Week 8: Final Fantasy

Possibly the most famous of RPG games, Final Fantasy made its debut in 1987.  With a fairly intricate story (especially for its time) and a variety of foes to fight, the game was a commercial and critical success.  Since then, it has produced a multitude of sequels, merchandise, and cultural references that have cemented its place in video gaming history.

In the first one, the story follows four brave travelers as they set out to save a Princess and save the world from imminent doom.  The unique part about Final Fantasy was that the player can choose the class of all four characters.  The options for these classes are Fighter, Red Mage, White Mage, Black Mage, Thief, or Black Belt.  Through the battling of monsters and the traveling of the various lands, which were three continents in total, the warriors need to defeat the Four Fiends of the Elements and, ultimately, Chaos.  

Because this is a game that involves leveling up and gaining experience, it is one that requires a large investment of time.  In order to even match the monsters that come later, a player needs to fight all of the lower-level monsters and buy all of the necessary equipment.  It is very unlikely that a player will be knowledgable enough about the game to do this on their first try, so the player must also have the patience to fail a few times first.

I enjoyed the game as a groundbreaking RPG, but I doubt that I would have the patience or even interest to finish the game entirely.  There were elements that I did find amusing, though.  After my first few tries at the game, I decided that having a majority of Fighters was advantageous for the early stages of the game.  Because of that, my favorite combination was 3 Fighters and 1 White Mage, who I used primarily as a healer.  However, the thing that put the biggest smile on my face was my White Mage getting a critical hit of "3 Damage".  Another humorous aspect of the game was that it cost more gold to purchase chain mail for one of the Fighters than it was to resurrect them.  Perhaps in this fictional world, it is easier to bring people back from the dead.

The impact that Final Fantasy has had on the RPG genre of gaming is clearly evident; in a way, this game took what "River City Ransom" had done and simply made it more engaging.  Probably because of this, Final Fantasy has become a legend within the gaming community, and I highly doubt that their reign of sequels has ended.

Batman: Arkham City

Vigilante of Gotham becomes Savior of Arkham City

Before Arkham City is even mentioned, I believe that it is important to examine the character of Batman and his potential as a video game character.  Batman is notorious for being matched up against and with super heroes, but not being "super" or really even a true "hero". Simply put, he is a well-trained, well-equipped vigilante that parades around in a bat mask, but in reality, Batman represents much more than that.  He has experienced trauma on a deep level; he responds to this by bashing in the brains of any evildoer that he finds and by brooding a lot.  In the ranking of fictional characters, Batman would be most likely be labeled as an "elite badass" (2nd only to Tyler Durden's position as "ultimate badass").  Also, Batman fights his enemies through a combination of advanced fighting skills, state-of-the-art technology, and stealth.  As long as the game developers use these facets well, Batman represents the nearly ideal candidate for a video game main character.

To make a long story short, the designers of Arkham City used the character of Batman, the characters from the comics/movies, and the mechanics of the game very well.  The play area is enormous, reportedly five times larger than the previous installment "Batman: Arkham Asylum".  More than that, though, it authentically feels like a universe in which Batman would be the nighttime ruler.  The city is ominous, dark, and best of all, open.  It gives Batman the opportunity to spread his wings and soar across the skyline of the city, striking fear into the villains below.  The setting is completed by the various gangs that inhabit the city.  The designers took great care to make each section seem unique for each gang.  For example, the area that belongs to the Joker has more silly and demented themes and artwork while the area that belongs to Two-Face is more crude.  This allows the player to become further into the story behind the game.

The fighting style that the game employed was superb.  There were a variety of takedowns that the player could use depending on the situation, but for the most part, it was the simplicity of the style that made it so effective.  If multiple players were attacking Batman, then the player would most likely alternate between timing the attack of the "X" button and using the "Y" button, which is used for blocking the enemy's attack.  Other examples of attacks that can be used within the game are a silent takedown (sneaking up on an enemy), a double takedown (sneaking up on two enemies and bashing their heads together), a ground takedown (after beating an enemy to the ground, delivering a knockout punch), and many others.  The video below is a good representative of how smoothly the game's fighting sequences can flow.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUe31IQgdDM

The wide arsenal of characters was certainly not a detractor.  Among the more prominent ones were the Joker, Dr. Hugo Strange,  the Penguin, Ra's al Ghul, Catwoman, Mr. Freeze, and Bane.  Some were involved in side missions while others were a large part of the main storyline.  Another wonderful addition to the game were the voices of Batman and the Joker: Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill respectively.  These actors, especially Mark Hamill, helped bring a reality to the animated characters in a way that would have been difficult for anyone else.

Mark Hamill, who played Luke Skywalker and provided the voice of the Joker.
Hmm... a lightsaber-wielding Joker.  That's a scary thought.

