A story transcending the mass—Now, if I were a lesser man, I'd be angry about this. It seems insulting to me, in a childish way. This is not a response I'd expect from a professional magazine. Would you? I read it as saying "I had hoped to find a transcendant story, but your story did not have a page-turning plot, so I will pass". That in itself sounds pretty bad. When you put it in a sing-songy poem, it sounds even worse. I wonder if they get a lot of flak from more immature writers about the insulting nature of this rejection. Me? I just move onto the next magazine. I don't have time to get into debates about something that doesn't matter.
we hoped that we'd found it at last,
but page-turning plot
is something it's not
we're sorry—we'll just have to pass.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Daikaijuzine Rejection
Daikaijuzine rejected Avatar yesterday. Normally, I wouldn't write about this, but their rejection came in the form of a limerick. That's right, a limerick.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Healing Mage is On Critters (Again)
So Healing Mage story (which I'm now calling Classless) is in Critters, which means I can get back to profitable writing on Wednesday (when it makes it out of the queue). It's getting a shitload of critiques, more than any story I've ever submitted. Most people would see that a bad thing, but I think it's good. If I have so many, that means a lot of people are reading it because they enjoyed it. Otherwise they'd just say "fuck it, this thing sucks", and move on to the next story. If people want to read it, that means publishers want to buy it. Anyone can find things to criticize, no story's perfect, but if they're reading it, they're intrigued, and they finish it. Awesome.
I still think it's going to make a better novel than a story. Maybe even a fantasy series. Depending on if I ever get to that level of writing competency. Fantasy series are all the rage these days - sequels sell more than first-runs. That's a problem for me, because I don't really like series or sequels most of the time. It's too much time investment, both in reading and writing. I don't like the idea of writing a series, because when I'm finished with a story, I want to move onto a totally different story idea that I can explore.
Except for this one, because it feels so fun. It reminds me of my Final Fantasy days - the joy of discovery and magic and intrigue. Not that it's terribly original. I can already tell how that conversation with the agent will go.
"Okay, I've got this one idea. Stop me if you've heard this one, but its a fantasy series about a boy who goes to a special school to learn magic. He makes friend with a big man with a heart-of-gold, and doesn't have a lot of friends, except other outcasts. He's kind of an outcast, because he wasn't really around magic as a kid. So he's in a class all by himself, and some people disrespect him because of that. Wait? What? Harry Potter? Who's that? Another author? Doesn't he write the sports column for the NY Times? They made a movie about him? Oh, okay, one or two movies, but he couldn't have been too popular. What? What do you mean, 'billion-dollar franchise'? Well, okay, how about this - instead of magic, they're vampires, and he falls in love with a human girl? What? No, this vampire's different because he sparkles in the sun, instead of burning up. I'm calling him "Twilight the Vampire".
Nothing new under the sun, you know.
I still think it's going to make a better novel than a story. Maybe even a fantasy series. Depending on if I ever get to that level of writing competency. Fantasy series are all the rage these days - sequels sell more than first-runs. That's a problem for me, because I don't really like series or sequels most of the time. It's too much time investment, both in reading and writing. I don't like the idea of writing a series, because when I'm finished with a story, I want to move onto a totally different story idea that I can explore.
Except for this one, because it feels so fun. It reminds me of my Final Fantasy days - the joy of discovery and magic and intrigue. Not that it's terribly original. I can already tell how that conversation with the agent will go.
"Okay, I've got this one idea. Stop me if you've heard this one, but its a fantasy series about a boy who goes to a special school to learn magic. He makes friend with a big man with a heart-of-gold, and doesn't have a lot of friends, except other outcasts. He's kind of an outcast, because he wasn't really around magic as a kid. So he's in a class all by himself, and some people disrespect him because of that. Wait? What? Harry Potter? Who's that? Another author? Doesn't he write the sports column for the NY Times? They made a movie about him? Oh, okay, one or two movies, but he couldn't have been too popular. What? What do you mean, 'billion-dollar franchise'? Well, okay, how about this - instead of magic, they're vampires, and he falls in love with a human girl? What? No, this vampire's different because he sparkles in the sun, instead of burning up. I'm calling him "Twilight the Vampire".
