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Putting the "J" in the RPG, Part 1: Dorakue

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Re: Putting the "J" in the RPG, Part 1: Dorakue

#11

Post by zerocrates »

aidenn0 wrote: post #6
hotnfresh wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Chrono Trigger’s easily #1 for me in the 16-bit era, but FF VI is damn good.

I love Chrono Trigger; it's also what got me into emulation. I wasn't allowed to have an SNES but my 486 could just manage to run an emulator (esnes I think it was called?) that could do SNES with no sound or translucency (there were keyboard shortcuts to toggle the layers so e.g. you could hide fog that would otherwise make the whole screen gray).

zsnes is an older SNES emulator that definitely in its earlier days had some issues with transparent/translucent layers and had keys to turn each layer off. I think I remember needing to use those toggles for the same fog layers in Chrono Trigger that you're talking about (though I definitely wasn't on a 486). I think esnes may be a little bit older?

Re: Putting the "J" in the RPG, Part 1: Dorakue

#12

Post by fbdab103 »

hotnfresh wrote: post #7
aidenn0 wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I love Chrono Trigger; it's also what got me into emulation. I wasn't allowed to have an SNES but my 486 could just manage to run an emulator (esnes I think it was called?) that could do SNES with no sound or translucency (there were keyboard shortcuts to toggle the layers so e.g. you could hide fog that would otherwise make the whole screen gray).

Oh man, no sound on Chrono Trigger is a shame. The music’s great.

I also vaguely recall a few of the puzzles used sound ques to note there was a hidden button.

Re: Putting the "J" in the RPG, Part 1: Dorakue

#13

Post by isk517 »

aidenn0 wrote: post #6
hotnfresh wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Chrono Trigger’s easily #1 for me in the 16-bit era, but FF VI is damn good.

I love Chrono Trigger; it's also what got me into emulation. I wasn't allowed to have an SNES but my 486 could just manage to run an emulator (esnes I think it was called?) that could do SNES with no sound or translucency (there were keyboard shortcuts to toggle the layers so e.g. you could hide fog that would otherwise make the whole screen gray).

I remember playing Chrono Trigger on a emulator and it took me a while to realize that the fog in the future era was not suppose to be completely opaque.

Re: Putting the "J" in the RPG, Part 1: Dorakue

#14

Post by coolbreezetft22 »

raincole wrote: post #9
xwdv wrote: post #3

I still feel Final Fantasy 6 was the best JRPG of the retro era. At the time it had heavy themes you wouldn’t expect a child to grapple with: the ideas that the good guys can just straight up lose and having to live with the consequences, characters whose arcs may never truly be redeemed (because they can fucking die ), and even complex issues like the passing of loved ones, committing suicide when all hope is lost,…

I'm pretty sure most parents (nowadays) will reach the exact opposite conclusion after reading your comment: the game should be rated as ESRB 17+ and banned for a young child.

This type of comment has become such a cliche.

As a parent to young children I did not reach this conclusion and would love for my son to play this masterpiece. None of the parents I know are like this either.

I actually feel like this mindset was much more prevalent in the 90s than it is nowadays.

Re: Putting the "J" in the RPG, Part 1: Dorakue

#15

Post by jstarfish »

VyseofArcadia wrote: post #10
xwdv wrote: post #3

I still feel Final Fantasy 6 was the best JRPG of the retro era. At the time it had heavy themes you wouldn’t expect a child to grapple with: the ideas that the good guys can just straight up lose and having to live with the consequences, characters whose arcs may never truly be redeemed (because they can fucking die ), and even complex issues like the passing of loved ones, committing suicide when all hope is lost,…

I genuinely agree, especially for gamers of my particular demographic who knew Final Fantasy VI as "Final Fantasy III". I would like to point out, though, that there are plenty of games that the English-speaking world didn't get, at least not on their initial release, and there is one in particular that I want to highlight here as I don't see it get the fanfare I think its owed. That game is Dragon Quest V, which tak…

> Earthbound as a curiously mature JRPG for the time. I like to cite it as an example of a game that is more about the journey than the destination.

