About a year or so ago, I picked up Disgaea: Hour Of Darkness for PS2, but I’ve yet to finish it. How can I? It’s a game that I boast of being the most economically sensible game, since you could potentially play it forever.
If you’ve heard of Disgaea, then you’ve also probably heard of its reputation for being able to enter and level up from within each and any item that comes into your possession. With infinite items to acquire, infinite potential characters to develop, and a level cap of quad-9, you can see how Disgaea is a grinder’s wet dream realized.
What has saved me from this trap up until now? I had to be at home to play on my PS2. Thanks to my new PSP and the gift of Disgaea: Afternoon Of Darkness, this restriction has been lifted. I may continue on my PS2 version to work my way through Prince Laharl’s story arc at home, saving time to explore Etna’s alternative plot line while abroad.
Yet owning two copies of the same infinitely progressing game is not what makes my situation absurd. I now have cause to pick up a third version, that being the DS port. I’d toyed with the idea of my sister and I both getting the DS version to take advantage of the multiplayer modes (since she only has a DS), but now that I hear that my girlfriend got the DS version for Christmas, I may have to give this more consideration.
By this upcoming year’s end, I’m sure I’ll have accumulated three versions of the same game that each have infinite play potential. This is also not counting the copy of Disgaea 2 that I’ve yet to start! And yet I also yearn to try Disgaea 3 once I finally get a PS3 and plan to grab the Prinny: Can I Really Be The Hero spin-off due out next year.
I haven’t been this insane over buying multiple versions of a game since the Lunar series. God, I miss Lunar…
Kaloo Kalay! Fanboys rejoice for we have our first look at Chrono Trigger on the Nintendo DS in this official trailer. So far, nothing really new. In fact, I can’t be sure that the footage revealed above is of the port or just scenes from the original SNES version. Since the DS port will no doubt be derived from the original ROM, I’m sure it won’t make a difference.
The one thing I am most curious about is information on the new bonus dungeon that will be introduced in this version. I’m familiar with the extra dungeons added to some of the Final Fantasy remakes, but I’m curious to learn how they apply that to Chrono Trigger. Though if it also means a new ending that can be achieved, that would be awesome too.
In what might be the greatest news I’ve heard in 10 years, Square-Enix may finally be porting Chrono Trigger to the Nintendo DS! The game has been a fan favorite since it’s original SNES release in 1995 and is seldom missing from the top 5 range of any all-time game ranking. The game was ported to the PlayStation in 1999 in Japan (2001 for North America) with fully-animated cut scenes, though the gamplay suffered from its original smoothness.
Since the advent of the Game Boy Advance, with it’s ability to support portable versions of classic SNES titles, gamers like myself have begged for a port of Chrono Trigger. Seeing reproductions of the Final Fantasy series and the Nintendo DS’s additional X and Y buttons continued to generate hope that we may finally get our wish.
Why not port one of the hottest selling games of all time right off the bat? Well, there’s a hitch. Chrono Trigger was a collaborative effort put together by different development groups, known as “Team Dream”. Because of this, resolving copyright issues between all parties has always been the bottleneck of making any progress.
O-joyous day, it seems that those parties have finally understood the demand of their product and the riches awaiting to be raked in. For as of this writing, Square-Enix is heavily hinting toward Chrono Trigger being released on the DS, at least in Japan. One can assume that a North American translation would be quick to follow, but it’s still too soon to tell. (After all, it did take two years for NA gamers to recieve the PlayStation port, which was mostly intended to generate hype for its sequel, Chrono Cross.) Whether it will be a direct port akin to the “Advance” versions of Final Fantasy IV, V, and VI, or recieve a 3D upgrade as was developed for the DS versions Final Fantasy III and IV is still anyone’s guess. But it’s safe to say that a new Chrono Trigger port of any kind at this point will be well-recieved.
When I heard years ago that Namco and Capcom were collaborating to produce an RPG with both company’s characters, I felt merely teased in knowing that it would never be ported to America. Now I hear about this, and I am thoroughly bummed.
Cross Edge is an RPG being produced for the PS3, uniting the efforts and properties of Capcom, Namco, Nippon Ichi, and more. There’s very little information about the game at present, but this Famitsu scan tells me all I need to know. Morrigan and Etna in the same game…? Yes. Fuck yes.
Wait. No. It probably won’t be ported to America either. FUCK.
About a year ago, I shifted a lot of my focus toward taking my career very seriously. In turn, I made a conscious effort to adapt that attitude into as many other facets of my life as possible, in order to maintain my course.
