41–50 of 64 posts
Many times I've fantasized about making a modern clone...
Seeing the callout to Xenoblade's music drew me back to listening to that soundtrack again... whence I stumbled upon 8-bit Music Theory's channel, and analysis of Chrono Trigger's and FFVI's music... and that's to say nothing of Secret of Mana or a half-dozen other incredible JRPG soundtracks. I'm probably weird, but the music, more than just about anything, is what brings me back to these JRPG games again and again.…
Every couple of years I replay Front Mission 3. It's not exactly a JRPG but it shares a lot of similarities with the genre. Every time it surprises me how such an outdated and simple game (by today's standards) can hook me. Many times I've fantasized about making a modern clone...
Many of those classic games may not have depth in complex mechanics or breadth of story narratives, but that does not mean they do not contain deep or significant meaning or underlying narrative constructs. At a minimum it does not mean that they lack strong and compelling game design.
I tend to view those (sorry, generalising a little) that dismiss 'classic' games by declaring them 'out of date' as projecting how clever they are by defining complexity == intelligent, regardless of the quality of design, depth of meaning or coherence in narrative.
Seeing the callout to Xenoblade's music drew me back to listening to that soundtrack again... whence I stumbled upon 8-bit Music Theory's channel, and analysis of Chrono Trigger's and FFVI's music... and that's to say nothing of Secret of Mana or a half-dozen other incredible JRPG soundtracks. I'm probably weird, but the music, more than just about anything, is what brings me back to these JRPG games again and again.…
Secret of Mana had one of the weirdest soundtracks from the SNES era! So many interesting southeastern Asian influences. The sequels definitely took the music in a more generic direction, unfortunately :(
Every couple of years I replay Front Mission 3. It's not exactly a JRPG but it shares a lot of similarities with the genre. Every time it surprises me how such an outdated and simple game (by today's standards) can hook me. Many times I've fantasized about making a modern clone...
There seems to be constant repetition of the idea that simple == outdated and complex == modern. Many of those classic games may not have depth in complex mechanics or breadth of story narratives, but that does not mean they do not contain deep or significant meaning or underlying narrative constructs. At a minimum it does not mean that they lack strong and compelling game design. I tend to view those (sorry, general…
My biggest problem with older games is how clunky the controls can be. This is not the case with all games, but it is a very common one. Specially when video games started to move from 2D to 3D.
For example, the first Mario Kart for SNES is still an amazing game. Nintendo got everything right, specially the kart handling. I still play it from time to time and it is great fun. In contrast the first Wipeout game for PSX has terrible handling compared to the newer ones which are amazing in this respect (Wipeout HD, Fury, 2048).
Sometimes I play retro games, and I feel like nostalgia makes us excuse what is plain bad design. I have that feeling every time I play an old JRPG. Many of them feel slow, clunky, with painful mechanics... as opposed to current games, which had the experience from decades to get refined. The argument in favour of this is that the bad and boring parts make the good bits even better, in a sort of stoic way, they feel…
What sort of conclusion is there to be drawn when you have already labeled the older games as slow, clunky with painful mechanics and newer games as refined? :-P I've seen many people say (about games in general) that older games often have more depth in contrast of newer more "casualized" games that cater to the lowest common denominator as often as people say what you wrote. At the end is really about personal tast…
Some people enjoy aggregating all of that information in their brain and getting mastery over it. Even mechanically dumb games can have interesting higher level tactics. People will make spreadsheets and argue over the best weapon or best combination of items or spells to fight certain bosses, even if the base game is mashing the A button to sword hit the enemy 5000 times in a row.
Sometimes I play retro games, and I feel like nostalgia makes us excuse what is plain bad design. I have that feeling every time I play an old JRPG. Many of them feel slow, clunky, with painful mechanics... as opposed to current games, which had the experience from decades to get refined. The argument in favour of this is that the bad and boring parts make the good bits even better, in a sort of stoic way, they feel…
It definitely depends a lot on what you're playing. Chrono Trigger has tighter, punchier pacing than practically any modern RPG. IIRC in the first couple hours you've visited two or three different areas, seen consequences of your choices, escaped a dungeon, had a cinematic fight against a boss with unique mechanics, and discovered a secret about one of the main characters.
It's not perfect; there are a number of "uh, wait, what am I supposed to do now?" moments, but it still feels fresh otherwise.
Final Fantasy VI and Phantasy Star IV similarly have brisk pacing and great presentation. Early 3D RPGs slowed everything way down, for whatever reason.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Another_Eden was recently released in English, from the same creator of Xenogears / Chrono Cross / Chrono Trigger.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
If you're weird, than I am too. There's something truly mesmerizing about the best JRPG soundtracks...
Agreed. I have had weeks where I've just listened to the Chrono Trigger OST. It's not only great for working to, it's just great in general. Same with almost anything Nobuo Uematsu has composed.