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[Hot Coldman]

Yeah, you got Another Code: R, and the Tingle game to boot. NoE is best Nintendo.

Oh right, I knew SE published one of the Persona games and I forgot which. It really sucks that Europeans have to keep importing Atlus stuff from the States, especially since their European fans seem plentiful. I thought that Atlus would've had a branch over there by now given the size of the audience. Do you all get XSEED's or Aksys's stuff often or not really?

I'm pretty sure Aksys's stuff makes its way over without much bother (BlazBlue at least) but don't quote me on that. As for XSEED, well it differs from game to game. Obviously The Last Story came over already via Nintendo but all I can really remember is Little King's Story being handled by Rising Star. I think Ghostlight do a lot of XSEED's stuff over here- TitS was, so yeah. XSEED publish the Steam Ys stuff themselves in Europe, but that's Steam.

Yeah, it's pretty much Rising Star/Ghostlight who do XSEED here. We don't miss much. Just ATLUS games. We got Catherine, eventually, at least!

 

[Seven Force]

Thanks, guys!

Yeah, it's pretty much Rising Star/Ghostlight who do XSEED here. We don't miss much. Just ATLUS games. We got Catherine, eventually, at least!

Ghostlight's (eventually) supposed to be bringing over the two Devil Survivor games, right? That's something, I guess. *shrug*

 

[Emitan]

On a podcast (don't remember which) an ATLUS guy basically said they simply can't open a European office. I guess it's just too expensive.

 

[Hot Coldman]

Oh yeah, that's true. They're cool guys. XSEED, Ghostlight, Rising Star... basically, anyone who exists purely to bring niche stuff to people who want it.

On a podcast (don't remember which) an ATLUS guy basically said they simply can't open a European office. I guess it's just too expensive.

That doesn't surprise me, I was more just wishing they'd strike up a permanent deal with an EU publisher, similar to the XSEED/Marvelous agreement.

 

[Dark Schala]

Yeah, I don't think I can play this anymore. Actually playing this has made me realize how much people truly treasure the stylishness of attacks, the lengthy animation times for attacks, and the lengthy cutscenes that current FFs employ. Hm.

I'm pretty sure Aksys's stuff makes its way over without much bother (BlazBlue at least) but don't quote me on that. As for XSEED, well it differs from game to game. Obviously The Last Story came over already via Nintendo but all I can really remember is Little King's Story being handled by Rising Star. I think Ghostlight do a lot of XSEED's stuff over here- TitS was, so yeah. XSEED publish the Steam Ys stuff themselves in Europe, but that's Steam.

Yeah, it's pretty much Rising Star/Ghostlight who do XSEED here. We don't miss much. Just ATLUS games. We got Catherine, eventually, at least!

If Ghostlight does most of XSEED's stuff, then Atlus should strike up a deal with someone else like RSG. SE did a competent job with publishing Persona 4, didn't they? It wouldn't hurt.

Atlus just seems to publish so much in general, so I get the feeling that you guys are missing out on a lot.

 

[Seven Force]

Oh my god, I remember playing this years ago.

I only got as far as the turn based battle with Super Sonic and some enemy that had a ton of HP before just skipping ahead to the next part.

 

[Sciz]

A blurry Advance 3 background backing up Sonic 3 sprites on one side (with a badly cut out portrait) versus a Mega Man & Bass sprite and an Advance sprite edited into Donut Steel, original character.

Bleh.

 

[Dark Schala]

Sigh. The UI is understandably inconsistent because these episodes were made two years apart.

At the very least you can see that the author is improving and refining the look. But the systems involved are so dissatisfying.

Oh my god, I remember playing this years ago.

I only got as far as the turn based battle with Super Sonic and some enemy that had a ton of HP before just skipping ahead to the next part.

The balancing is incredibly poor in that regard. It shouldn't take you that long to defeat an enemy because your stats are not very good. For an on-rails "RPG", this is terrible design. And the skillsets aren't very enticing (in fact, it's probably better to stick to Attack or Specials as opposed to wasting your magic). You have two arbitrary gauges to raise before you can execute a special attack in one episode which is inefficient.