While all of these things were really cool additions to a solid game, the driving force was the main story.  I specified the main story because there were a myriad of side missions within the game that involved other storylines.  The main storyline begins with Dr. Hugo Strange throwing Batman into Arkham City and revealing that he knows Batman's true identity.  After this, Batman is forced into fighting an array of villains before facing the Joker.  Before this, the player has learned through Batman that Joker has become ill with a terminal disease.  The Joker tried to cure it by using Titan formula supplied by Bane, but it only mutated the disease and made it worse.  In order to enlist Batman's help, the Joker tricked Batman and gave him a bit of the Joker's blood.  After that, Batman began looking for a cure so that they could both survive.

The intriguing part about this storyline is that it offered a deeper examination of the relationship between Batman and the Joker, which was already one of the most complex relationships within the comic book world.  The entire story was riddled with amusing interactions between the characters, captivating developments and battles, and even a few surprising turns.  By the time that the story had concluded, I was stunned by the magnitude of it, but also deeply sad that it was over.  I suppose that is exactly the reaction that the game developers want.

Arkham City is one of the best all-around games that I have ever played.  I am a little biased because I already have an appreciation for Batman and a preference for open-world games, but even still, it is difficult to find any kind of criticism against the game.  If anything, I object against the game's depiction of women.  Almost all of the women within the game are very weak characters or overly sexualized.  For a strong example, see the picture below:

She must be quite toasty in all of that skin-tight clothing.

Other than that unnecessary appeal to teenage boys, it was sincerely a privilege to play a game of this scale.

Week 7: Double Dragon, River City Ransom

Double Dragon


When a game begins with the player's girlfriend being punched in the stomach by the bad guy, you know immediately that you're playing a one-of-a-kind game.  Almost immediately after beginning to play, I was reminded with fondness of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle game that I once played at Chuck E. Cheese's.  The games had strong similarities, even outside of both having fascinating storylines.  Both are side-scrolling, fighting games that incorporate different types of enemies and environments.  In fact, other than some minor additions in TMNT, there is really only one major difference between the two: Double Dragon came first.


A game that produces sequels can generally be interpreted as a successful game.  Once that is understood, the examination can be focused on why that particular game was successful.  In the case of Double Dragon, it was primarily the innovation and layout of the game that piqued the consumer's interest.  Double Dragon was not the first side-scrolling fighting game to be developed, but it was among the first.  Its quality was distinguishable from the others as well as other aspects that were involved in the game.  For instance, Double Dragon used a highly interactive environment such as usable weapons to use and ladders to climb.  This offered more variety to gamers, and as Atari so readily demonstrated, games that are supposed to be different need to have noticeable differences if companies expect consumers to purchase those games.  Double Dragon was able to accomplish this by offering more interactive gameplay.


Of course, there are points in Double Dragon that can be infuriating.  Once the main character is knocked down to the ground by an upper-level boss, it can seem impossible to prevent the boss from forcing the character back to the ground.  After all, because it is essentially a specialized computer system, it is programmed to know, to the exact millisecond, when the character will be standing upright and vulnerable.  However, with small points like that being put aside, the game is an enjoyable challenge.






River City Ransom


The theme for this week seemed to be side-scrolling, fighting games.  River City Ransom certainly fits that description, but it would be folly to say that represents the game in its entirety.  It actually could be said that River City Ransom has some qualities of which Double Dragon is nearly devoid.  

The cast of Jershey Shore contributed to the design of the bad guys.

The most prominent of these qualities is the RPG (Role Playing Game) feature.  In River City Ransom, the player is able to purchase different items that will essentially "Level up" their character.  The items may boost up the player's HP, strength, or other traits, but the uniqueness lies in the player's ability to choose.  This gives the player more control of the game and the path that the game will take, which is something that players tend to cherish in video games.


Another interesting quality about River City Ransom is the humor within it.  There were the names of the gangs like The Frat Boys, The Jocks, and (my personal favorite) The Generic Dudes.  More subtle uses of humor were the coins that would pop up from a enemy's body once they were defeated.  This spot of humor in particular was actually used in "Scott Pilgrim vs. The World".  The unique blend of humor, along with the RPG format, has kept this game recognizable by today's gamers and even lifted it to the lofty status of cult classic.  

Week 6: The Legend of Zelda, Ninja Gaiden

The Legend of Zelda


Behind nearly every noteworthy accomplishment is a noteworthy story; with Zelda, it is no different.  Designer Miyamoto, who is now a living legend in the gaming community (and somewhat outside of it), was inspired to create Legend of Zelda by his excursions to the wilderness as a child.  It was through those adventures that he found a love in exploration and discovery.  Ultimately, Legend of Zelda encompasses those principles.  Yes, there is some fighting and a fairly original plot within the game, but it is the revolutionary concept of open-world exploring that makes the Legend of Zelda memorable.  Also, the game gains brownie points in my book for being named after the wife of F. Scott Fitzgerald, an author I admire.

F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald. As the photo illustrates, the 1920's were a much happier time period.

While it is true that exploring the game is the central focus of the game, I initially found it difficult to fight the monsters.  The control-pattern was different than the one with which I was accustomed, so the first 5 minutes consisted of me repetitious pattern of me dying and restarting the game, dying and restarting the game, dying....