One change I made was to play more strategy-based games and RPGs in order to improve my resource management and tactical skills. The most notable game that I’ve picked up in that regard is Disgaea, arguably the most definitive strategy RPG on the market (second only to Final Fantasy Tactics). While I have noticed an improvement in my personal abilities from those exercised within the game, I found that one staple of Japanese RPGs is ever-present: Level grinding. Little did I realize, however, just how valuable that experience would become.
You see, I’m currently one of the web developers for an online-based retail company. This is my first job of the sort, so I’m learning truckloads about the field daily. I have most recently come to the realization that my job (as I’m sure just about any in the software industry are already well-aware) is a whole lot of grinding, very much like I’ve done for years in RPGs.
For those who haven’t played Disgaea (and your life as a gamer should be considered incomplete until you have), it starts out like any other RPG in that whenever you complete a stage, you score items as loot. But one of the most infamous features that Disgaea is known for is that you have the ability to enter any item, in which itself contains a series of whole new stages to engage. From of which you can score even more items. Items that each contain more stages. And the cycle continues ad nauseum. Theoretically, you could play Disgaeaforever.
That is how I see my job. Upon completion of each task, either a new problem will arise that we’ll have to go fix or a new opportunity will be discovered that we can then explore. Within each of those tasks, whole new tasks will then be discovered. And so on. It’s clear that it’s inherent of my position that it could potentially go on forever.
The good news is that also like any RPG that involves grinding, the further that I battle on, my skills sets level up and I obtain better equipment that make future challenges much easier as my career progresses through its “plot”. Eventually I’ll reach to the heights of the End Boss or drop this game in favor of taking my newly-developed skills into the arena of a different (though similar) title. Having mastered so much in the first Disgaea, picking up Disgaea 2 won’t be such a difficult transition since I won’t be learning the fundamentals from scratch.
I love Disgaea. It’s a game that I could literally play forever. It may have a finite story, but you can build an army of characters you can develop and every single item you can pick up contains a 100-level dungeon. Why do I need to buy any other game now? Then I remembered that they made Disgaea 2. To which I had to ask, “Why did they bother making a second game? We already have Disgaea!” It wasn’t until I saw all the new features that are in Disgaea 3 that my curiosity sparked to investigate the second game.
Here’s what’s bugging me, though… As I skim through the eBay listings, I keep finding used copies Disgaea 2 listed for anything between $30-80. This is retarded since you can still buy the game new from Amazon for $30 with free shipping. Hell, if you can find a used copy at GameStop, they currently price it at $20. So why do these idiots honestly think that they can score that kind of money for the game? It’s not like the case of Final Fantasy Tactics where the game has been out of print for almost a decade. Or even more crazy, the recent auction on a sealed Chrono Trigger. These people need to wait at least five years before hoping to draw in that kind of money for Disgaea 2.
According to their thought process, I should just buy up a bunch of copies on Amazon and just post them up on eBay for an instant 140% profit. Hmmm…though it’s tempting to take the gamble on sitting on some for five years. Heh, naaaah… I just wanna play the game.
I’ve had some bad writer’s block the past few weeks… I have a bunch of things that I’ve been wanting to talk about but haven’t had time to. And now that I’m finding some time, the stack of topics is so high that I don’t know where to start! So for now I think I’ll just do a quick recap of the highlights in my life…
I am so loving Disgaea! This is a game that I could theoretically play forever. And that kind of replay value gives it the longevity that I wish more games possessed. It’s also gotten me interested in picking up similar games as well as a few other console RPGs that I’ve been wanting to try. So far, I’ve also grabbed Phantom Brave, Xenosaga, and I’ve also ordered a copy of the original Final Fantasy Tactics.
With both Disgaea and the new Ace Attorney keeping me busy, I’ve let Ashley borrow my GBA cart of Final Fantasy VI. I’m right at Kefka’s castle and I figure I’ll tackle that and the dragon dungeon whenever Ashley’s done with it. Meanwhile, I have no shortage of things to keep me occupied.
The big boys at my day job bumped up when we move into our new facility to last week. So now we’re just about moved in, which is exciting to me! Work will either continue to be busy or at least steady for me for just a couple more months before I can shift focus back into web development.
My friend Miranda moved back to Cary, after having years of adventures in Wilmington. I’ve missed her a lot and her living so close by again may give me the excuse I need to not be such a recluse. So if I can make it to COUp or Game Night, I can have some kind of social interaction to maintain my sanity.
