[Nosferatu5]

You guys really don't get the point of the ZP reviews do ya?

Anyway, Pathologic is awesome. It's a very deep, philosophical but extremely obscure Russian game. Look it up.

[Patch]

I'll come back later.

No wait!
Don't go...
We need you...


Okay, amaze me. What's the point of ZP videos?

I have a question about JRPG's. That's Japenese Role Playing Game, right? Well I strangely enough don't feel like I'm playing a role when the character is nothing like me or my fantasy self and all interaction with NPC's is the same conversation, no matter how many times I play through.

It seems less like playing a role and more like... reading a book. Except I have to make the book myself. And then I can go do extra sidequests/chapters if I want. And then the credits is labelled 'About the author'. The only things I'm really in control of is the details, like time, equipment and specifics on spells.

No, no thankyou. Give me a european or american RPG anyday, where I can actually play a role.

[Gobbler]

Rrrright, as if you really could do that in any computer game. That's what Pen & Paper is for.

But please tell me if I'm wrong there, I'd like to see those "good" RPGs, seriously.

All I can think of is stuff like Fallout, Oblivion, Albion, Stalker and other games where you always end up as "the hero" and never really have that much of a choice. Conversations can usually be played through in good, evil or neutral mode, but ultimately your actions don't really affect anything important. Freedom of choice boils down to "do the quest or don't" and "befriend these guys or don't".

[joshofalltrades]

You guys really don't get the point of the ZP reviews do ya?

When Yahtzee states on his blog that he's trying to break out of his gaming rut a little bit to see if he's missing anything in genres he generally blows off, then it's not necessarily about his ZP videos, is it?

[Game Over]

When Yahtzee states on his blog that he's trying to break out of his gaming rut a little bit to see if he's missing anything in genres he generally blows off, then it's not necessarily about his ZP videos, is it?

Makes sense.

[Patch]

Let's see if I can summarise what I had down...

Games are about giving you entertainment, filling out a boyish (or girlish) fantasy or providing a challenge. I always found JRPG's don't do any of that for me.

Entertainment - It's repetitive combat + random encounters = painful etc.
Boyish Fantasy - It's not me, or who I wish I was, or who I want to control.
Challenge - GRIND FTW
One more thing, you don't really have to strategically position fighters. Tank at top, mage at bottom.

Whereas I play something like Baldur's Gate which I'm currently playing through...
Entertainment - Small fights get repetitive but the encounters aren't random and can be avoided
Boyish Fantasy - Cool, I design my own character
Challenge - Need to use strategy, rolls make fights more random.
Got to actually direct your people, can maneouver them to some extent.

Also, I'll mention replayability. How many different teams can you use in a JRPG? You usually only pick the best.

Just a note: I would have used Neverwinter Nights, but the first one is team-unfriendly and too slow for me to get into and the second one has a crappy user interface.

[razym]

I think Persona 3: FES and Persona 4 are the best JRPGs ever made for the PS2 (and so do many reviewers), and that says a lot (there were a LOT in the... 10 years or so that a PS2 has had decent to great games)

We all know that ZP really doesn't "do" RPGs too much, so this may be a good chance to actually see it happen.

Yahtzee, you hear me? Review them!

This post has been edited by razym: 29 April 2009 - 06:33 PM

[David-kyo]

He doesn't hear you, and even if he did, he wouldn't care anyway.

[Evil_Digimon]

I highly doubt any game would convince him to like a genre, just maybe that particular game.

For JRPGs, I could only honestly recommend Chrono Trigger, mostly because it makes fun of other JRPG cliches and some characters are Genre Savvy now and then.

As for fighting games, probably only Guilty Gear XX, since from all the fighting games I've played, this one is the only one that rewards skill over mashing. Well... there's Virtua Fighter too, but I always found it boring... Scarlet Weather Rhapsody has an interesting fighting system, but I doubt Yahtzee would even consider touching it.

I can't recommend any sports game other than Tiny Toon Allstars.

This post has been edited by Evil_Digimon: 30 April 2009 - 04:42 AM

[Maggot4Life]

Rrrright, as if you really could do that in any computer game. That's what Pen & Paper is for.

But please tell me if I'm wrong there, I'd like to see those "good" RPGs, seriously.

All I can think of is stuff like Fallout, Oblivion, Albion, Stalker and other games where you always end up as "the hero" and never really have that much of a choice. Conversations can usually be played through in good, evil or neutral mode, but ultimately your actions don't really affect anything important. Freedom of choice boils down to "do the quest or don't" and "befriend these guys or don't".

What about Fable? I actually haven't played alot of fable but from what I've seen and heard, it is very thorough in its karma system thing.

[David-kyo]

No, it's very basic and retarded. Killing undead, giving everything to charity etc. gives you goody points, while going on a killing spree or vandalizing stuff gives you evil points and that's it. You can be a ruthless, selfish bastard during your missions and still be praised as a saint if you regularly woo the citizens with your farting prowess, as Yahtzee said.

[reiner]

On the strategic part of things, I have a soft spot for SRPGs (which tend to be in the JRPG field). I think what draws me in is the fact that every play through can be a unique experience if you favor to vary your tactics. There are multiple ways to play. Adding this bit of illusion of freedom can be liberating.

Persona 3/4 were quite interesting, though. Even though it is fairly linear, it doesn't feel like your stuck doing anything a particular way.

On Fable, David is correct. It can be fun in a quirky way but both tites suffer from the fact that it's very generic. No matter what choices you make or what you do, your goal is always the same and your characters actually progresses to the same template.

[Friend]

Persona are linear, very japanese and half dating sim. But they manage to tell an actual, proper story which trumps most modern videogames something fierce.

The sad part is that they're twice as long as your average human lifespan, so I doubt Zero Punctuation is going to be touching them anytime soon.

[Game Over]

Why do some RPGs fall in the line of 'either be a God loving saint or be a complete asshole'?

Can someone tell me what the Persona series is about? I am afraid to go to Wikipedia.
Is it about teenagers, emos and suicide? Maybe I'll gather enough courage to watch a playthrough.

[reiner]

Why do some RPGs fall in the line of 'either be a God loving saint or be a complete asshole'?

Can someone tell me what the Persona series is about? I am afraid to go to Wikipedia.
Is it about teenagers, emos and suicide? Maybe I'll gather enough courage to watch a playthrough.

Hah... hahhaa... oh wow. Uh... yeah actually it is.



That's just a surface assessment. It's got some neat game concepts in it and the characters actually develop some personality.

This post has been edited by reiner: 02 May 2009 - 11:43 AM