Nothing new under the sun, you know.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Video Game Memories #26: Perfect Dark
Perfect Dark (2000)
What is Perfect Dark? Some answers: Perfect Dark is a spy game. Perfect Dark is the follow-up/upgrade/redux of GoldenEye (made by the same team). Perfect Dark is quite possibly the best game on the N64 that didn't rhyme with "smegend of smelda".
It depends on the age you were when you owned the N64, or how many friends you had. Ocarina of Time is the game everyone can agree on, but that doesn't mean it was the most played or most liked. Older gentlemen preferred Goldeneye, while young'uns liked Mario 64. And you can tell the tastes shifting during this era as more people migrate to the PSX which had more mature games. Perfect Dark was Nintendo's attempt to try and win back this audience.
Side-Rant: I am really sick of Nintendo's wishy-washy-ness when it comes to audience. They never seem to know what slice of the pie they want. They make a Wii intended to capture a "casual gamers" market, which doesn't really exist. None of the best games have been casual, they've been the properties they've milked for twenty years. Then they let out bloodfests like Manhunt 2, Madworld, and No More Heroes (which won Gamespot's Wii Game of the Year). They barely support third-party developers, and they can't have ny ports becasue of the low system specs and control scheme. Except for Wii Sports, I haven't heard of any game not described with the words "tacked-on wii controls". Why did Nintendo make a system for 4-year-olds and grannies, and avoid marketing to a core, already established audience?
Stack to our bory. Perfect Dark was better than GoldenEye, IMHO. It had better gameplay, better weapons, better multiplayer support, better game options, and better environments. The fact that GoldenEye got it right first was its saving grace. But Perfect Dark did it better. There was no dull missions with mediocre environments. Everything had a fun sci-fi feel, with space ships and villas and cyberpunk buildings. The characters are more than blocky dolls (I said more than, I didn't say they weren't).
And weapons! Oh boy, GoldenEye doesn't hold a candle to these guns. You got auto-targeting uzis, guns that read a magazine cartridge like a scanner, guns disguised as laptops, guns that absorb little orbs for ammo, guns with exploding bullets, guns that shoot through walls with X-ray sniper sights, guns that turn into proximity mines, guns that fire thousands of razor blades per second, first-person view rockets, and sharks with frickin' laser beams on their heads. The only disappointment is the shotgun, which feels more like a firecracker popper. But my personal favorite was the tranquilizer gun. You could have a whole game where the goal was to fuck up your opponent to the point that all he sees is a red blur. And he eventually dies in a glorious drug-induced haze.
Only the people up on the video game world knew about Perfect Dark, and only they were able to enjoy it. Fortunately, my friend and I were of their ilk, and I don't think anyone appreciated the multiplayer aspect as much as us. With Deathmatch alone, each time we found a new way to play - new configuration of weapons or location that brought the game to life. I only regret we didn't play enough co-op. But the deathmatch was so customizable, you barely needed it. It gave us something we lonelyhearts sorely needed - bots.
GoldenEye succeeded because of its multiplayer, but if you're playing the game solo, you get nothing out of it. Bots made everything better, and they were so diverse - easy bots, hard bots, bots that were heavily shielded, bots that went for certain items, bots that tried to kill the strongest person, bots that sought vengeance, bots that camped, bots that ran like little bitches. You could transform the game into almost any big movie scenario (for example, combat boosts + the lobby = the Matrix).
The only thing the game was lacking was a little more blood, instead of paintball-like splotches on the uniform. But the game was already rated M - and it's not like we're playing Mortal Kombat with guns (hey, that gives me an idea).
