A Game Journal Reborn

[Aeolus]

Professor Layton: The Unwound Future
=  I love the old and new faces, and I love how the series often redeems or explains its villain (is that a spoiler?  Every game in the series does it!)

I hate how Level 5 tries to pull this off because its always stupid, always a low effort at cheap melodrama, and they always try to shoehorn it in their work. Dark Cloud 2 had it, White Knight Chronicles had it, Gundam AGE had it, Dragon Quests VIII & IX kinda have it (VIII less so due to Level 5 not being in complete control of that one), and if I were more familiar with any other instance of their own work, I'd probably be listing them here as well.

[Elegance]

Professor Layton: The Unwound Future
=  I love the old and new faces, and I love how the series often redeems or explains its villain (is that a spoiler?  Every game in the series does it!)

I hate how Level 5 tries to pull this off because its always stupid, always a low effort at cheap melodrama, and they always try to shoehorn it in their work. Dark Cloud 2 had it, White Knight Chronicles had it, Gundam AGE had it, Dragon Quests VIII & IX kinda have it (VIII less so due to Level 5 not being in complete control of that one), and if I were more familiar with any other instance of their own work, I'd probably be listing them here as well.

Are you referring to Professor Layton or just their other games?   I find that the PL series does an outstanding job with it.

[Dice]

= Shit.  Is that it?  Azran is the last Layton-centric title?  Because I don't really like Level-5's current direction, and Layton was one of the few things that made me care.  And with the big bag off ass "Layton 7" looks like (even if that is just a temp title), I'm not looking forward to where my puzzle games are heading.  I might just jump onto Prof Layton X Phoenix Wright (despite it's rather luke-warm reviews) or Layton Brothers instead (a series I'm surprised they haven't made any further announcements for despite the potential).

I would prefer Level-5 to go back to their roots instead (another Dark Cloud or Rogue Galaxy would be nice).  I love Layton, but I think a break from the series is a necessary breather.

I don't mind Layton's chapter being over as much as I mind...whatever the hell was happening in that YouTube video I linked in my post.  If the series wanted to continue with Alfendi and the Layton Brothers, that could work I guess.  That, and I just naturally get bitter against mobile gaming as anything more than a "quick play" while I'm sitting on Public Transit (or sitting on the toilet).
I agree about taking a breather, otherwise you get the "Capcom Plague" that ruins the "special" in a lot of their series'.

But yeah, the fact we haven't seen a new Dark Cloud is extremely depressing (given their current skill and assets, I think they could make a truly amazing title based on the DC premise/concept).  I wasn't crazy for Rogue Galaxy, but I'd welcome another.  I admire their approach, but I don't feel like their concepts are particularly riveting these days, or love to play things very safe for a "general audience".

Professor Layton: The Unwound Future
=  I love the old and new faces, and I love how the series often redeems or explains its villain (is that a spoiler?  Every game in the series does it!)

I hate how Level 5 tries to pull this off because its always stupid, always a low effort at cheap melodrama, and they always try to shoehorn it in their work. Dark Cloud 2 had it, White Knight Chronicles had it, Gundam AGE had it, Dragon Quests VIII & IX kinda have it (VIII less so due to Level 5 not being in complete control of that one), and if I were more familiar with any other instance of their own work, I'd probably be listing them here as well.

Given the type of game Proffesor Layton is, I don't really mind it here (Layton is a "gentleman", not Guy Ritchie's version of Sherlock Holmes x).  I think it's sweet they emphasize catharsis > revenge.  But it goes with my earlier point that it feels like the company has become so goddamn friendly that they've avoided anything too "dark" into their games.  Which is admirable, but I feel they're kind of stale right now, and daresay, "kiddy" for it.

[Elegance]

Given the type of game Proffesor Layton is, I don't really mind it here (Layton is a "gentleman", not Guy Ritchie's version of Sherlock Holmes x).  I think it's sweet they emphasize catharsis > revenge.  But it goes with my earlier point that it feels like the company has become so goddamn friendly that they've avoided anything too "dark" into their games.  Which is admirable, but I feel they're kind of stale right now, and daresay, "kiddy" for it.

