digibutter.nerr

[Lord Bob]

This topic demands attention dammit.

[Medikoopa]

Phantasy Star 0 might be interesting, but if it's anything like the MMORPGs, I'll steer clear. So many 'recycled' areas...

Never heard of Valkyrie Profile, Sands of Destruction Summer, or Arc Rise Fantasia, so no comment.

Dragon Quest is a series my brother is into, but he mentioned that since I didn't care for Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories' combat style, he thinks I won't like that game either. Not sure if that remark is valid, though.

Have yet to touch a Fire Emblem game, sadly.

And I don't care for the Crystal Chronicle series, thanks to the first game. I like "My Life As King", but that had a completely different gameplay.

EDIT: Added some listed dates. Phantasy Star's not on the forecast yet.[/quote]

[Lord Bob]

[Medikoopa]

[Paper Luigi]

I'm so exited for Fire Emblem.

[Mana7]

[BAMFing ARCHER]

[Lord Bob]

Read up on DQV, and so far, my spirits are raised. Also read on Arc Rise Fantasia, and it looks like it's going to be *crag* amazing <3
DQV: Hand of the Heavenly Bride is the second in the Zenithea trilogy. It starts out with you as a kid, and your father wants you to inherit his lifelong quest or something. Anyway, the game basically follows you through childhood to adulthood. Once an adult, you have 3 brides to pick: Childhood friend Bianca Whitaker, or one of the two rich daughters, the lovely Nera Briscoletti or her sister, the bold and dangerous looking Debora. As it turns out, each of the girls has their different way of fighting. For example, Bianca is a high level battler, Nera is a spellcaster, and Debora has a chance for two attacks. Your party members throughout the game, however, are going to be monsters. The system for getting monsters inspired Pokemon, actually. What happens is at the end of a battle, a monster may pledge its loyalty. However, they all start at level 1 and have pre-set caps, so you'll most likely switch them out a lot. The game shows a lot of promise.
Arc Rise Fantasia is the Wii's first ever exclusive RPG, and it looks fantastic, probably because Tales people worked on a little of it. The similarities are only skin deep, however. The lush landscapes, choosing to fight enemies, and the skit system that allowed you to talk with your party members are apparently from ToS.
Fights are probably what are really drawing me in. They take a half second to load, and then you're hit with some amazing shit. You see, each turn, you have a set amount of ability points that you may distribute. For example, you can have your best attacker take three turns on his own and have spell casters sit it out, or you can attack between all three. This is the most reccomended form, as you receive bonuses and such for teamwork. Example: Two mages who cast the same weak spell on an enemy can make it stronger (FFCC anyone?).
As battles end, weapons level up and gain new abilities, with which you can give to your party members and assign in tetris like grids. Spells belong in a cage, where you set them with gemstones which give them elements, and they can be leveled in special shops.
Let's move on to the characters. The name of the protagonist is L'arc Bright Dragoon. He has to care for his sick mother and deal with his bastard of an uncle who takes his paycheck while looking at the female protagonist. He's also a mercenary, which is cool, because mercenaries are cool. The female protagonist is a visitor from an enemy empire named Ryfia. She is labeled a "coder" by L'arc and Arth. She also becomes attached to L'arc, not understanding the "leave me alone" attitude coming from him. And she does not want to leave him alone. She's essentially the healer of the bunch. Alphonse "Arth" Zena Meridia is the brother of the empire's current ruler, who is an asshole and picks fights with other empires. He's stuck doing nasty jobs (like, say, killing dragons that explode poisonously. How fun!), and finds friendship in L'arc. And lastly revealed is Adelle Nevanlinna. She's L'arc's childhood friend (because, you know, there always has to be one.) and an orphan. She was adopted by Zamael, a man who fought beside L'arc's father. Zamael teaches L'arc and Arth swordcraft at his studio, where Adelle teaches a form of magic which has been roughly translated as Luminomancy. She CLAIMS that she and L'arc have a brother-sister relationship, but when she sees L'arc with Ryfia, her reaction says otherwise.
This game better kick ass, or someone's getting a RAGE filled letter from me.

[Super Maiq the Liar]

@Medi:

[Lord Bob]

[Super Tenebrae]

My life as a king seems like a carbon copy of pikmin o_o

[Lord Bob]

[Shrowser]

I don't really like RPGs too much. I don't like to think when I play games, I just like to do.

[Lord Bob]

Update, finally.
Read up on the last two, FE:Shadow Dragon and FFCC.
FE:SD
Virtually nothing plotwise here, just the prologue to the game and the prologue for Marth. The game's prologue basically states that Medeus, king of the dragonkin, ruled the world, and Anri banished him and became king of Altea. Anri's descendents (AKA Marth) wind up fighting against a revitalized Medeus and the wizard who revived him, Ghamef. The article goes on to describe FE's mechanics, but if you don't already know them, I suggest you play a Fire Emblem game right now.
FFCC
Again, little story. It starts out with you having a dream of a catgirl being chased by a bespectacled, fedora'd man. You wake up to find it's your 16th birthday and you must take a coming-of-age test to prove your worth. Said test involves going deep into the forest and meeting Sherlotta. You find that she is the above mentioned catgirl, only she looks different. After meeting her, you find out about the Core Crystal, which is the last crystal ever. And since your village is so close to the crystal, needless to say, shit goes down. A girl from your village gets sick and you have to leave the village to get the cure. And only you and Sherlotta can leave. No one else can for some reason. In the next town over, you meet the bespectacled, fedora'd man. He goes by Larkeicus, and he's experimenting with crystal driven technology. So, you get the stuff you need and cure the girl back home, I guess.
There are two ways to single player this game: Solo with AI or with friends (locally or Wi-Fi). It's attracted my attention, so I'll be sure to look out for it.