There was one episode that had QTE sequences with no checkpoints should you fail. That was fun. And the grammar and spelling are pretty bad in several spots. Sometimes the Word spell check/grammar check can be your friend!

A blurry Advance 3 background backing up Sonic 3 sprites on one side (with a badly cut out portrait) versus a Mega Man & Bass sprite and an Advance sprite edited into Donut Steel, original character.

Bleh.

The music selection isn't very good either. Some of the FF selections almost imply to me that the person is mostly familiar with PS1 FFs and on. The characters X and Zero are in there too. So is Soma Cruz for some reason. And Sonic wields Cloud Strife's sword for a random reason.

 

[OMG Aero]

You're playing that game ironically right?
Because it looks fucking terrible.

 

[Dark Schala]

You're playing that game ironically right?
Because it looks fucking terrible.

At first I approached it legitimately, but now I want to see how bad it is. I don't think I can go on. It's really poorly balanced and just unfun. And the most recent part of it has voicework (ugh).

Someone recommend an alternative Sonic RPG so I can rant about the balancing in that. No, the most obvious answer is not the answer I'm looking for.

 

[Shadow Hog]

At first I approached it legitimately, but now I want to see how bad it is. I don't think I can go on. It's really poorly balanced and just unfun. And the most recent part of it has voicework (ugh).

Someone recommend an alternative Sonic RPG so I can rant about the balancing in that. No, the most obvious answer is not the answer I'm looking for.

Well, there were rumors that Sega was going to localize Popful Mail for the Sega CD as "Sister Sonic"! Ha ha haaaaaiiiiiiii've got nothing.

 

[Dark Schala]

Well, there were rumors that Sega was going to localize Popful Mail for the Sega CD as "Sister Sonic"! Ha ha haaaaaiiiiiiii've got nothing.

Oh man, thank goodness they didn't eventually do that. :x

The cutscenes would have had to have been completely redone. IIRC, the Sega CD version might have been the best version out of all of the versions.

 

[BlazeHedgehog]

I don't think any of you have said what that flash game is.

If you have, I haven't been paying attention well enough, which is also a distinct possibility.

 

[Dark Schala]

I don't think any of you have said what that flash game is.

If you have, I haven't been paying attention well enough, which is also a distinct possibility.

Well, I generally post walls of text without bolding anyway

So I played/watched a little bit of Final Fantasy Sonic X today. I did not like it, no sir. The dialogue is terrible with several spelling and morphological/syntactical errors. I should be a little fairer to it since the first part was made in 2004, but I tried a more recent one out and it didn't stand out that much more outside of having much better presentation and essentially being a turn-based Advent Children (though now that I think about it, I think that would ... kind of fit Sonic in a way. I don't know. The series has always been about doing everything in the most stylish way possible). The recent one I played seemed to have a problem with balancing as well--with the enemy essentially being a complete hit sponge with a lack of challenge (on hard difficulty, mind you).

I'm surprised that people haven't really made a very notable Sonic RPG fangame yet (unless I've been missing out and have been living under a rock). The series--as discussed above--lends itself well to that sort of storytelling.

 

[Hot Coldman]

Seeing as you're talking RPGs, and this is vaguely Sonic related, PSO2 looks pretty good you guys

 

[Professor Beef]

There's a reason why the OP has a passionate plea for people to give them a chance instead of glossing over them for the sexier and more popular stage themes.

edit: On that note, ATTN: Beef: The Aquarium Park map theme in the OP is actually a bad upload, kindly replace with www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GmH_vowv4o

edit2: Bleh, broken links. Also replace the following:

Spring Yard Zone (Masa's Demo Ver.): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InpUbCzCOlI
Chemical Plant (Masa's Demo Ver.): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjT2RMWAEUc
Scrambled Egg Zone: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frLpUQl3KwU
Prison Island: www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hNf2GSwAmw
Circus Park: www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMe6c2Peh3w

Updating now.

