RPGFan Mailbag - Reverie - October 14, 2005

Reverie
October 14, 2005

Man, remember last time when I said this was a slow period in gaming? Well, that apparently goes for people sending in letters, too. :P Of course, I have a feeling there were several letters lost in the spam flood, but I've got the cure for that...but that can wait till the end of this thing. :P
I hope you've all been keeping yourselves busy with all the gaming goodness that's come out lately. I know I have. Things started out wonderfully a few weeks ago, when I managed to score a copy of Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne for a stupidly low price. I wish I had gotten this game earlier, because it is absolutely wonderful. Not much plot to speak of so far, but it's insanely fun. And insanely hard, but that's okay. :P
Of course, I got a little sidetracked by another release, one that I've been looking forward to for months: Digital Devil Saga 2. If you've read the past, oh, twenty Mailbag editions, you already know how much I love the original. This sequel is better. Seriously better. I don't know if it's worth a 99% score or not, but it's definitely up there. :P I'm not really digging the music this time around (more guitar, damn you!), but that's my only real quibble with things.
And of course, there's the game I picked up only yesterday: Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow. Yet again, this is another well-built game by the braintrust at Konami. But as much as I'm enjoying it, I think I'm getting tired of the whole Metroidesque vibe. Hopefully the upcoming console Castlevania will be a much needed breath of fresh air for the series.

Well, now that I've bored you to tears with this long winded intro, I guess we can get to the letters. :P

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Topic of the Moment

E-mail Daniel, unless you're a scammer from Nigeria.

Oh God, not the A word.

Dear RPG FAN,

In regard to this new Xenosaga Episode, is there any info yet on if the voice actors of the original (e1) will return? I really really hated the new voices of the 2nd game. I've read that for the most part the battle style will head back to the Xenogear and E1 days, but I'd still what the voices to come back too. To me, the only thing E2 had going for it was action pack movie scenes. Which is good, because the first was the reverse of that (action pack battles that were easy to master, while the 2nd had a hard battle system with many action packed cutscenes). Do you think due to complaints of the dull realistic character designs of 2 that they were forced to go back to the kick ass anime style?

A loyal RPG Fan...Fan,
Kokayi Nia Uhuru Newsome

I sincerely doubt that voice work is even a blip on the radar at this point in time. They've got other things on their minds right now...like figuring out how they can possibly wrap up every single loose end in the overall plot within a single game. :P
But I'm glad you mentioned the new character designs, because it gives me a chance to vent.
I hate them.
I really hate them.
I was a huge fan of Episode Two's character designs. Realism is always a plus for me, especially when it replaces the goggled-eyed anime style. I cannot stand anything that smacks of Japanese animation. While it wasn't a complete step away from your standard, stereotypical anime style (there's only so much you can do when one of your main characters has pink hair, after all), I thought it was a step in the right direction.
Apparently I'm the only person in the world who thinks that.
You can imagine my reaction when I saw the new designs. I mean, look at Shion. To go from a normal, practical outfit to something like that is absurd. Not only does it look ignorant, but it doesn't exactly fit the character's persona. But no, you gotta meet that T&A quota, right? And we can't forget KOS-MOS, can we? At least everyone's favorite sexbot didn't have a personality to wreck.
This catering to the lowest common denominator that you see so often these days is pathetic. When I see this retarded "fan service", it makes me wonder why I still play games. Then a game like Digital Devil Saga comes along and reminds me why. No T&A (okay, maybe Jinana qualifies :P), no low-brow humor, just a beautifully made game crafted for older gamers such as myself.

Yeah, I could rant on this forever, but there are other letters to get to. :P

I bet you won't find it for $30 like I did. :P

Okay I'm confused. After this I'll probably look like an idiot but oh well. Okay I LOVED Digital Devil Saga and am going to get the sequal as soon as I can. But I can't find anything about Shin Megami Tensei Nocturne. I looked on the EBgames site and couldn't find it. I know it won best RPG but it feels kind of elusive. So because I loved DDS should I try to hunt this one down or is it worth letting go? THank you!

It is absolutely worth getting. But you have to keep in mind that it isn't all that similar to DDS. They're two entirely different beasts. DDS has a far stronger focus on character interaction and story. Nocturne's focus is on combat. Very difficult combat, at that. If you go in thinking you can plow through enemies like you can on DDS, you'll be in for a rude awakening. :P

As you've already gathered, it's hard to find. I always hate to suggest eBay, but that's the only real option for you at the moment. Just be wary and don't let those fools stick it to you.

And now, something obvious.

DIGITAL DEVIL SAGA IS AWESOME!!! I'M GLAD YOU KEPT MENTIONING IT SO OFTEN.

Yes, yes it is. :P

...Man, I wish I got more letters like this one. :P

Short, but not sweet at all.

a/s/l?! ur revuw of digidevisagi (lol! ^__^) was aweosme!!!!!!! <3 :DDDD
~_^

Would you believe that the person who sent this in was on the short list of potential fan art head candidates? I guess the powers that be were enjoying the company bong when they added his name to the list.

Why yes, the company bong IS green and black. I can't imagine how you guessed that. :P

Closing Thoughts

Well, there goes yet another mailbag. I had almost forgotten how to do one. :P

NOW LISTEN UP, FOLKS

Due to spam overtaking the old Mailbag account, we've got a new one. Make sure you send all future letters to the address listed beside my lovely name. But still, you should make sure your subject lines are clear and contain the phrase [RPGFan] in it somewhere. If not, it will probably be banished to the ether, and no one wants that. :P

Until we meet again.

~ Daniel Stringer (mailbag@rpgfan.com)


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