: A Post in the middle of the week?! What is this strange magic? :

[alwaysbeenasmiler]

Waxing nostaglic on video games--

See, video games were my first form of geekery growing up (well books was, but video games was that foray into the realm of JRPGs, which was intense in and of itself). Yeah, I watched anime but it wasn't as easy to get to in the early 90s and my exposure was what they had at Blockbuster video or on the Sci Fi channel for the Japanimation week which happened sometime in August every year, so since it wasn't readily available, I enjoyed it when I was able to get my paws on it, but I didn't outwardly pursue it-- my options were severely limited when I was 13/14.

But then I was introduced to JRPGs in the form of FFIV-- (well III back in the 90s-- if only I still had that box cover with Mog being a badass on the front) and I was absolutely hooked-- it was the Opera Scene that did it for me (the first scene that I watched, and I was watching it because the kid I babysat was playing through it and I was like "Wow, this is the coolest thing I've ever seen"-- (coincidentally that scene gave me a glimpse into two of my three favorite characters in FFIV, Ultros and Setzer.) And then it was on, I had to have the game-- I had to have a Super Nintendo. I saved up my babysitting money for two weeks (I had a 10 hour a day Babysitting job, yeah-- the Super Nintendo pretty much only took me two weeks to save up for). Then I pretty much spent the entire summer playing it, only to culminate with me beating the game on my birthday, staying up all night to plow my way through Kefka's Tower-- first game I ever beat (I'm not counting Aladdin on the Sega Genesis, though beating that game was how I proved to the kids I babysat that I had some street cred, once I beat that game for them, they thought I was the 'coolest babysitter ever'.)

That started my love for JRPGs, and then it was like-- I just couldn't get enough.

FFII
Chrono Trigger
FFVII
Suikoden
Xenogears
the list goes on and on-- if it was available and was an RPG, I would play it. That is the reason why I have so MANY video game icons. Because playing video games gave me an escape in a way that anime couldn't-- it was like the fine line between books and video games, where I could become part of the story, either through reading or playing the game. (I like anime, but I've always been a bit choosy about anime, the story has to hit me just right-- the characters have to be engaging enough that I don't feel that itch to do something else)

Now I remember playing Tales of Destiny (I actually rented that game at a supermarket, back when grocery stores had a little video game rental section) and liking the game but being a bit daunted by the battle system, which is the reason why I never really picked up any of the Tales series-- until around 2010-2011 when Tales of Vesperia came out, and then suddenly I was hooked-- and had to play EVERY TALES GAME SINCE THEN.. hell now I usually preorder the COLLECTORS EDITION because I am a nerd warrior like that.

I've gotten into a few western RPGs, like Dragon Age-- but I really like the charm of JRPGs, of going on a Bracer Mission with Estelle Bright, of the silliness that is the Ultros, as you are fighting him while going down the Lete river on a raft, of being hit with the Tales fan favorite attack of 'pow hammer!'. Not to say that JRPGs don't handle darker themes, they do-- all the games touch on weighty matters as well-- matters that help you make sense of your own personal viewpoint of the world-- Xenogears was like a revelation to me, touching upon religious matters that I only thought about in the darkest part of my mind, and then there was Tactic's message, 'blame god or blame yourself'-- which taught me about personal accountability for one's own actions.

I've started Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel (and played a little bit of Trails in the Sky SC-- enough to barely make it out of the Kaldia Tunnel Monster with Agate alive, thanks Agate for being the most resilient of ALL my characters.) and I wonder, who will my favorite characters be? What lesson will I take away from it? Who can say? but I'm going to have fun in the process!

Hopefully y'alls week is going well!

Stay cool!

Comments

[breyzyyin]

JRPGs will always hold a very special place in my heart as being some of my first forays into the world of gaming, and I still have so many of them that I enjoy playing or look back on fondly. ♥ I loved this post for reminding me of why I so enjoy JRPGs and RPGs in general, thank you for sharing it with us. ♥

And I sincerely hope that you will enjoy your time playing LoH: Trails of Cold Steel...Breyzy and I had a blast with it when all was said and done, and I will definitely be looking forward to seeing your thoughts on the game later! ♥

[lunadelcorvo]

This is wonderful! As an RPG geek myself (starting with books, too, and then tabletop D&D), I have never been exposed to much anime until recently. My son, oddly, got me into SAO, Attack on Titan, Seven Deadly Sins, et. al. But I have never played FF; maybe that's one I need to pick up... (now that we finally have a PS).

[alwaysbeenasmiler]

I would definitely recommend it, or Tales-- Tales games are very easy-- they are pretty much button smash, and the character development is amazing, but then games like FFXV are also really good! But you can't go wrong with a classic like VII!

[dorchadas]

This is kind of similar to what happened to me. I owned an NES but not an SNES, so I played computer WRPGs until university(the Fallouts, Baldur's Gate I + II, Betrayal at Krondor, Dark Sun: Shattered Lands, Castle of the Winds, etc.). I think the only JRPG I played before then was Final Fantasy I, but then my university friends (and emulators) introduced me to the games that I had missed and I got sucked in. I still remember getting every character every spell in the Fanatics' Tower.