This game should have been the next icon, like GoldenEye was. If GoldenEye was its own license, it could have become a Devil May Cry franchise. But Bond games have become some weird stealth/FPS game that I don't even know how you play it. It's a shame they haven't done more with Perfect Dark (the Perfect Dark Zero Xbox 360 launch game does not count, it did not capitalize on the name nearly enough). There's much potential in the Dark that has yet to be seen. Nintendo - pick it back up and do something on the Wii with it. It's not slayer science.
What is Perfect Dark? Some answers: Perfect Dark is a spy game. Perfect Dark is the follow-up/upgrade/redux of GoldenEye (made by the same team). Perfect Dark is quite possibly the best game on the N64 that didn't rhyme with "smegend of smelda".
It depends on the age you were when you owned the N64, or how many friends you had. Ocarina of Time is the game everyone can agree on, but that doesn't mean it was the most played or most liked. Older gentlemen preferred Goldeneye, while young'uns liked Mario 64. And you can tell the tastes shifting during this era as more people migrate to the PSX which had more mature games. Perfect Dark was Nintendo's attempt to try and win back this audience.
Side-Rant: I am really sick of Nintendo's wishy-washy-ness when it comes to audience. They never seem to know what slice of the pie they want. They make a Wii intended to capture a "casual gamers" market, which doesn't really exist. None of the best games have been casual, they've been the properties they've milked for twenty years. Then they let out bloodfests like Manhunt 2, Madworld, and No More Heroes (which won Gamespot's Wii Game of the Year). They barely support third-party developers, and they can't have ny ports becasue of the low system specs and control scheme. Except for Wii Sports, I haven't heard of any game not described with the words "tacked-on wii controls". Why did Nintendo make a system for 4-year-olds and grannies, and avoid marketing to a core, already established audience?
Stack to our bory. Perfect Dark was better than GoldenEye, IMHO. It had better gameplay, better weapons, better multiplayer support, better game options, and better environments. The fact that GoldenEye got it right first was its saving grace. But Perfect Dark did it better. There was no dull missions with mediocre environments. Everything had a fun sci-fi feel, with space ships and villas and cyberpunk buildings. The characters are more than blocky dolls (I said more than, I didn't say they weren't).
And weapons! Oh boy, GoldenEye doesn't hold a candle to these guns. You got auto-targeting uzis, guns that read a magazine cartridge like a scanner, guns disguised as laptops, guns that absorb little orbs for ammo, guns with exploding bullets, guns that shoot through walls with X-ray sniper sights, guns that turn into proximity mines, guns that fire thousands of razor blades per second, first-person view rockets, and sharks with frickin' laser beams on their heads. The only disappointment is the shotgun, which feels more like a firecracker popper. But my personal favorite was the tranquilizer gun. You could have a whole game where the goal was to fuck up your opponent to the point that all he sees is a red blur. And he eventually dies in a glorious drug-induced haze.
Only the people up on the video game world knew about Perfect Dark, and only they were able to enjoy it. Fortunately, my friend and I were of their ilk, and I don't think anyone appreciated the multiplayer aspect as much as us. With Deathmatch alone, each time we found a new way to play - new configuration of weapons or location that brought the game to life. I only regret we didn't play enough co-op. But the deathmatch was so customizable, you barely needed it. It gave us something we lonelyhearts sorely needed - bots.
GoldenEye succeeded because of its multiplayer, but if you're playing the game solo, you get nothing out of it. Bots made everything better, and they were so diverse - easy bots, hard bots, bots that were heavily shielded, bots that went for certain items, bots that tried to kill the strongest person, bots that sought vengeance, bots that camped, bots that ran like little bitches. You could transform the game into almost any big movie scenario (for example, combat boosts + the lobby = the Matrix).
The only thing the game was lacking was a little more blood, instead of paintball-like splotches on the uniform. But the game was already rated M - and it's not like we're playing Mortal Kombat with guns (hey, that gives me an idea).