PL vs PW is supposed to be darker than Ace Attorney has ever been (obviously darker than PL then), so look forward to that I guess.

[Blace]

I am getting pretty annoyed at Blitzball. I destroy everything in my path with ease, but I cannot get the right prizes to show up at all. So stupid.

[Dice]

I am getting pretty annoyed at Blitzball. I destroy everything in my path with ease, but I cannot get the right prizes to show up at all. So stupid.

Call it Jizzball for a giggle.
Soft reset baby.

[MeshGearFox]

Headcanon: Blitzballs are just the giant sperms of Sin.

Wasn't one of the blitzballs a turnip?

[Klutz64]

I think I'm playing Tales of Xillia very wrong. I'm level 60 at Helioborg Fortress in Chapter 4 and have yet to be able to use Mystic Artes.

[Aeolus]

= Shit.  Is that it?  Azran is the last Layton-centric title?  Because I don't really like Level-5's current direction, and Layton was one of the few things that made me care.  And with the big bag off ass "Layton 7" looks like (even if that is just a temp title), I'm not looking forward to where my puzzle games are heading.  I might just jump onto Prof Layton X Phoenix Wright (despite it's rather luke-warm reviews) or Layton Brothers instead (a series I'm surprised they haven't made any further announcements for despite the potential).

I would prefer Level-5 to go back to their roots instead (another Dark Cloud or Rogue Galaxy would be nice).  I love Layton, but I think a break from the series is a necessary breather.

I don't mind Layton's chapter being over as much as I mind...whatever the hell was happening in that YouTube video I linked in my post.  If the series wanted to continue with Alfendi and the Layton Brothers, that could work I guess.  That, and I just naturally get bitter against mobile gaming as anything more than a "quick play" while I'm sitting on Public Transit (or sitting on the toilet).
I agree about taking a breather, otherwise you get the "Capcom Plague" that ruins the "special" in a lot of their series'.

But yeah, the fact we haven't seen a new Dark Cloud is extremely depressing (given their current skill and assets, I think they could make a truly amazing title based on the DC premise/concept).  I wasn't crazy for Rogue Galaxy, but I'd welcome another.  I admire their approach, but I don't feel like their concepts are particularly riveting these days, or love to play things very safe for a "general audience".

Professor Layton: The Unwound Future
=  I love the old and new faces, and I love how the series often redeems or explains its villain (is that a spoiler?  Every game in the series does it!)

I hate how Level 5 tries to pull this off because its always stupid, always a low effort at cheap melodrama, and they always try to shoehorn it in their work. Dark Cloud 2 had it, White Knight Chronicles had it, Gundam AGE had it, Dragon Quests VIII & IX kinda have it (VIII less so due to Level 5 not being in complete control of that one), and if I were more familiar with any other instance of their own work, I'd probably be listing them here as well.

Given the type of game Proffesor Layton is, I don't really mind it here (Layton is a "gentleman", not Guy Ritchie's version of Sherlock Holmes x).  I think it's sweet they emphasize catharsis > revenge.  But it goes with my earlier point that it feels like the company has become so goddamn friendly that they've avoided anything too "dark" into their games.  Which is admirable, but I feel they're kind of stale right now, and daresay, "kiddy" for it.

Their primary demographic has always consisted of people who'd shout "Kamehameha!" at the top of their lungs during recess or building cardboard box forts in their backyard with a magic marker sign reading "No Girls Allowed!" masking-taped to the top of it. What happened to Level 5 was Dark Cloud's Georama being a neat thing back when neat things were still possible on a console (remember how Dark Cloud 1 was billed as a Zelda Killer), getting tapped out to work on Dragon Quest 8 in place of the previous developers, Sony naming White Knight Chronicles as a primary Playstation only franchise (effectively turning Level 5 into a second party developer), and Professor Layton/Izuna Eleven.

