Game Journal: Handhelds Are RPG Machines!

Just as a quick refresher, I've been playing a lot of Sacred 2: Fallen Angel and The Last Remnant lately. But, there are a couple handheld RPGs I'd like to check out. In fact one of them - Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride - is on its way to my mailbox right now.

I often get tired of playing a game on my DS or PSP, I must admit. Sometimes its a strain on my eyes or my neck. I get to the point of just wanting to sit on my couch and play my Xbox or PS3. And that tends to be what I do. The only portable game in recent memory that I actually completed was Chrono Trigger for the DS a couple months ago. I have the bad habit of playing through a game until I get bored of it being on a handheld, then I go play something else. Note, I don't necessarily get bored of the game itself, its just something about handhelds that is an obstruction for me to finish games.

Anyway, I can't say these two incoming games will change that, but I definitely want to try them anyway. I should get used to the fact that many of the best JRPGs recently have been of the portable gaming variety - and that's not a bad thing!

I'll have to write my review of Sacred 2, but after that I'm going to be working through a couple portable games, the one I mentioned above and Crimson Gem Saga, the latest JRPG to hit the PSP.

Game Journal: A Better WRPG

Lately I've been playing Sacred 2: Fallen Angel. To be honest, this is my first experience with a 3rd person, top-down RPG. Overall, I'm enjoying it. Its very addicting, just beating up countless enemies with my powerful High Elf spells. For good reason, quite a few people on various forums that I read are comparing it to Oblivion. Granted, Oblivion is a first-person RPG and Sacred 2 is more of a Diablo-esque RPG. Still, many similarities exist - large, open world, hundreds of side quests, excellent character attribute customization, great visuals, etc.

Still...there's something missing. A lot of things, actually. Not to focus on Sacred 2 too much, as I will be writing a review of it soon, but I'd like to point out some things, as far as the Western RPG philosophy goes, that I think could use improvement.

• Set the game in a fully 3D, 3rd person world, with animated character models for all camera angles and viewpoints. This is one thing I disliked about Oblivion - you had a 3rd person view, but the character models were horribly animated and the controls were clunky. [Yes, I do indeed realize Oblivion is a first-person game, but in my theoretical RPG, you'd have options that would appeal to everyone.]
• Massive character aesthetic customization. Sacred 2 locks you in to specific class/race/gender combos - if you want to play a High Elf, you have to be a mage and you have to be female, if you want to play a Shadow Warrior you have to be male, etc.
• Allow "respecs" for skills and abilities, much like a typical MMO. Mistakes are made, you should have more choices besides 1) live with them for the rest of the character's life or 2) reroll.
• Massive, open world where you can walk anywhere - through forests, rough terrain, desert, jungle, swamp, mountains, etc. Perhaps including different possibly harmful or debilitating status conditions for more extreme terrain. I dislike being able to walk up to a wooded area but not being able to run through it in some games.
  

These four things alone are hugely important, in my opinion, anyway. For the most part, what I dislike about Sacred 2 is the camera. I guess I'm just not a top-down RPG person, even though I really try! But, the other parts of the game are addicting and keep me playing.

What I would love is, one day, for there to be an RPG that encompasses all these different aspects to near perfection, but I have serious doubts that will ever come to pass.

Post of the Day: 5.16.2009

Its a slow day. I.E. I can't find much else - Sacred 2 bug fixes needed. I'm playing this right now, so it caught my attention. ;)