This game should have been the next icon, like GoldenEye was. If GoldenEye was its own license, it could have become a Devil May Cry franchise. But Bond games have become some weird stealth/FPS game that I don't even know how you play it. It's a shame they haven't done more with Perfect Dark (the Perfect Dark Zero Xbox 360 launch game does not count, it did not capitalize on the name nearly enough). There's much potential in the Dark that has yet to be seen. Nintendo - pick it back up and do something on the Wii with it. It's not slayer science.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Sexual Identity != Identity
Oh, let's get controversial here for a minute. One of greatest hot button topics when trying to provoke a literary or philsophical discussion is sex. And why not? We all like to read about sex. Sex sells. Sex is great - its naughty and nice at the same time. And it's a surefire way to get people to pay attention.
But these days, it seems like sexuality is being thrown in there extraneously. It's gotten to the point where people are equating one's sexual identity to be their identity. I got started on this by reading this article, although it's a topic I've been thinking about for sometime. There are many real life examples of this (the flamboyant male homosexual) and non-real life (any movie where there are two guys = gay).
I'm getting tired of seeing characters defined by their sexual identity. If you ever read any behind-the-scenes on Watchmen, you'd know that Alan Moore gives everyone has some sort of weird sex thing. Comedian's a rapist. Silk Specter I is a rape victim, then gets some sort of Stockholm thing and has a kid with said rapist. Nite Owl can't get it up unless he's doing superhero stuff. Sally is supposed to be like a concubine to Dr. Manhattan, who is drifting further and further away from humanity (and thus, sex). Rorschach is the child of a whore, so who knows what's going on his mind.
There's even things that aren't overt. Some gothy looking chick who's in the "pre-Watchmen" is a lesbian and is later murdered for it. Ozymandias, the main villain, is supposed to be gay. Hooded Justice is supposed to be gay. Captain Metropolis is supposed to be gay (and Hooded Justice's lover). All this has nothing to do with the story, its just supplementary tidbits. But it totally changes the characters if you have this in mind. It turns the Watchmen into some home for sexual deviants. Alan Moore says he mentioned these things because he thinks part of identity includes sexual identity. That's true, but it's never at the forefront like this. Not saying characters can't be gay. But don't make it the character.
It's like the XKCD cartoon. First panel shows a guy screwing up a math problem on the chalkboard, and his buddy says "Wow, you suck at math". Next panel shows the exact same thing, only the person screwing it up is a girl. The buddy's response is "Wow, girls suck at math." We're never going to get equal rights for genders/sexual preferences, unless we stop putting everyone's sexuality out on the forefront. Because its obnoxious.
Sure, I have a sexual identity. Sure, it influences my decisions. But it's in the background. It doesn't rule my life. Not everything I do is based on sex. And no one knows my sexual preferences. They don't need to know. And we all get along fine. Imagine those gay guys who every other word involves some kind of innuendo. It's mostly on TV, I know/hope that most homosexuals aren't like that. But some are - that's why they have gay pride parades. It's not for civil rights. Marches for civil rights have been done, so I'd know if it was for civil rights. It's to show off.
I don't shove it to the forefront where everything I say and do is based on getting laid. Why? Because its rude, and it's not me. It's no one. And there are too many people trying to shove it in where it doesn't belong - both authors and critics. Let's not try to create lives that revolve around sex. Let's keep it in the bedroom, because privacy is a good thing. We need more privacy. Because lack of privacy affects both you and me, I say as I write my private thoughts on my public blog.
But these days, it seems like sexuality is being thrown in there extraneously. It's gotten to the point where people are equating one's sexual identity to be their identity. I got started on this by reading this article, although it's a topic I've been thinking about for sometime. There are many real life examples of this (the flamboyant male homosexual) and non-real life (any movie where there are two guys = gay).
