Content Updates – September

Greetings and Happy September!

August is officially coming to a close, and I’m hoping everyone enjoyed my articles about story mechanics.

For September, things may ramp down a bit in terms of content, but I do have something special planned either way. I have put together a themed set of “The Five” lists that talk about games with interesting combat systems.

On top of that, the plan is to review another game, and put out some generic “The Five” lists as well.

As always, I am open to suggestions for content, but know that I have some great ideas for some articles for October!

See you all soon!!

 

 

Playthrough Journal – Digimon World Data Squad Part 9

Play Time: 13 Hours, 58 Minutes
Average Party Level: 31

The Story So Far

Lucemon has been found! Deep within the Ice Labyrinth, Marcus and the gang have found the Cho-Mao Digimon and its “tamer”. After a fierce battle, Lucemon is weakened. What seemed like a victory for DATS changed when Lucemon absorbs the final code key and grew even more powerful. The Dark Area has now expanded throughout the Digital World, and our heroes must fight their way through in the hopes of defeating Lucemon and restoring balance to the Digital World.

Thoughts

The Ice Labyrinth was nothing more than a maze. No puzzles or tricks. Just find your way through and fight some enemies along the way. It didn’t really take me all that long to get through this area, but I will admit that the fight with Lucemon was a bit of a slog. He was incredibly fast, taking a turn in between each party member’s turns. Thankfully, I had Lalamon set to Angewomon, which gave me a fantastic healing skill. ShineGreymon was my big hitter, with Pandamon doing some decent hits in between support skills.

While I think that the combat is fairly easy at times, the strategy that can be involved is really interesting. If some more work was done refining battles, it would have been a much better battle system. It’s still fun, don’t get me wrong. There are just some major tweaks that I feel were needed before releasing the game.

Next area is shaping up to be the final area. Tune in next week for the exciting conclusion!

PS: I mentioned before that I was going to do some of the side missions before doing this post. I looked into what they entail, and they are simply boss fights that allow you to get some other Digimon forms. Most of them don’t really appeal to me, so I am going to go straight for the end at this point. For those of you who are interested, some of the side digimon include Darkdramon and BanchoLeomon. I can also fight Yushima’s Digimon, Kamemon and his evolved forms. Don’t let my lack of interest in these side quests deter you from going for them. They are cool looking Digimon, but I like what I’ve got right now.

The Five – Games With Visuals Ahead of Their Time

RPGs tend to try an impress with a great set of visuals. This can be using fully rendered cut scenes, or just taking the entirety of their game and trying something new either graphically or artistically. In the earlier years of gaming, Visual enhancements weren’t as common, but when a game nailed it, they really nailed it. Here are five games that really created a visual splendor during their time.

Review – Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars

Developer: SquareSoft/Nintendo
Platform: Super Ninteno Entertainment System
Genre: Turn-Based RPG
Release Date: May 13^th, 1996

Premise

A giant sword has appeared from the sky and struck Bowser’s Keep, sending Mario, Toadstool, and Bowser in separate directions. Mario, determined to rescue his beloved Princess, sets out on a journey through the Mushroom Kingdom. During his travels, he encounters the Smithy Gang, who are bent on taking over. Mario must defeat the Smithy gang, and repair the damaged Star Road along the way.

Check out my review after the break!

Playthrough Journal – Digimon World Data Squad Part 8

Play Time: 12 Hours, 38 Minutes
Average Party Level: 30

The Story So Far

After being joined by Yuma and Renamon, DATS heads to save the city from the onslaught of rampaging Digimon. After finding Creepymon in the park, Marcus and Agumon finally defeat him. It is revealed that Creepymon was actually a former DATS member named Nitta, and all he wanted to do was see his daughter again. Unfortunately, Nitta was possessed for too long, and his body degrades right before his daughter’s eyes. The team’s moment of grief was put on hold when we learn that Nitta had already given his code key to the enemy. With Lucemon close to revival, it’s time for our team to prepare for the final battle.

The Five – Recurring RPG characters

With different series of games, developers tend to come up with interesting ways to bring characters back, sometimes for more than one installment of the series. Regardless of whether or not they’re playable, these characters help shape the game universe, and adding a certain level of familiarity. Below are five characters that have shown up more than twice in their respective franchises.

My Five below!

Story Mechanics: NPCs That Go Above and Beyond

Some of the core mechanics of building an RPG world typically includes a system of shops, inns, and other ways for the player to stock up on items, upgrade your gear, and recover from a long day of travel or questing. To accommodate this, NPCs are developed that serve those functions. Sometimes, these NPCs go above and beyond their assigned role, and are given their own back story, adding depth to the NPC, as well as the world you are playing in itself. This storytelling mechanic can be used to add content to your gameplay, or just spice up the story. It’s something I would love to see in more RPGs in the future.

Find out what I mean below!

Playthrough Journal – Digimon World Data Squad Part 7

Play Time: 11 Hours, 9 Minutes
Average Party Level: 26

The Story So Far

Hot on the trails of the final code key, DATS fights their way through a broken digital forest to find Creepymon. Marcus is bent on revenge, but before he could land a final blow, a tear into the human world appears, allowing Creepymon and several other Digimon to cross over. The city is being destroyed, and it’s up to DATS to find Creepymon and beat him once and for all.

The Five – RPG Mascots

There are many things that game franchises or series’ are known for. Whether it’s epic stories, fantastic gameplay or stunning visuals, you have a reason to remember that series. What’s more, many different franchises have their own mascots that make a series easily identifiable. Here are my five favorite mascots in RPG games.

See the five below!

Storytelling Mechanics Part 2 – Multiple Endings

Last week, we talked about the use and effectiveness of a silent protagonist as a story mechanic in RPG gaming. My examples showed how it can be made into a very positive experience for the player. This week, the storytelling method I want to talk about is kind of a mixed bag, filled with pros and cons.

Find out what it is after the break!