2-HeadedGiraffe: Dragon Warrior II AKA Just Add Water
I had a huge post here about Dragon Warrior II, a game I recently completed for the first time, and somehow, my browser decided to take me back to a previously viewed window and the post is no more. But here's the jist of it:
Challenge: This game is more challenging than almost anything I've played recently, with a couple notable exceptions. Some of that challenge comes from difficult encounters, such as the five-boss gauntlet at the end. The first time I got to the final boss, I had enough magic points left for about one healing spell. That's not enough. There are also some interesting mazes and what feels like a large world to explore. The downside to this is a lot of challenge also comes from insufficient or difficult to find clues and enemies with instant death spells that hit often enough to sometimes feel completely unfair. Newer games would be well-advised to become more difficult like classic ones, as long as the difficulty comes from the right sources.
Balance: You have three characters in Dragon Warrior II: the hero (you can name him), Talint, and Gwen. The Hero is physically strong with no magic, Gwen is magically strong with low physical strength, and Talint is "balanced." Really, he's a weak attacker and doesn't get as good spells as Gwen. Also, he's the only character that learns Revive, but he's usually the first to die. So if he dies, he's hard to bring back on the spot, and he's just useful enough that you care. If the hero dies, some enemies are just about impossible, especially if they're strong against magic. Gwen's the best healer. Basically, if any one character dies, the party will often die, either in that same fight or before they can get back to town. A bit of balance (both spellcasters learning Revive, for example) would have helped with this issue.
Progress: The original Dragon Warrior had one character, who only ever fought one enemy at a time. There were essentially two plot points in the whole game: rescue the princess and slay the Dragonlord. I've heard you don't even have to rescue the princess to win, though she gives you an item that really helps you in finding another very important item. The sequel had three heroes, up to seven or eight or so monsters at once, a world about four times the size, somewhat more plot, etc. With some games today, the sequel feels just like the first one (see Grand Theft Auto III and its various versions, for example). Make progress, games. Expand. Alter. Don't stagnate.
That's probably most of what I had said. Overall, I was very pleased with the game, which I probably should have played years ago. Now I'm on the third one in the series, which so far compares very nicely.
Mood: Excited
Music: Los Del Rio - Macarena
Etc: Banner of the Stars
I had a huge post here about Dragon Warrior II, a game I recently completed for the first time, and somehow, my browser decided to take me back to a previously viewed window and the post is no more. But here's the jist of it:
Challenge: This game is more challenging than almost anything I've played recently, with a couple notable exceptions. Some of that challenge comes from difficult encounters, such as the five-boss gauntlet at the end. The first time I got to the final boss, I had enough magic points left for about one healing spell. That's not enough. There are also some interesting mazes and what feels like a large world to explore. The downside to this is a lot of challenge also comes from insufficient or difficult to find clues and enemies with instant death spells that hit often enough to sometimes feel completely unfair. Newer games would be well-advised to become more difficult like classic ones, as long as the difficulty comes from the right sources.
Balance: You have three characters in Dragon Warrior II: the hero (you can name him), Talint, and Gwen. The Hero is physically strong with no magic, Gwen is magically strong with low physical strength, and Talint is "balanced." Really, he's a weak attacker and doesn't get as good spells as Gwen. Also, he's the only character that learns Revive, but he's usually the first to die. So if he dies, he's hard to bring back on the spot, and he's just useful enough that you care. If the hero dies, some enemies are just about impossible, especially if they're strong against magic. Gwen's the best healer. Basically, if any one character dies, the party will often die, either in that same fight or before they can get back to town. A bit of balance (both spellcasters learning Revive, for example) would have helped with this issue.
Progress: The original Dragon Warrior had one character, who only ever fought one enemy at a time. There were essentially two plot points in the whole game: rescue the princess and slay the Dragonlord. I've heard you don't even have to rescue the princess to win, though she gives you an item that really helps you in finding another very important item. The sequel had three heroes, up to seven or eight or so monsters at once, a world about four times the size, somewhat more plot, etc. With some games today, the sequel feels just like the first one (see Grand Theft Auto III and its various versions, for example). Make progress, games. Expand. Alter. Don't stagnate.
That's probably most of what I had said. Overall, I was very pleased with the game, which I probably should have played years ago. Now I'm on the third one in the series, which so far compares very nicely.
Mood: Excited
Music: Los Del Rio - Macarena
Etc: Banner of the Stars
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Sounds like my last performance review.
"With some games today, the sequel feels just like the first one (see Grand Theft Auto III and its various versions, for example)."
GTA:VC and GTA:SA aren't really sequels, but the same game with a few changes. Look at the difference between GTA II and GTA III. The trailer for GTA IV (out yesterday) doesn't really show whether it will be a vast departure from GTA III or not.