I'm getting tired of seeing characters defined by their sexual identity. If you ever read any behind-the-scenes on Watchmen, you'd know that Alan Moore gives everyone has some sort of weird sex thing. Comedian's a rapist. Silk Specter I is a rape victim, then gets some sort of Stockholm thing and has a kid with said rapist. Nite Owl can't get it up unless he's doing superhero stuff. Sally is supposed to be like a concubine to Dr. Manhattan, who is drifting further and further away from humanity (and thus, sex). Rorschach is the child of a whore, so who knows what's going on his mind.
There's even things that aren't overt. Some gothy looking chick who's in the "pre-Watchmen" is a lesbian and is later murdered for it. Ozymandias, the main villain, is supposed to be gay. Hooded Justice is supposed to be gay. Captain Metropolis is supposed to be gay (and Hooded Justice's lover). All this has nothing to do with the story, its just supplementary tidbits. But it totally changes the characters if you have this in mind. It turns the Watchmen into some home for sexual deviants. Alan Moore says he mentioned these things because he thinks part of identity includes sexual identity. That's true, but it's never at the forefront like this. Not saying characters can't be gay. But don't make it the character.
It's like the XKCD cartoon. First panel shows a guy screwing up a math problem on the chalkboard, and his buddy says "Wow, you suck at math". Next panel shows the exact same thing, only the person screwing it up is a girl. The buddy's response is "Wow, girls suck at math." We're never going to get equal rights for genders/sexual preferences, unless we stop putting everyone's sexuality out on the forefront. Because its obnoxious.
Sure, I have a sexual identity. Sure, it influences my decisions. But it's in the background. It doesn't rule my life. Not everything I do is based on sex. And no one knows my sexual preferences. They don't need to know. And we all get along fine. Imagine those gay guys who every other word involves some kind of innuendo. It's mostly on TV, I know/hope that most homosexuals aren't like that. But some are - that's why they have gay pride parades. It's not for civil rights. Marches for civil rights have been done, so I'd know if it was for civil rights. It's to show off.
I don't shove it to the forefront where everything I say and do is based on getting laid. Why? Because its rude, and it's not me. It's no one. And there are too many people trying to shove it in where it doesn't belong - both authors and critics. Let's not try to create lives that revolve around sex. Let's keep it in the bedroom, because privacy is a good thing. We need more privacy. Because lack of privacy affects both you and me, I say as I write my private thoughts on my public blog.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
SFFWorld Debate
Interesting interaction I'm having in the SFFWorld forums lately. Here's a summary. Someone asked a question whether Clarkesworld actually was reading its submissions, because she was getting responses back unusually quickly. A prominent moderator, who seems to add her two cents to every single topic, responded with, what I thought, was a set of pollyanna-ish reasons why this wasn't so, all based on generalities and accepted truths.
I took a step back and said that they could also be, you know, lying. Cause humans can lie. Except Nigerian princes. I'm expecting my ROI back any minute now. I just wanted to play devil's advocate, just to make sure all the bases were covered. I didn't really think Clarkesworld was lying.
The response? Said moderator just went off on me, saying I thought "I was so important that they had to lie to me to make it easier", and that I had to "get over myself".
Jesus Christ lady, there was nothing in my post that said I thought I was so important that they had to lie to me. My point was that it's easier to lie than to invite complaints and arguments. Whose going to know? Not everyone's in the world is so moral. I think we've all conveniently "forgot" emails or responded with some short message, even when we knew the respondent was wrong. But no, you think I'm one of those whiny writers who can't take the fact who's slashing my dagger through forum after forum, decrying every rejection letter as a shit on my great piece of work. Lady, you don't know me, you don't know my writing, so why don't we keep to the fax and not start false evaluations. I'm all for judging, but let's judge on the evidence, not extrapolation.
You can read the thread here for the none of you that read this blog.