From the recommendation of the COUp listserv, followed by further endorsement from Kevin, I’ve become hooked on an awesome podcast: Fast Karate For The Gentleman. It’s yet another show that I wished Alpha Counter could have evolved into. Couple of guys goofing on comics, games, and anime… I’m still downloading their archives and filling my MP3 player with them.
I’d totally listen to that podcast in my car, except…the CD drive in my stereo died. I can still listen to the radio, but I can’t stand commercial radio. I insist on listening to my own shitty tastes in music and talk radio. And without all the ads. So I might look around to get an idea on how much it might cost to repair it, but it seems more likely that I’ll just buy a new one. Only this time, with a service plan for sure. I hate situations like this since that’s the only thing wrong with it and it feels like a waste to toss it. I can’t sell it, since who would buy a broken stereo that costs more to repair than to buy a new one?
I’m still working on commentary for my podcast archives. Posting them when I can… Listening to some of the new podcasts I’ve adopted and scrutinize my older stuff, I again feel the desire to do a new podcast. But if I don’t have time to write (which I should focus on more), then how can I have time to record a podcast?
I treated myself to my first birthday treat in the form of picking up Disgaea: Hour of Darkness. So far it looks like just the type of grid-based strategy game I’ve been craving (while I wait to get my hands on Final Fantasy Tactics). Many people have already suggested it to me, including the very passionate sales guy that sold it to me.
He did warn me with the bold claim that the voice acting was far worse than the first Resident Evil. After giving it a listen, it’s not that bad, really. No worse than most Cartoon Network anime dubs. And even that has an easy fix: I just switched the dialog to Japanese. Then it’s really no different than watching anime with subs.
I’ve taken a break for the time being because I’m at the point to where I can assemble troops. What has me hung up–of all things–is that you can name each of your characters. That makes things pretty personal for me. Naming each character gives them each a unique identity, and thus they become kinda like my “children”. After I go through the creative challenge of finding a suitable name for each of them, that will also affect how I make choices in how I “raise” them. As I utilize them throughout the game, I know that I’ll grow a certain fondness for each one. And with the potential of building an army of 100+ characters, you can see how this is going to slow down my progress through the game itself.
The cool thing is that DoubleJump Books released their official strategy guide free online in PDF format. That’s going to be a big help for me at least, since I’m completely unfamiliar with most games like this. The site has recently taken down the file directly from them, but you can still find it floating around on the web.
Meanwhile, I’m frantically trying to finish up Final Fantasy VI Advance so I can devote my portable gaming time to the new Ace Attorney game that I plan to buy with another piece of my birthday money. Right now I’m near the end of the game, having completed most of the side quests. I’m mostly just building up my characters’ levels and getting them learned up on all the spells. I’m eager to take on the new Dragon’s Den quest that’s been added to this port and I may take that up once I’ve finished Ace Attorney (which should only take a week or two).
At some point, I’m going to need to switch gears a bit to get in some Street Fighter time. Since I quit training for Animazement, I’ve fallen back down to my previous level of suckage. I might use Game Night as my excuse for that, especially since there are a couple people I can actually compete with there. And as if I weren’t saturated enough, I’m close to acquiring Melty Blood: Act Cadenza for PC. I’ll have to fiddle with that until I can get the PS2 version.
I’ll get into more about the birthday dinner I had with my folks some time in the next few days. Tomorrow night, I’m seeing The Nightmare Before Christmas in 3D with Ashley. Between that and working almost non-stop, it may be a bit before I get some time for myself…
I’ve been playing Final Fantasy Tactics Advance off and on for the past few weeks. It’s not the PSone version that I have a hankering for, but I figure it’ll serve as a decent introduction to the gameplay for me. What’s keeping me from really diving into it isn’t the battle or mission systems–it’s the equipment management system.
I like that when you buy equipment, it displays for you which character class and race can use what, but what makes it frustrating is that I can’t see how the equipment I’m looking at in the shop compares to what I already have in my inventory. Unless I either commit my entire character roster’s stock to memory, write it all out separately, or go through the monotony of switching back and forth between the shop and my characters…how do I know if what I’m looking at is better or worse than what I have? Is there in fact a way, but I’m just not looking at it correctly? Maybe this is something that will be addressed in the DS version coming out soon…
About a year ago, I shifted a lot of my focus toward taking my career very seriously. In turn, I made a conscious effort to adapt that attitude into as many other facets of my life as possible, in order to maintain my course.