Nowadays JRPGs seem to get a lot of hate for having limited interactions, but there's something extra-immersive about living through a story rather than just passively experiencing it. I'll watch TV occasionally, and sometimes anime, but video games are my real passion.

[alwaysbeenasmiler]

I think that it all depends-- a lot of RPGs really hand the stuff to a player on a silver player (they certainly will never understand the struggle of playing the first RPG for the original PS, "Beyond the Beyond" and all of the grueling hours of slogging through a dungeon to only gain like a half a level-- that stuff right there was what certain games now call "Nightmare mode"), but the classic RPGs have a lot of character development, it is a trait that I've only really seen in the Legend of Heroes series as well as the Tales series, though FFXV did have pretty decent levels of development too with the party interactions.

[dorchadas]

I guess I got lucky with picking up JRPGs after a decade-long hiatus with Trails in the Sky, then!

Though I own a bunch of Tales games on Steam, I just haven't gotten around to them yet...

[alwaysbeenasmiler]

I couldn't resist temptation and I started Trails of Cold Steel-- and woohoo, a game that makes me like fishing! This is a new development!

[dorchadas]

And I went and bought the Trails in the Sky OST!

What's the fishing like? Is it a timing-based minigame, or?

[alwaysbeenasmiler]

The fishing is like, you press a button when the character has an exclamation mark over their head and then you have to press the four main playstation vita buttons when it tells you to-- or else the bar goes into the red zone, and you have to repeatedly hit those buttons. You get points for what you catch and then you can trade those points in for items, some of them rare I suppose. It's really fun, it has me keeping an eye on fishing spots (of course you can fish only so many times before the pond empties and you have to wait for it to refill again :( )

[dorchadas]

Huh, that makes it sound kind of like DDR. It does sound fun...

[singloom]

Sweetest, softest spot in my heart for RPGs. I love a wide variety of video games, but my fondest memories are always in those kinds of worlds in games like Final Fantasy, Tales Of, Golden Sun and much more. They draw you in, you get attached to worlds and the characters in them and they stay with you.

Especially the music.

[dorchadas]

Agree 100%! To this day, RPG game music is probably half of what I listen to to.

[star_healer]

I also grew up playing Japanese RPGs and watching what anime I could get my hands on. Lots of nostalgia. :)

[pockycrusader]

I think FF6 was my introduction to the series as well. I got it on the Gameboy Color back when that was a big thing. I couldn't believe it used to be an SNES game.

[alwaysbeenasmiler]

Oh yes, that was the beauty of it-- the Gameboy color took some of the best lines out of it, like Kefka's "Son of a Submariner" line-- and there was the translation done I think by Todd Woolsey, well it was Woolsey something-- I even have a game guide that he wrote for it back when the game guides were not all pictures, but sometimes text-- definitely the written version of a game faq that was then sold at Software Etc

[divinemusings]

I love JRPGs so much more than stuff like Dragon Age. I find the characters and storyline just aren't developed the same way. Part of it is the gameplay too. I just don't like the battle system for Dragon Age. I do better when I can pause and look at the stats and think before choosing an action rather than running around away from bad guys until I can regain my health, lol.

[rocket_to_neptune]

I've only played a handful of video games, honestly, for two reasons: I either have too short an attention span, or I can become intensely addicted. I usually just avoid it for the most part. Ha. But FFVII, and FFVIII are two I got into back in the day. I was also super into the Game Boy Color Pokemon games. Haha.

[lassarina]

Technically 4 was my first, but I got lost (being 8), so I think of 6 as my first, too. My dad had played it and left a save at the Opera to show me. It will always be my favorite.

Really, I think, a lot of it is that I love the intensity of story - something like Dragon Age seems to lose a little, for me, because they have to accommodate the player's different choices. It's possible, of course, to write very strongly - but it takes so much more effort, which multiplies as you go on.

[alwaysbeenasmiler]

I played FF4 too-- but I had been young and didn't totally understand it or where to go. It was with FF6 that my mind just clicked it into place--- to which point, it was the opening of a door.

I like Dragon Age and some of the western RPGs are really good, but for me-- it's a different style of game, a different feeling being invoked-- where as western RPGs usually draw on either history or pop culture, JRPGs usually are totally within the realm of fantasy and that is what appeals to me-- with FF4, you got a wonderful realm, filled with different places, and then there was also a GIANT FLYING WHALE.. and space!

There's really no limits there.

[traitortoheaven]

JRPGs being the fine line between books and video games, that feeling like I could become part of the stories... that's why I like them, too. :3

I haven't played as many as I would like, though. Especially in recent years. Getting motivation has been really hard. :c

[naine]

I've resigned myself to saying Tales is my favorite series, even though *technically* I've only liked the plots of Vesperia and Xillia 2. But like you I need to play them ALL. And they are always fun to play no matter what.

[alwaysbeenasmiler]

Yeah they are-- and I am not gonna lie--- the skit sequences are my favorite part of any tales games!

(also: I think my favorite was Graces-- but I also am really liking Beseria!)