 

[Dark Schala]

Seeing as you're talking RPGs, and this is vaguely Sonic related, PSO2 looks pretty good you guys

Oh, this looks amazing. It's too bad I'm usually busy for this kind of stuff (it's not an issue of it being online because it's f2p (!)), but it looks so fun. I fully expect a killer soundtrack.

The OP video for it was really nice.

 

[BlazeHedgehog]

Seeing as you're talking RPGs, and this is vaguely Sonic related, PSO2 looks pretty good you guys

Needs to be in a language I understand. I have pushed through Japanese-only games before (a friend bought me a copy of Jump Ultimate Stars for the DS a few years ago) but there is waaaaaay too much Japanese text in that game for me to consider trying the open beta, guide or not.

Sega of America better release the game in english. Apparently they've been posting images from the Phantasy Star series on... flickr? Twitter? I don't remember, somewhere, gradually working their way up game by game. Presumably that could end on an announcement for PSO2. Or maybe just a Sega Vintage Collection. Or both! I hope it's both.

 

[Sciz]

Updating now.

So you do answer to my every whim.


I mean, thanks.

 

[Shadow Hog]

Oh man, thank goodness they didn't eventually do that. :x

The cutscenes would have had to have been completely redone. IIRC, the Sega CD version might have been the best version out of all of the versions.

I'll be honest, I've never played it.

I mean, I'm considering getting a Sega CD, at which point I'd be able to legally purchase it, but I've heard the prices are really high, and the list of games I'd actually play on the Sega CD is... kinda slim! (Sonic CD, although I might opt for Beta 920, Earthworm Jim Special Edition, maybe the Lunar games, Final Fight CD, Silpheed maybe, probably one of the two Batman games, Snatcher if a copy less than friggin' $300 rolls around, and burn a copy of that ROM hack Sonic Megamix for the helluvit...)

Although right now I'm looking at a Model 1 that doesn't include it. I'm a bit wary, because I haven't bid on an eBay auction in a good while, and this one already has two bids going up to $50 (it's S-Video modded, though, which means I wouldn't have to spend $50 later sending it to somebody to do the mod)... ends at 2AM tonight, hope I luck out without spending too much.

 

[Hot Coldman]

Needs to be in a language I understand. I have pushed through Japanese-only games before (a friend bought me a copy of Jump Ultimate Stars for the DS a few years ago) but there is waaaaaay too much Japanese text in that game for me to consider trying the open beta, guide or not.

Sega of America better release the game in english. Apparently they've been posting images from the Phantasy Star series on... flickr? Twitter? I don't remember, somewhere, gradually working their way up game by game. Presumably that could end on an announcement for PSO2. Or maybe just a Sega Vintage Collection. Or both! I hope it's both.

Oh they will. It's free-to-play, it's a fairly well-known property... but yes, I would bet my Steam library it makes its way over here eventually.

 

[Emitan]

It's really not that hard to play at all.

Plus the translation patches in closed beta were amazing.

 

[Psxphile]

Ever since I played Valkyrie Profile I've always thought a Sonic RPG with a similar battle system (with slight modifications) would be fun. Well, moreso than a completely menu-based one would be.

 

[Emitan]

Come my shitty friends, battle awaits us!

 

[Shadow Hog]

I really do think you could make a workable RPG if you focus more on one of Sonic's friends more than Sonic himself. Tails would probably lend himself to one pretty well as the plucky kid who winds up embroiled in some deep plot; you could go to Knuckles if you wanted the relatively-no-nonsense guy with the mysterious past (I mean, you could do Shadow, too, but he's that trope to the extreme). Y'know, characters that could go fast, but don't necessarily have to, and thus work better outside the context of the F-Zero Grand Prix masquerading as a platforming game.

Heck, you could have Tails hop into his Tornado on the world map and during specific events, and the fights in that would play like Panzer Dragoon Saga, down to how the Tornado can apparently morph itself while in flight. (Hey, Sky Chase in SA1 already played like the shooters, might as well go all the way...)

