I've picked back up on Blue Dragon a little and one thing I will share is my general indifference towards the characters. This is pretty much my one and only gripe about the game really, the fact that the characters feel so very flat. There really wasn't any true backgrounds given for Shu, Jiro or Kluke. Oddly enough, I admit the two characters I do like are Marumaro and Zola, whom do have significantly more (compared to the other three characters) fleshing out.
Call me a fan boy, but one reason why I am always drawn me back to Square-Enix RPGs is because of their ability to craft characters and stories that make you give a damn. People appear and play a part in the story, each one has a past and each of which is played out for the player to experience. A good example, in my opinion, is the character Basche, from Final Fantasy XII. Or Cecil from Final Fantasy IV. Or how about the characters of the Kingdom Hearts games? I'd say that was a fairly well crafted affair in my own humble opinion.
Still with me here, with all of this? This whole thing might not make much sense, since I tend to get my words jumbled up and crossed fairly easily in subjects like this. But I think what I am trying to get at is, well... hell I just miss the characters that weren't so damn hollow. I think that is the sole reason why I tend not to pick up that many RPGs these days. For me it is just a huge waste of money, to be playing a game that is about as well thought up as a finger in an electric outlet.
Maybe those well thought out RPGs are a thing of the past, mere figments of imaginations that are now long gone with the wind. I mean who plays games for well developed characters and stories? That's dork stuff right there! Just spice up the graphics and throw in a few fucks and a couple of buckets of blood and ta-da! We've got ourselves a game folks!
So it looks to me that the only salvation left, if even, is left solely in the hands of Square-Enix. I wish there were more variety to it, but it looks like that is going to be it for any forseeable future. Everyone else seems to go through the motions, but really... they just fall short in the end. Yes, I understand that I am likely expecting more then what will ever be released again, but eh...
Anyway, I just got to watch the Chinese movie, Seven Swords, and it is pretty enjoyable in my book. OK, so I haven't watched it entirely to the end yet (the movie is on 2 DVDs, the original I read is about 400+ minutes). So I shall return again to post up some thoughts on that once I've see it to it's end. Until then...
Hulk squash!
3 comments:
EXACTLY. I think the main reason why I've been rather unimpressed with games lately is because of the lack of attachment I feel toward the characters. I really don't give a rat's ass about pretty graphics, but I want to CARE what happens to the characters. The last few games I've tried to play, I've tried REALLY hard to care, but I just don't.
I just hope that the stuff coming up from Square, like Infinite Undiscovery and FFXIII haven't become too westernized. More and more Japanese games are being made to attract American (stupid) audiences that just want flashy graphics, big boobs, and blood.
Eternal Sonata has a LOT of story and character development. Unfortunately, it has TOO MUCH, but oh well, at least I care what happens to some of the characters. That game has too much emotional drama and too many issues. The gameplay is fun, the graphics are nice, and I'm really enjoying it anyway. I'd rather have too much than too little.
From what little of Eternal Sonata I've gotten to play so far, I've liked more or less. I like the idea of how the increased team work makes the battles more challenging. I thought Polka's mom is/was a little crazy, just by listening to her in the beginning of the game.
One thing that kind of bugs me is the history lessons in between. I don't mind the added info, but it just pops in out of nowhere! Sort of disruptive...
Hahaha. That's funny. The history lessons were what the developer wanted to focus on. He wanted to teach people about Chopin. The game part was secondary. I love the history lessons and unlocking the actual Chopin pieces of music. That motivates me more than the weird fictional characters that are supposedly figments of Chopin's imagination. It helps that I love classical music and that Chopin wrote some of my favorite piano pieces of all time. I try to get through the gameplay part as quickly as possible so I can get to the history. I think the game was designed for people like me more than you, maybe. ;-)
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