BioKraze wrote:

ANGRY RANT ALERT!!

I remember the days when it was gameplay and storyline that made or broke a game's potential success, not intensive graphics. Back in the old days of MS-DOS and Apple IIe, you couldn't do much with graphics because there was a severe memory limit. Even with upper memory managers, it was unheard of to have more than 16 megs of RAM in your system when I was growing up. I lived through the Evolution of the PC, from the Stone Age days of the original IBM PC, all the way through to the Information Age days of Alienware and wireless/nanotechnology proliferation. My first computer was a Packard Bell with a 486 SX chip (the inferior version of the 486, the precursor to Pentium) with 16 megs of RAM and running MS-DOS 6.20 and Windows for Workgroups 3.11. . .

I hear you, man.  I think my first Windows was 3.1, and on it I played games like Commander Keen and Bip-Bop and I think Hero's Quest -- later renamed Quest for Glory.  I loved them.  On slightly later computers I played Doom II and stuff I programmed myself in QBASIC, a language I didn't have to apologize for knowing at the time.  As for console games, I am one of the few, the proud, who can honestly say that the first video game they ever played was Super Mario Bros. 1 -- though my favorite became Dragon Warrior.  Then there was Maniac Mansion, and then came the Super Nintendo and Final Fantasy 3 (as Final Fantasy 6 was then known), and Chrono Trigger, and Earthbound.  I miss being chased by cultists waving blue paintbrushes.  I miss microwaving hamsters.  I miss a million things from games I haven't even mentioned.  I truly do.

All that said, let's you and me be honest with each other.  "Gameplay and storyline?"  HAH!  Dragon Warrior's storyline was "Kill the Dragon Lord."  And the gameplay was AWFUL!  You actually had to go into a menu to issue the command to go up and down stairs!  Walking on top of them was evidently not a sufficiently clear signal of intention to use them.  Maniac Mansion was a pixel hunt with a storyline that was incoherent at best.  You were under pressure of time, but you didn't realize that, and it was possible to make the game unwinnable without actually losing, which should be an excommunicable sin.  As for FF3/6 and Chrono Trigger, the darlings of every old-school RPG fan on the planet (myself included): these were awesome games, but I'm not sure why.  Were their plots really so compelling?  Was Terra's soul-searching really that resonant?  Did anyone really buy Crono and Marle's romance?  Is having a bunch of secrets that you'll never find without a walkthrough really good game design?  Okay, both games had moments (the opera; the trial) where they were innovative in the best way, but so did the very best N64 releases.  I think that what made these games solid is something more intangible.  Call it "charisma," or maybe "enthusiasm."  It's like someone on the design end thought they had the BEST IDEA EVER for a game, and they got so excited that every aspect of the finished game radiates that excitement.  The way Kefka jumps up and down in frustration when Figaro goes under.  Lucca's I-invented-the-Gate-Key dance.  Overuse of the word "boing!" in the Mr. Saturn dialogue.  These games were good because they believed they were good, and they made you believe it too.

In fact, the very best releases throughout the history of gaming have all radiated this enthusiasm.  Super Smash Bros. didn't need anyone's permission to rock.  Dance Dance Revolution was the stupidest idea of all time and didn't care if you thought so, because it was too busy basking in its own brilliance.  Katamari Damacy... I mean fuck!  Every generation of system has had at least some of these games.  I'm not sure whether the older platforms had more of them, or whether it just seems like they had more because we don't remember games like the SNES's Stunt Race FX, which sucked.  But no, enthusiasm in game design is far from dead, and it's not dying anytime soon.  You can see it in modern games like Wii Sports and upcoming games like Spore.  I think my nostalgia is for a time that never really existed in the first place, when ALL GAMES were like that, when a glance through a 1994 Nintendo Power would be more likely to turn up a Pugsley's Scavenger Hunt than a Secret of Mana.

Viva love of the craft!  And viva the SNES!

Sorry satyreyes, that's what you get for putting too much thought and effort into your posts!

Really though, there were a lot of bad games in the NES and SNES era. But at the same time it was a much smaller market, so the good games stood out more. I was way into RPGs from the Super Nintendo into the beginning of the Playstation era. And then a crapload of them fell out of the sky. Things have really gotten to the point where amazing games come out that a lot of people won't play, because they've got so much else on their plate. Final Fantasy VI and Chrono Trigger are spectacular games, but it helped them a lot not to have majour competition out there at the same time. Ultimately the quality of games as a whole has gone up tremendously because it's a booming market where you either have to produce an enjoyable experience or have a movie tie-in to prosper.