I took a step back and said that they could also be, you know, lying. Cause humans can lie. Except Nigerian princes. I'm expecting my ROI back any minute now. I just wanted to play devil's advocate, just to make sure all the bases were covered. I didn't really think Clarkesworld was lying.
The response? Said moderator just went off on me, saying I thought "I was so important that they had to lie to me to make it easier", and that I had to "get over myself".
Jesus Christ lady, there was nothing in my post that said I thought I was so important that they had to lie to me. My point was that it's easier to lie than to invite complaints and arguments. Whose going to know? Not everyone's in the world is so moral. I think we've all conveniently "forgot" emails or responded with some short message, even when we knew the respondent was wrong. But no, you think I'm one of those whiny writers who can't take the fact who's slashing my dagger through forum after forum, decrying every rejection letter as a shit on my great piece of work. Lady, you don't know me, you don't know my writing, so why don't we keep to the fax and not start false evaluations. I'm all for judging, but let's judge on the evidence, not extrapolation.
You can read the thread here for the none of you that read this blog.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
It Wasn't Me
Well, I've done something I said I would never do again. I was bored, and really, idle hands are the devil's playthings. It's not my fault, it's that I was waiting on everyone. I needed something to do. I was afraid I was going to lose my skill. I didn't want to get fat and lazy.
I started a fan fiction.
I'm not proud of it, but I finished Alien Boxing Story, and it needs to incubate. Now all my stories are waiting on critiques, being submitted, or (in the case of Mermaid Story) are waiting for extenuating circumstances (i.e., waiting for Black Hole Son to be complete). So where does that leave me? Well, Gun vs. Sword I've got plenty written on, but the story is still coming to me. It's hard to describe what's happening here, but it's a unique composing process that I've never tried and is coming quite naturally. I don't want to ruin it by interrupting it by starting to compose me.
And no ideas for other stories, so now what? Well, I figured I'd write something fun, something that lifts the pressure off getting published. I'm not spending a great deal of time with pre-writing (I already had a clump of ideas written down, and basic story structure), so I'm diving right into composing.
It's actually kind of fun. The writing comes fast and furious, the plot is developing naturally. It helps a great deal when you have the world already made for you. The only thing I'm worried about is that the tension is not high. It's a character development story. You're not going to find Shadow Creepers or Sephiroth here. So what are they doing? They're playing baseball.
A fan fiction with Final Fantasy VII characters playing baseball.
I just got to keep telling myself, "It's just an exercise."
I started a fan fiction.
I'm not proud of it, but I finished Alien Boxing Story, and it needs to incubate. Now all my stories are waiting on critiques, being submitted, or (in the case of Mermaid Story) are waiting for extenuating circumstances (i.e., waiting for Black Hole Son to be complete). So where does that leave me? Well, Gun vs. Sword I've got plenty written on, but the story is still coming to me. It's hard to describe what's happening here, but it's a unique composing process that I've never tried and is coming quite naturally. I don't want to ruin it by interrupting it by starting to compose me.
And no ideas for other stories, so now what? Well, I figured I'd write something fun, something that lifts the pressure off getting published. I'm not spending a great deal of time with pre-writing (I already had a clump of ideas written down, and basic story structure), so I'm diving right into composing.
It's actually kind of fun. The writing comes fast and furious, the plot is developing naturally. It helps a great deal when you have the world already made for you. The only thing I'm worried about is that the tension is not high. It's a character development story. You're not going to find Shadow Creepers or Sephiroth here. So what are they doing? They're playing baseball.
A fan fiction with Final Fantasy VII characters playing baseball.
I just got to keep telling myself, "It's just an exercise."
Friday, July 10, 2009
Video Game Memories #25: Vagrant Story
Vagrant Story (2000)
When I say "Vagrant Story", you say "weapons"! Ready? "Vagrant Story"! "WEAPONS"! "Vagrant Story"! "WEAPONS"!