Basically, they've always been overhyped as hell and its been slowly catching up to them.


Anyways, FFX. Done with the backtracking for now and am about to ride an elephant up a river. A couple of thoughts....
A) This is really where the game actually begins. You can't really backtrack until after Djose Temple, you get the Summoner's Soul from the second Aeon fight, and soon enough Seven will finally join, along with Mixing and Weapon/Armor Customization. I guess this also means that the game will be far less willing to throw free items at you now that you can just steal/craft what you need.
B) The game is really parsimonious with the amount of gil you generate per battle. Unfortunately, I don't recall this ever getting better.
C) The encounter rate is the reason why a playthrough of this game takes so long. Its Phantasy Star 2 levels bad. (Just as I remember it.) At least it offsets the lack of funds issue above (in one sense).
D) Enemy encounters are fairly boring all things considered since each area only has one enemy per character gimmick, plus a general HP sponge to make some fights drag far more than they should.
And E) There aren't a lot of female Blitzball players in general (at least not at Scout Level 1 or pre-signed to an existing team).

[Dice]

Their primary demographic has always consisted of people who'd shout "Kamehameha!" at the top of their lungs during recess or building cardboard box forts in their backyard with a magic marker sign reading "No Girls Allowed!" masking-taped to the top of it. What happened to Level 5 was Dark Cloud's Georama being a neat thing back when neat things were still possible on a console (remember how Dark Cloud 1 was billed as a Zelda Killer), getting tapped out to work on Dragon Quest 8 in place of the previous developers, Sony naming White Knight Chronicles as a primary Playstation only franchise (effectively turning Level 5 into a second party developer), and Professor Layton/Izuna Eleven.

Anyways, FFX. Done with the backtracking for now and am about to ride an elephant up a river. A couple of thoughts....
A) This is really where the game actually begins. You can't really backtrack until after Djose Temple, you get the Summoner's Soul from the second Aeon fight, and soon enough Seven will finally join, along with Mixing and Weapon/Armor Customization. I guess this also means that the game will be far less willing to throw free items at you now that you can just steal/craft what you need.
B) The game is really parsimonious with the amount of gil you generate per battle. Unfortunately, I don't recall this ever getting better.
C) The encounter rate is the reason why a playthrough of this game takes so long. Its Phantasy Star 2 levels bad. (Just as I remember it.) At least it offsets the lack of funds issue above (in one sense).
D) Enemy encounters are fairly boring all things considered since each area only has one enemy per character gimmick, plus a general HP sponge to make some fights drag far more than they should.
And E) There aren't a lot of female Blitzball players in general (at least not at Scout Level 1 or pre-signed to an existing team).

OH MAN!  I remember DC I being called "the New Zelda".  Kinda hilarious now.
I'm not too sold on Level-5 being for kids.  Some difficulty spikes prove otherwise (Layton and Ni no Kuni is oddly pulled between having you play in an adult game while the rest of it feels so fucking "gradeschool-like" it hurts).

To your FFX stuffs
A) I agree.  The kiddy stuff is dropped and you become a man!!!  Sort of.  I dunno, that battle gimmick of using the "best player" against the "proper enemy" schtick honestly goes on forever.  Besides the boss battles, FFX is seriously about its endgame, the whole pilgramage is filling you in.
B) I dunno, do you find yourself buying that much stuff?  The game loves making you grind (money) and you barely need to buy a thing since you get Esuna and Heal and Life pretty early on and NPCs and enemies are otherwise generous in what items they throw at you.  But again, the endgame is when you'll get angry because every important item becomes rare and most gil just goes to Yojimbo if you play the game that way.
C) I'm not doing any goddamn sidequest till I can get No Encounters on. 
F**k.  That.
D) Sorta covered that
E) I still think it's important to take a moment to appreciate that there is an actual co-ed national--- rather --- WORLD-level sport. 

