AP?). 43 hours, probably most of it in bed before I go to sleep.

Digging for treasure: Boulderdash and others

(tags game, Dual Screen, GameBoy Advance, Xbox 360, RPG, shmup, puzzle)

Yesterday, I completed Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time in about 21 hours in-game time. There's not much left to do in it because there are really no side quests except for collecting more items of dubious worth. There aren't any more interesting enemies to fight either, so there's no sense in leveling up.

I collected 166 beans from the map, and probably won 1 from a mini-game. I need 450 beans (10 + 20 + 30 + 40+ 50 + 60+ 70 + 80 + 90) to get all the "ultimate" badges, but the only way to get more beans is to play "pachinko/slot machine" at 5 beans a win, for the remaing 283. That's not fun. M&L is over for me.

So I tried out some other games. Gradius Generations for the GBA kills me with cheep death but I managed to get to level 3 without continuing. I was buzzing out of habit.

Atari Arcade Hits for the GBA, ugh I still suck at Tempest. Oh wait I have this on the DS, gotta try that some time.

Boulderdash EX for the GBA? It's surprisingly engaging as a puzzler. I got this game a long time ago to make up for missing the Apple II version. Classic mode sure looks ugly.

And I popped in Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, despite my dread. Right now the battles are easier than I thought. I am having fun without worrying too much about positioning and Laws. I was even Judgement Point scraping. What do you mean I can only reap 10 JP from this nearly dead guy here? But the item changing and job system doesn't make much sense to me. Also the GBA's small screen gets in the way of figuring out which item/weapon is better. It sure it more convenient to play M&L. Still, 13 hours in-game, so the clock says. And the music reminds me of Final Fantasy XII, but of course FFTA came first.

And this morning was a little bit of Hexic HD (Xbox 360). Every time I get rid of a bomb I say "GTFO". It's stress relief.

All of this to resist the thought of new game purchases. Yeah right. I'm going out today and tomorrow. Let the money flow freely. :-)

Putting off new game purchases? Mario & Luigi and Wipeout Pure

(tags game, Dual Screen, RPG, PlayStation Portable, racing)

On Thursday and Friday, I tried to see if that PlayStation Portable game Suzumiya Haruhi no Yakusoku (涼宮ハルヒの約束) was up for purchase, but it looks like it totally sold out at all the stores I know. And the inevitable Yahoo Auctions (search phrase:「涼宮ハルヒの約束」) shows a seller's frenzy. I'm not really in the mood for a text adventure which is why I didn't bother to pre-order, but the completist in me is saying that my DVD set needs a companion. (The voices, I hear them.)

I am still trying to put off game purchasing by playing games I have. Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time is still slow going because of my need to collect everything. It's... slow. But at least it should be more rewarding that trying to play Final Fantasy Tactics (GBA) or Final Fantasy 1 (PSP). Both of those just sounds like work to me.

And I woke up yesterday, playing WipeOut Pure. I haven't even gold-award cleared the Venom single races (Venom is the second step of five difficulty levels) so I spent some time on it. Sometimes it feels slow but that's only because I am trading paint with the walls. Still it feels pretty smooth when I don't.

My mom said yes to Peggle on the iPod, but I think I'll purchase it when I go back to work early next month. That is, if I don't want to play Rubik's Cube on the bus, which is unlikely.

How much 3 color-clearing games can I take? Puzzle Quest DS

(tags game, Dual Screen, puzzle, RPG)

I finally opened my copy of Puzzle Quest for the DS.

After a night and day of non-stop playing, I can say this game is alright. Certainly there's an inherent addiction to the puzzle part which is a lot like Bejeweled 2. But I've already played Bejeweled 2's Endless Mode for countless hours on my Sony Clie (Palm). Do I want to keep doing the same thing for this RPG-stat based game? One part of me says yes, the other part says no.

This game makes so much more sense on a touch-panel system instead of a D-pad system.

I am learning something new though. It was difficult for me to think ahead but now since my opponent is playing on the same puzzle as me, I must think about how the pieces fall and how not to give the good moves away.

This will be my commute game for this week. So long PSP, it was nice toting you.

So glad that I didn't buy Gripshift; Puzzle Quest for the DS

(tags game, Dual Screen, import, RPG, puzzle)

One of the themes of my trip to Akihabara was import gaming.

As I mentioned before, I was looking for Puzzle Quest for the Nintendo DS. I canvassed my regular haunts, Game Hollywood and Messe Sanoh Chaos but there was none to be found. Sure, there were plenty of copies of the PSP version, but who wants to play a Bejeweled clone with a DPad? Frankly I've already had enough time logged with my Palm version of the Bejeweled 2 to know the answer.

I kept my eye out, but still I didn't have any luck. Aso Bit City seemed to be very promising for import PC and console gaming, but they didn't have a copy. They did have some discounted games such as Gripshift for the PSP. (In the same bin there was a new import GBA Micro going for 2000 yen but I passed on it). I didn't know if this game was any good, and though 2000 yen is my insta-grab price, frankly I have enough to play with. So I waited to consult the Internet. My hotel had a free Internet terminal so "metacritic gripshift"... Given the comments, I decided to buy first thing on Sunday morning.

Unfortunately, Sunday morning and there was no more copies.

On a chance that maybe I overlooked where they put the discount bin, I went to the store again at around 22:00 (no donuts, natch). But of course it wasn't there. However, Puzzle Quest was available!

I don't know why, but maybe they got a shipment late Sunday? In any case, score!

I'm not likely to open this game any time soon though, for reason I will reveal in another post.

Oh yeah, I already saw the video of some homebrew hacker giving himself the win with one touch.

Final Fantasy presentation, gaming later

(tags game, PlayStation Portable, RPG, Final Fantasy)

So I did go out and buy Final Fantasy for the PSP. So much for never playing another menu-fighter RPG without the Gambit system.

I checked up on the language selection and sure enough there was "hiragana", "kanji" and "english", so I passed on the message to GameLife.

The characters are redrawn and the text font looks absolutely beautiful for reading, in both English and Japanese. The FMV looks like it's from another remake, though. It doesn't quite fit the 16:9 screen. The map is flat, doh! I don't expect much from the music and sound. There's the catch-em-all "Bestiary" list that is quick-binded to the square button. And I did quickly try to customize the window colors to match my "champagne gold" (R, G, B order):

Top left: 31, 30, 25 -- Top right: 23, 18, 0
Bottom left: 23, 18, 2 -- Bottom right: 12, 7, 0

I gotta get this started... A whole game post without even playing the game!

But then again I gotta finish Comic Party. And I want to finish reading that bite-sized snack of a book The Indian in the Cupboard. And I watch my premium DVD set of The Girl Who Leap Through Time (時をかける少女). And there's FF12RW for DS next week. It never ends.

Final Fantasy in Japanese?

(tags PlayStation Portable, game, RPG, remake, Japanese)

Games blog at Wired has the screenshot scoop on the Final Fantasy 1 remake coming out for the PSP, uh, tomorrow. The photo shows, for the US version, language options "English", "Japanese Kana" and "Japanese". Dood that's like with kanji for those too slow to read kana. Win is me.

I've played Final Fantasy 1 almost 20 years ago, but I haven't replayed it since then. I skipped the various remakes. Since I've been very satisfied with the whole PSP gaming experience, I had the mind to take up Kohler on the offer to buy the Japanese game to see if it had the English, but I'm sure I can handle the four elements in Japanese, right?