Vagrant Story is an action RPG, meaning you sort of attack in real-time and sort of don't. Somewhere between Legend of Zelda and Final Fantasy VII, the truth lies. In reality, it's like Parasite Eve's system, but with less guns (unless you have a crossbow). You play as Ashley Riot, my award-winner for best badass this side of Rambo ("Reinforcements? I am the reinforcements."). You plunge into an abandoned city rich with history, wine cellars, and demon monsters. You're trying to find the duke's kidnapped son and pursue his effeminate kidnapper and "companion", while everyone else in the world tries to kill you.
Two aspects of the gameplay jump out at me. First, chain attacks. Every time you hit a monster you have the opportunity to add onto that attack that can do additional damage, heal you a bit, or some other minor effect. But that's only if you time it right. The cost for doing this is building up "risk" - the more risk you have, the less chance you have of hitting your enemy in the first place. I got so good at these timed attacks that I would be pounding on some little guy, not realizing that I was building up 100% risk while my enemy was long dead. The only way to get rid of risk is to wait till the meter goes down or take some rare items. I have to smirk when I remember that I actually had to stop myself from chaining attacks at some point.
The second is weapon building. The kind people of Mullenkamp saw fit to include several blacksmith shops around town, and you can take the numerous blades, hilts, shields, armor, and gems that monsters drop and spend hours recombining them to get some awesome shit. Each enemy has a type, an affinity, and probably some other attributes that make certain weapons better than others. Undeads don't like silver and dragons don't like piercing weapons and so on. But the best part is that you can name your weapon (probably so you can better distinguish what it's for). This is the best part, because then these weapons become your own. "Blood on the Moon" isn't just a silver dagger. When you pull out "Dragonslicer", you know you mean business. And it fits in with the norse/germanic environment.
Speaking of environment, this swanky place has got of style. First, all the characters speak with Shakespearean flair (I don't know how the JP localizers managed that). The main antagonist has metal arms who can summon monsters (reminds me a little of Full Metal Alchemist, come to think of it) thanks to the wicked tattoo on his back. Your supporting bad guys are religious knights templar, with a devotion to God that includes blood on the blade. Of whom the leader's girlfriend is a loopy psychic. Oh, and did I mention the main character has lost his memory and may or may not have killed his family? The skills you gain throughout the game are really his repressed memories coming forth.
But where do these characters fit in? Well, they fit into some sort of semi-medieval setting, but 90% of the game takes place in a city that was once the home of a magic-worshipping cult that was destroyed in an earthquake (or was it?). The city doesn't really look much like a city. It's more of a series of interconnecting rooms in a simple map, with each room named like "Surgeon's Keep" or "Flowing Towards Wine" that sounds like Tai Chi moves (aside: I'm amazed at the depth the developers went to fleshing out the world). The world is bleak, composed of more washed-out browns than a toddler's watercolor, but the play control helps keep it fun.
Beyond that, there's a lot of block puzzles, platform jumping, key finding, and button hitting. There are some cool enemy weapon drops, like the antagonist's sword, and the final sword that looks like a cross. To get that one, you have to go in and out of a room repeatedly, waiting for an enemy with this weapon to spawn. I did this, and the first time, it didn't take as long as I thought. Note that I said, "The first time", which does not bode well. Upon receiving this best sword, I thought, "well, before I save, I want to try this out on someone". So I moseyed on over to Asura, one of the optional bosses, thinking it would be easy now. Psych! Fail! I lost my sword, and this time it took three times as long to get it to spawn. I learned an important lesson that day.
I always said that if I was going to get a tattoo, I would get the rood inverse on my back - a symbol which figures prominently into the game, and looks like a celtic cross. Of course, that would look rather unsightly now, with the wife and kids. I think Vagrant Story is up there with my top 3 game environments that I would want to be in. Its high time someone made a sequel to this game.
When I say "Vagrant Story", you say "weapons"! Ready? "Vagrant Story"! "WEAPONS"! "Vagrant Story"! "WEAPONS"!