[Tomara]

I think I'm playing Tales of Xillia very wrong. I'm level 60 at Helioborg Fortress in Chapter 4 and have yet to be able to use Mystic Artes.

Don't worry about. The Mystic Artes in Xillia suck, even the ones enemies throw at you. My Milla actually absorbed a fire based one, which made me feel like the badguy!

[Aeolus]

OH MAN!  I remember DC I being called "the New Zelda".  Kinda hilarious now.
I'm not too sold on Level-5 being for kids.  Some difficulty spikes prove otherwise (Layton and Ni no Kuni is oddly pulled between having you play in an adult game while the rest of it feels so fucking "gradeschool-like" it hurts).

Well that's the thing, they're not really good at it.

I mean, consider Yokai Watch, Little Battlers, Izuna Eleven, Ni no Kuni, the fact that your party in WKC eventually becomes a Super Sentai team (i.e. Power Rangers), and so on. They all have young, preteen male leads (except WKCs which only has a protagonist with the mental capacity of an eight year old), with gimmicky powers (a watch, mecha action figures, "SUPER ULTRA BURNING DELUXE MACH KICK MARK II TURBO KIIIIICCCKKK!!!", a Book of Spellings, a giant robot activated with a "Henshin-a-Gogo Baby!" sequence), fun lovable companions (ghost cat, probably the same mecha action figure as I don't know, the rest of the team, that cockney doll, that mute custom avatar you made to fill cutscene space with/for the lousy MMO part of the game), a rival (again don't know, probably that other guy with his red limited edition custom action figure, team rival, you'll probably have to fill me in on this one, the Black Knight (no not that one, the other one)), possibly a magical anime female companion to stand there in the background and swoon over him (or to do all the work while getting nothing but occasionally kidnapped; provided there is a female around to begin with) (the female PC?, a cheerleader in the background?, more cheerleaders, the blonde girl party member, the princess/the pink haired party member), and of course a dastardly villain (who probably got abandoned or something and thus has turned E-VIL!) (don't know, don't know, eventually aliens, White Witch/that other guy, an evil emperor).

As far as I'm aware, all of their games (save for maybe the first Prof. Layton game) follow this Saturday Morning Cartoons formula almost to the letter.

Also parental abandonment issues. There's always somebody in their games who's parents either up and left them or died (yeah, I know, common trope) but that person will always make an issue of their abandonment without fail (especially if that's their only characterization as they were unrepentantly evil half a minute ago or something).

[Holykael1]

Their primary demographic has always consisted of people who'd shout "Kamehameha!" at the top of their lungs during recess or building cardboard box forts in their backyard with a magic marker sign reading "No Girls Allowed!" masking-taped to the top of it. What happened to Level 5 was Dark Cloud's Georama being a neat thing back when neat things were still possible on a console (remember how Dark Cloud 1 was billed as a Zelda Killer), getting tapped out to work on Dragon Quest 8 in place of the previous developers, Sony naming White Knight Chronicles as a primary Playstation only franchise (effectively turning Level 5 into a second party developer), and Professor Layton/Izuna Eleven.

Did you pull this info out of your ass?
Im just messing with you but how the hell do you even come up with these "statistics" xD?

[Andrew]

An aside: Can anyone recommend an exploration focused-game with a Myst-like feel to it? In the mood for playing in a world I can explore, but with a notebook and pen by my side as I discover things and take notes for potential puzzles. No/limited combat would be good. Just an adventure.

[Tomara]

It's a really short game (like 2-3 hours long), but I enjoyed The Starship Damrey. It's an adventure game that doesn't bother with tutorials and lets you figure things out yourself. Most puzzles are pretty basic, but it's all about exploring the spaceship and figuring out what the hell happened there. It's very lightweight compared to Myst, but it should atleast keep you entertained for an evening or two. It's available in de 3DS and on sale like half of the time. Hope that helps.