(I think my brain's shutting down, I'm trying to proofread what I've got so far and having trouble reading my own sentences. I'm not sure if I've written nonsense or if I've just forgotten how to read, but I'd best quit while I'm ahead.)

BioKraze wrote:

For the Body Parts: OzziePants from Great Ozzie and Slasher 2 from Super Slash.

Wait, that was the answer?  What was the question again?  Here we are...

BioKraze wrote:

3 Flaming Poptarts if you can name the other two items you can Charm or Twin Charm from her

Can you really Charm Slash's and Ozzie's items from Flea?  I admit I never tried that, but...

Well, doesn't matter.  More Pop-Tarts for me!

Last edited by satyreyes (05-10-2007 09:56:49 PM)

Did I say "her" and not "her allies"? I could've sworn...

Yeah, I did say "her allies", but I ranted. That probably messed the question up, but I'm of the minority camp that Flea's female, because Cross refers to Flea as a male (blue text in the name instead of pink, a lot of Enix games do that with their credits).

As for you, Ragnarok, I like your Nimufu avatar! You DO know her Japanese name was "Nympho Mani," right?

Nimufu's one of the cooler witch enemies in RPGs. My all time favorite, though, has to be Deneb Rhode from Enix's Ogre Battle: March of the Black Queen. All she cares about is expanding her knowledge, no matter what the cost may be to others. According to storyline, her precise age is unknown because she uses her magic (I'd have to say, with those Pumpkins, she's either an Alchemist or Necromanceress) to retain a youthful appearance. Plus, if you play your cards right, she ends up as a killer high-level Princess in your party come time to face down the endgame bosses.

As for the next question, I'm not sure what game it'll be based on, but I do know which body part is going to be featured next. Stay tuned!

BioKraze wrote:

Okay, got a new question, and it's a tough one for you who eschew emulators!

Today's body part is: BioKraze's Uvula (Unmolested by piercing or tattoos! W00T!)
Today's question is: In Terranigma, which Jewel Box item costs the most in terms of Magirock usage, and how many Magirocks does it need? (Bonus points for guessing where you receive your first copy of this item, and 3 Flaming Poptarts if you know the one place with a name Ark can never reach by gull, plane or boat!)

Get to guessing! You never know what will be next!

(Final Question Hint: If you know what a Heresiarch is, you're on the right track!)

I haven't played Terranigma in forever!  I loved it, though; it really felt like Illusion of Gaia, as of course it was supposed to.  I have no clue about the answer to this question, and lamentably I don't know what a Heresiarch is, but thanks for the reminder about a fun game

I know the jewel box holds magic rings and such,  and you can buy them with magirock... The invincibilty water pin? I have no idea for how much it costs though...


I actually don't play newer games really... (Well, I mean a few, but I don't even own anything older than a n64 or gameboy colour...) I didn't get to play many of the older games though because I couldn't buy my own, and my cousin took and SOLD my NES. *still very bitter* Chrono Trigger is still my one true love. *crades cartridge*

Okay! Got this week's question, and the body part available! Still in the SNES vein...I may have to move to NES games for the next questions!

Today's body part is: BioKraze's Uvula (Still ink and metal free!)
Today's question is: In Final Fantasy 6, what armour let you play two Mogs in the same party? (Bonus points if you know what armor to bet in the Dragon's Neck Colosseum for this armor, and 3 Flaming Poptarts for naming the item you win from betting an Elixir!)

Get to guessing! You never know what will be next!

Was it THAT obvious? And I'll bet you knew the answers off the top of your head, too!

Very well. Hyacinth wins my Uvula, 20 bonus Internets and for solving the question in less than 20 minutes!

Now I gotta think of a new body part to hand out...I hope I don't run out too soon...

You should give out your hypothalamus gland next!  Either that or your gallbladder.

I'll see if I can spare one, Stormcrow. But you'll have to compete for it, you know. As far as the next part goes, I already have it in mind. Maybe Red Angel might like it...I know for sure you folks can find creative uses for my parts!

So far, the list of part owners and what they own is thus:

satyreyes: Brainstem, Sinuses, Inferior Vena Cava
Red Angel/allegoriest: Thyroid Gland, Aorta, Eustachian Tubes, Superior Vena Cava
KissingT.Kiryuu: Pancreas
Almaser: Appendix
Ragnarok: Cochleas
hyacinth_black: Uvula

The next question's gonna be really tricky, since it's an NES game and not a newer game...unless that one game I heard of with the same name is a remake of the original I'm thinking of...

Keep your eyes peeled for the next question!

TOO EASY! The Bladed Sun is an artifact in the game that you use .  The dragon is the enemy.  You must use the food on the table to distract him so you can take the Bladed Sun off his neck.