 

[ViewtifulJC]

Come my shitty friends, battle awaits us!

I think it was the combination of your nonchalant avatar giving this post a kind of dry, sardonic tone, but I found this post fuckin' hysterical.

 

[qq more]

oh god those sonic rpg fangames look atrocious.

 

[BlackJace]

I remember playing a fan Sonic RPG. It was actually good from what I remember. I just wish I could remember the name...

 

[Dark Schala]

Ever since I played Valkyrie Profile I've always thought a Sonic RPG with a similar battle system (with slight modifications) would be fun. Well, moreso than a completely menu-based one would be.

The first one? That definitely wouldn't be bad. I'd like a Grandia or a job-based system too. Really, you could do anything with Sonic because the characters have different things to bring to the table in terms of skillsets.

I really do think you could make a workable RPG if you focus more on one of Sonic's friends more than Sonic himself. Tails would probably lend himself to one pretty well as the plucky kid who winds up embroiled in some deep plot; you could go to Knuckles if you wanted the relatively-no-nonsense guy with the mysterious past (I mean, you could do Shadow, too, but he's that trope to the extreme). Y'know, characters that could go fast, but don't necessarily have to, and thus work better outside the context of the F-Zero Grand Prix masquerading as a platforming game.

Nah, keep Shadow out of the protagonist spotlight in my RPGs, thanks. I get enough of that drama stuff in Final Fantasy. Tails would be a great protagonist because he's close enough to Sonic to make him a cameo playable character sometime if you fulfill certain conditions. Knuckles has more of an intrigue due to his role with the Master Emerald so an RPG backstory with him as the centre of the plot would be good too.

But then people would be like, "lol, kids in RPGs? I hate children in RPGs!"

Although right now I'm looking at a Model 1 that doesn't include it. I'm a bit wary, because I haven't bid on an eBay auction in a good while, and this one already has two bids going up to $50 (it's S-Video modded, though, which means I wouldn't have to spend $50 later sending it to somebody to do the mod)... ends at 2AM tonight, hope I luck out without spending too much.

Hah, for some reason I end up going to the flea market to haggle for used older systems rather than going on eBay. I dunno why. Maybe it's because I can test it out there and everything. But games are definitely another story.

oh god those sonic rpg fangames look atrocious.

I can't find a better fan-made Sonic RPG! D:

Edit: BlackJace, tell me the title whenever you remember and I'll go looking for it.

 

[Shadow Hog]

I haven't checked out local flea markets, honestly. I think I've located one nearby, but it's only open on Saturdays and I usually sleep in on Saturdays.

The likelihood of me finding one S-Video modded, though, is pretty much nil.

 

[BlackJace]

http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/284634

Haha! Found it! I quite loved this. Especially the battle music against Chaos.

It gets much better in quality as the series goes on. I think there's like 8 episodes.

http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/434094

That's the most recent one. You can see the quality boost. The opening sequence is really cheesy/lame in Ep. 8, so bare thru it.

EDIT: If any body could tell me the names of the music used in Chaos battle in the first link, and the Seelkadoom one in the second link I'd be really grateful.

 

[Professor Beef]

Is Schala going to be our resident "I'm gonna play this Sonic game" guru?

 

[Dark Schala]

Thanks, BlackJace. I'll go through some of it a little later. Honestly, even if it ends up not being very good I'll still play through it. I'm one of those weirdos who commit to playing things no matter how dissatisfying they are. But that other fangame, though, ick... no thanks.

This is why and how I played Beyond the Beyond twice.

Is Schala going to be our resident "I'm gonna play this Sonic game" guru?

Just if you give me an RPG to play. Everyone else around here seems to make their own fangames in the platforming genre and they have a better idea with regards to how competent the fangames in that genre is. I respect and consider their opinions and everything that they have to say about that sort of stuff since they seem to know their stuff well.