Vagrant Story is an action RPG, meaning you sort of attack in real-time and sort of don't. Somewhere between Legend of Zelda and Final Fantasy VII, the truth lies. In reality, it's like Parasite Eve's system, but with less guns (unless you have a crossbow). You play as Ashley Riot, my award-winner for best badass this side of Rambo ("Reinforcements? I am the reinforcements."). You plunge into an abandoned city rich with history, wine cellars, and demon monsters. You're trying to find the duke's kidnapped son and pursue his effeminate kidnapper and "companion", while everyone else in the world tries to kill you.
Two aspects of the gameplay jump out at me. First, chain attacks. Every time you hit a monster you have the opportunity to add onto that attack that can do additional damage, heal you a bit, or some other minor effect. But that's only if you time it right. The cost for doing this is building up "risk" - the more risk you have, the less chance you have of hitting your enemy in the first place. I got so good at these timed attacks that I would be pounding on some little guy, not realizing that I was building up 100% risk while my enemy was long dead. The only way to get rid of risk is to wait till the meter goes down or take some rare items. I have to smirk when I remember that I actually had to stop myself from chaining attacks at some point.
The second is weapon building. The kind people of Mullenkamp saw fit to include several blacksmith shops around town, and you can take the numerous blades, hilts, shields, armor, and gems that monsters drop and spend hours recombining them to get some awesome shit. Each enemy has a type, an affinity, and probably some other attributes that make certain weapons better than others. Undeads don't like silver and dragons don't like piercing weapons and so on. But the best part is that you can name your weapon (probably so you can better distinguish what it's for). This is the best part, because then these weapons become your own. "Blood on the Moon" isn't just a silver dagger. When you pull out "Dragonslicer", you know you mean business. And it fits in with the norse/germanic environment.
Speaking of environment, this swanky place has got of style. First, all the characters speak with Shakespearean flair (I don't know how the JP localizers managed that). The main antagonist has metal arms who can summon monsters (reminds me a little of Full Metal Alchemist, come to think of it) thanks to the wicked tattoo on his back. Your supporting bad guys are religious knights templar, with a devotion to God that includes blood on the blade. Of whom the leader's girlfriend is a loopy psychic. Oh, and did I mention the main character has lost his memory and may or may not have killed his family? The skills you gain throughout the game are really his repressed memories coming forth.
But where do these characters fit in? Well, they fit into some sort of semi-medieval setting, but 90% of the game takes place in a city that was once the home of a magic-worshipping cult that was destroyed in an earthquake (or was it?). The city doesn't really look much like a city. It's more of a series of interconnecting rooms in a simple map, with each room named like "Surgeon's Keep" or "Flowing Towards Wine" that sounds like Tai Chi moves (aside: I'm amazed at the depth the developers went to fleshing out the world). The world is bleak, composed of more washed-out browns than a toddler's watercolor, but the play control helps keep it fun.
Beyond that, there's a lot of block puzzles, platform jumping, key finding, and button hitting. There are some cool enemy weapon drops, like the antagonist's sword, and the final sword that looks like a cross. To get that one, you have to go in and out of a room repeatedly, waiting for an enemy with this weapon to spawn. I did this, and the first time, it didn't take as long as I thought. Note that I said, "The first time", which does not bode well. Upon receiving this best sword, I thought, "well, before I save, I want to try this out on someone". So I moseyed on over to Asura, one of the optional bosses, thinking it would be easy now. Psych! Fail! I lost my sword, and this time it took three times as long to get it to spawn. I learned an important lesson that day.
I always said that if I was going to get a tattoo, I would get the rood inverse on my back - a symbol which figures prominently into the game, and looks like a celtic cross. Of course, that would look rather unsightly now, with the wife and kids. I think Vagrant Story is up there with my top 3 game environments that I would want to be in. Its high time someone made a sequel to this game.
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