However, once I had a fairly firm grasp on the controls, my enjoyment of the game escalated quickly.  Miyamoto did an excellent job, especially for the time period, of creating a universe that belonged solely to Legend of Zelda.  It had a "feel" to it that was fun and certainly unique.  The wilderness in Zelda is varying depending on the region, as well as the monsters that inhabit those regions.  The most interesting monster that I encountered was a bow-firing centaur, and it was guarding a white sword.  I was only able to find the centaur and the white sword by watching a video tutorial, and I had been playing the game for about an hour and a half before resorting to the tutorial.  As I said, the universe is quite big.


This game houses many other secrets, such as the ability to gain extra hearts, which are akin to the health bars that most games use today, and other surprises.  Zelda has truly become a "Legend", and because of this game, I greatly look forward to FINALLY trying out Ocarina of Time in the near future.


Here is another video; this one does not poke fun at anything in Zelda, but instead just introduces an amusing concept.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OydCKdKlbM

Ninja Gaiden: Wicked, wicked game

This week seemed to be the week of innovation in gaming.  Ninja Gaiden helped introduce a few concepts within the early games with the most notable one being the cutaway scenes.  These scenes are responsible for creating the story behind Ninja Gaiden.  I might add the music definitely added to the dramatic intensity of the game; indeed, it was difficult to play without moving my body in rhythm to the techno concoction.

Other than those innovating concepts, I could not really enjoy this game.  The sad part is that I recognize that I would enjoy it more if I were playing it on the console.  A PC using an emulator is not the optimal choice when playing a difficult or fast-paced game simply because the system is not built for that purpose.  In some instances, it seemed as though a combination of either acrobatic maneuvers or fighting patterns were nearly impossible to accomplish on the emulator.  It is comforting, though, that I understand that it was the emulator, not the game, that caused the frustration.  Because of that, I may give Ninja Gaiden another chance (but only on a console) if ever I get the chance.

Week 5: Contra, Mega Man 2

Contra


Forty (or more) tries later, I was able to get to the end of the first level.  Then, I was faced with a giant turret that sent a steady stream of laser blasts at my Schwarzenegger-lookalike.  After ten tries of this, I pushed my computer aside and officially rage-quitted the game.  


When the older generation of gamers states that they are more willing to struggle with a challenge, I readily believe it.  Part of it goes to their credit, but at the same time, I can not help but laugh at the ridiculousness of some of these game's difficulties.  A older gamer would toil for hours at a seemingly impossible challenge while my generation would more likely yawn and adopt the classic "TLDR" attitude.  With a game like Contra, these differences are more pronounced.  It was immensely frustrating to successfully navigate my way around the entire level in order to reach the finish and repeatedly fail at defeating the final boss.  That, in itself, was probably the most frustrating part: if I failed at beating the boss, I lost the game and was sent right back to the beginning, without a token for my accomplishment.  If that happened with today's games, there would be a very unhappy gaming community.


With all of that criticism being said, there were some really cool facets about Contra as a game.  Besides being another step in platform gameplay, it was an interesting step in gamer-control to be able to rotate the bullet's trajectory in eight distinct direction.  This was helpful and necessary in order to defeat the enemies that were attacking from multiple directions.  Even more trivial aspects like the flipping of the character as he jumped made the game more entertaining to play.  This game frustrated me quite effectively, but it was fun to play, if only for a little while.


As it is with most ancient games, the attacking formation of the enemies in Contra is a little illogical.  The following video points this out and other humorous parts of the game:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lu_sGhhUrJc


Mega Man 2 = Mission Impossible 2


If the Anti-Christ comes to Earth in the form of a video game, it will be a spinoff of the Mega Man series.  This is a game that, although the controls are not terribly difficult to grasp, presents challenges that seem plain impossible for a mere mortal.

One of the more interesting aspects of the game is that the player may choose the order of the levels.  Each level is represented by the boss that resides at the end of the level (Heatman, Woodman, and other creative names).  This is actually the most crucial and cruel parts of the game for a very important reason.  When the player defeats a certain stage, they gain an ability as a reward.  For some stages, it is nearly impossible to champion the level without having already acquired a certain ability; therefore, a despairing player can try to beat a level multiple times, never knowing that it is unattainable.  


Thankfully, my gaming pride compelled me to keep trying with this game.  I was unable to defeat the first level that I attempted, and the second, and the third after that.  It was not until my seventh attempt at beating a different level that I was able to complete it.  After that, it was slightly easier to navigate around the levels and defeat the menacing monsters that challenged Mega Man.

Although this game accurately represents the evil of some gaming developers, it did provide some concepts that I throughly enjoyed.  The most important one was allowing the player to choose the level that they wished to conquer; along with the mind game that it presented, the player was required to spend more time with the game in order to advance successfully.  In a time when more time at a particular arcade machine means more money for the manufacturers, a game like Mega Man is gold.