I could never put my finger on what made that game so compelling. The "Yakuza: Like a Dragon" game had a similar vibe. The working title for it might as well have been "Friendship is Magic."

> making sure to stop and take a coffee break every now and then

The lesson you were supposed to take away from it was to stop and call your dad every now and then.

Re: Putting the "J" in the RPG, Part 1: Dorakue

#16

Post by VyseofArcadia »

jstarfish wrote: post #15
VyseofArcadia wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I genuinely agree, especially for gamers of my particular demographic who knew Final Fantasy VI as "Final Fantasy III". I would like to point out, though, that there are plenty of games that the English-speaking world didn't get, at least not on their initial release, and there is one in particular that I want to highlight here as I don't see it get the fanfare I think its owed. That game is Dragon Quest V, which tak…

> Earthbound as a curiously mature JRPG for the time. I like to cite it as an example of a game that is more about the journey than the destination. I could never put my finger on what made that game so compelling. The "Yakuza: Like a Dragon" game had a similar vibe. The working title for it might as well have been "Friendship is Magic." > making sure to stop and take a coffee break every now and then The lesson you…

> The lesson you were supposed to take away from it was to stop and call your dad every now and then.

That's a good catch, thanks!

I also think the dad was intended to be a commentary on Japanese salaryman culture, and now that I'm older, from the dad's perspective I see another lesson about all the things you might miss if you spend all your time working.

Re: Putting the "J" in the RPG, Part 1: Dorakue

#18

Post by jstarfish »

DontchaKnowit wrote: post #8
xwdv wrote: post #3

I still feel Final Fantasy 6 was the best JRPG of the retro era. At the time it had heavy themes you wouldn’t expect a child to grapple with: the ideas that the good guys can just straight up lose and having to live with the consequences, characters whose arcs may never truly be redeemed (because they can fucking die ), and even complex issues like the passing of loved ones, committing suicide when all hope is lost,…

Why should a young child grapple with rape, slitting mothers throat for money, suicide, gambling addiction, rape, genicide, etc? You arent majing a very good pitch for this being a family fruendly game...

Bizarrely enough, the framing of these concepts is family-friendly.

These events happen, and kids do need to know about them in order to prepare for them. But there's enough abstraction to make it not be gratuitious or traumatic. It's like having Fred Rogers teach kids about this stuff versus George R.R. Martin.

"Family-friendly" doesn't mean avoiding difficult subjects altogether. Even the Bible freely explores all of these topics. Going to church is literally a family event.

Re: Putting the "J" in the RPG, Part 1: Dorakue

#19

Post by krapp »

DontchaKnowit wrote: post #8
xwdv wrote: post #3

I still feel Final Fantasy 6 was the best JRPG of the retro era. At the time it had heavy themes you wouldn’t expect a child to grapple with: the ideas that the good guys can just straight up lose and having to live with the consequences, characters whose arcs may never truly be redeemed (because they can fucking die ), and even complex issues like the passing of loved ones, committing suicide when all hope is lost,…

Why should a young child grapple with rape, slitting mothers throat for money, suicide, gambling addiction, rape, genicide, etc? You arent majing a very good pitch for this being a family fruendly game...

> Why should a young child grapple with rape, slitting mothers throat for money, suicide, gambling addiction, rape, genicide, etc?

Have you read most faerie tales, or Bible stories for that matter? Or watched children's television? Or grown up in a less than perfect household?

These are simply the themes of real life, and only rare privilege allows one to reach adolescence blissfully ignorant of life's sharp edges. Better to have the lessons delivered by a compelling narrative that gives children agency then by real life which offers them none.

Re: Putting the "J" in the RPG, Part 1: Dorakue

#20

Post by spinningD20 »

xwdv wrote: post #3

I still feel Final Fantasy 6 was the best JRPG of the retro era. At the time it had heavy themes you wouldn’t expect a child to grapple with: the ideas that the good guys can just straight up lose and having to live with the consequences, characters whose arcs may never truly be redeemed (because they can fucking die ), and even complex issues like the passing of loved ones, committing suicide when all hope is lost,…

Your mentioning of "rape" here sent me on a google journey... I don't remember anything like that happening or even being hinted at in FF6, what are you referring to?
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