My PS1/PS2 game march... uh... marches... on. I've polished off two, and am on a third. The quick hits:
1. Alundra -- Yawnfest. Probably a decent action RPG when it came out, but pretty generic in many ways.
2. Xenogears -- I was actually playing the PS2 sequel, Xenosaga I, which I was _loving_ before finding out my disc had an unrecoverrable read error. So I jumped back to this one while awaiting a new Xenosaga disc. You can tell this was pretty epic when it came out, but after having played so many games that have come out since this hit, and because it has no nostalgic value to me, I found it generic and bland. Too many super-repetitive random encounters, too much wandering aimlessly to chat to every generic NPC, a generic protagonist, meh. I'm sure the story get very good later on (reviews say as much), but after about 7 hours, I'm bored... So this one is gone.
3. Vagrant Story -- This action RPG shows a lot of promise. I _love_ the production values so far. It features a lot of what I loved about FF VII -- constantly changing camera angles, great use of short in-game scenes to keep you engaged and immersed, and just a lot of nice visual touches from the stylish speach bubbles and text overs to the great music. So I'm keeping with this.
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Meanwhile, back on Earth...
Played, and "finished", Demon's Souls. Meh. I reviewed it, gave it an 8, and have moved on. I liked it, and I have really loved other recent hard dungeon crawlers (e.g. Etrian Odyssey I & II on the Nintendo DS), but this one just stayed in "frustrating mode" for me. For about 5 hours, I was pretty hooked, trying to figure the strategies to play through. But just the constant restarting, occasionally getting too flippant on lesser bad guys and losing AGAIN, not being able to really level up until you've finished a HARD AS$ BOSS, I was done.
Playing Uncharted 2 now, and liking it. It's definitely a "great as a sum of its parts" game. The presentation (visuals, audio, overall directing, animation) are all fantastic, but I find the game elements to be good, but nothing special. That said, all put together so attractively, it's definitely one I'll finish.
Finished Professor Layton and The Diabolical Box today. Very good game if you like adventure/puzzlers. Nice ending, even if a bit over the top. Next DS game to finish is Witch's Tale, which is visually terrific, has a great overall presentation but is ultimately a very easy and fluffy JRPG. Likely won't finish it, but it's a light and airy ride for now.
Dragon Age: Origins looms on the near horizon... Can't wait! Okay, I can, and will, but... uh... I'm a Western RPG player at heart, though I do like some of the more intricate and unique JRPGs.
Stupid Sony... how can I be so loyal to you when you seem so short-sighted? I am a proud, happy PSP owner. I installed "custom firmware", and have been plowing through my PSOne JRPGs on the system with some glee -- not all of them work, but most do, and it's a sublime experience. I played FF VII through on it, am now playing Alundra.
The Go is a step "backwards" -- no custom firmware (at least not initially) -- no battery replacement by users (and thus I lose 2 hours of battery time over my extended battery in my 2001) -- no UMD -- no memory stick duo (does have a respectable 16GB onboard, tho) -- Sigh.
I really wanted to play the new Disgaea 2, so I bought it. UMD, natch, because there isn't a digital release. The UMD will not run on custom firmware. I cannot play Disgaea 2. So... so... so I did the unthinkable, and updated to official firmware. Now I'll be playing my PS1 titles on my PS2 only, because there's currently no easy method to backtrack the system back to custom firmware. Mind you, I do NOT run custom firmware to pirate titles -- I own everything I put on it in physical form. I want to be legit. Sony makes it hard.
Sony, please PLEASE work out the digital distro --
1. Give us ALL titles at release in digital form. I'm no lover of UMDs, but they do have the advantage of item 2 below...
2. Give us digital download RENTALS -- there's been talk that Sony is figuring this out. Having versions of downloads that timeout. Without being able to rent titles before buying them (I use Gamefly to do so now), I won't rent, so I will buy a LOT fewer titles that I would've tried and then bought via rental.
3. Please coerce the publishers into releasing more downloadable PSOne titles! Most PSOne games run flawlessly on the PSP w/ custom firmware using Sony's own emulator. C'mon Sony...
Imagine a world with a $179 Go, full back catalog of PSP and PSOne titles available for download... I'd actually be all over that.
I want to buy new Sony product. I want to support Sony. Why do they make it so hard?
Being primarily a PC gamer, but ultimately gaming agnostic (I own all the platforms), I completely missed the PS2. Completely. My first time even touching a PS2 was my PS3. I also love RPGs, but had only played western RPGs (Baldur's Gate, Planescape: Torment, Might and Magic VI, Elder Scrolls, etc.). So upong getting a Nintendo DS, I "discovered" Japanese RPGs. While I don't love them quite as much as Western, I do enjoy them, and so I was bitten. I joined Goozex, and through that site and Amazon/eBay amassed a ridiculous 30+ PS2 RPGs with the intent of playing them on my PS3.
Well, as time passed, I find myself playing on my laptop, DS and PSP. Why? Because I like to hang out w/ my wife while she reads or watches TV, etc. So I play things I can play in an armchair. Slowly, the ghosts of those PS2 RPGs ate at my soul... So I did something silly: bought a used PS2 slim and a snap-on 8" LCD screen for it. Now I will be able to sit in the armchair and play through those PS2 JRPGs. SAH-weet!
Here's the slate of titles in my collection, in no particular order:
Alundra (PS1)
FF VIII (PS1)
FF IX (PS1)
FF X
FF XII
FF X-2
Odin Sphere
Radiata Stories
Okage, Shadow King
Suikoden III
Suikoden V
Arc The Lad: End of Darkness
Arc The Lad: Twilight of Spirits
SMT Nocturne
SMT: Digital Devil Saga I
SMT: Digital Devil Saga II
SMT: Devil Summoner
SMT: Devil Summoner 2
Dark Cloud
Kingdom Hearts
Kingdom Hearts 2
Kingdom Hearts: Re: Chain of Memories
Shadow of The Colossus
Rogue Galaxy
Valkyrie Profile 2 Silmera
Xenosaga I
Xenosaga II
Xenosaga III
Fatal Frame II
Gladius
Star Ocean Til The End of Time
Grandia III
Champions Return to Arms
Champions of Norrath
Grim Grimoire
Soul Nomad and The World Eater
Okami
Dual Hearts
Shadow Hearts
Shadow Hearts Covenant
Shadow Hearts: From The New World
Dragon Quest VIII
Wild Arms 3
Wild Arms 4
Wild Arms 5
Wild Arms Alter Code F
Makai Kingdom
Baroque
Wizardry: Tale of The Forsaken Land
Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana
Atelier Iris 2
Atelier Iris 3
Shining Force Neo
Ico
Tales of The Abyss
Tales of Legendia
Growlancer: Generations
Dark Cloud 2
Metal Gear Solid 3
Yeah, this adds up to a schload of time, but realistically, it won't be horrible. I find I get tired of a lot of JRPGs in 10-20 hours. I seriously doubt I'll play all 100 hours of Suikoden III, for example, unless I'm absolutely hooked.
Anyway... wow... good times, good times. And all this with Alpha Protocol, Persona PSP, Mass Effect 2, etc. on the horizon.