And I'm playing this stuff mostly because I want to stay out of Gaming side for a little while outside of completing my FFMQ playthrough in the FF anniversary thread, tbh. (Might start an FFIV one if I feel like it if I'm not too busy just so I could make fun of the story.)

 

[BlackJace]

Thanks, BlackJace. I'll go through some of it a little later. Honestly, even if it ends up not being very good I'll still play through it. I'm one of those weirdos who commit to playing things no matter how dissatisfying they are. But that other fangame, though, ick... no thanks.

This is why and how I played Beyond the Beyond twice.


Just if you give me an RPG to play. Everyone else around here seems to make their own fangames in the platforming genre and they have a better idea with regards to how competent the fangames in that genre is. I respect and consider their opinions and everything that they have to say about that sort of stuff since they seem to know their stuff well.

And I'm playing this stuff mostly because I want to stay out of Gaming side for a little while outside of completing my FFMQ playthrough in the FF anniversary thread, tbh. (Might start an FFIV one if I feel like it if I'm not too busy just so I could make fun of the story.)

It gets really tedious at times, but it can be oddly fun.

 

[Seven Force]

Stuff like Charles Barkley: Shut Up and Jam Gaiden (which is a really damn awesome game, by the way) gives me hope that someone out there could make a decent Sonic RPG in RPG Maker or whatever.

 

[Dark Schala]

Stuff like Charles Barkley: Shut Up and Jam Gaiden (which is a really damn awesome game, by the way) gives me hope that someone out there could make a decent Sonic RPG in RPG Maker or whatever.

I love that game so much. I don't know much about basketball (well, a little, but not a lot), but everything about that game worked out so well in terms of presentation and play. Such a crazy idea, but so fun and creative.

I haven't played that game in so long...

It gets really tedious at times, but it can be oddly fun.

I'm all for more simplicity after the other fangame, tbh. So many unnecessary gauges for no reason whatsoever.

 

[BlackJace]

I love that game so much. I don't know much about basketball (well, a little, but not a lot), but everything about that game worked out so well in terms of presentation and play. Such a crazy idea, but so fun and creative.

I haven't played that game in so long...


I'm all for more simplicity after the other fangame, tbh. So many unnecessary gauges for no reason whatsoever.

Tell me what you think when you played some

 

[Hot Coldman]

Stuff like Charles Barkley: Shut Up and Jam Gaiden (which is a really damn awesome game, by the way) gives me hope that someone out there could make a decent Sonic RPG in RPG Maker or whatever.

I think the people who love Sonic enough to bother making a game with as much effort required as an RPG would rather make either a painstakingly accurate "new Mega Drive Sonic game", or an erotic dating sim starring Rouge, Cream's mum and Elise.

 

[Seven Force]

I think the people who love Sonic enough to bother making a game with as much effort required as an RPG would rather make either a painstakingly accurate "new Mega Drive Sonic game", or an erotic dating sim starring Rouge, Cream's mum and Elise.

Yeah. :/

 

[Dark Schala]

EDIT: If any body could tell me the names of the music used in Chaos battle in the first link

Grandia II - Fight!!

Fake edit: The other theme is Chaos Legion - Welcome to the Darkness (I just decided to scene select that instead of playing through, so I'm not that far yet; just got to the second episode).

The presentation isn't jiving with me at the moment (and this is generally a big thing for me because presentation and artstyle are things I tend to be more critical towards), but at least it shows some sort of progression as opposed to the other one. It looks like it gets better as time goes on anyway. But I have to commend the person for actually doing most things themselves (especially with regards to animations). Spelling and grammatical mistakes are generally things I focus on because one of my majors was in linguistics. But proofreading goes a long way in terms of presentation, and I think the dialogue reminds me a little bit of English Suikoden II dialogue, lol.

I'm a patient person, though. In terms of balancing, I don't think it's too bad. You have more things at your disposal to balance out hit damage and attacks--I do think that it needs a Defend/Parry command. I don't like how some options are blanked out for you, like Extra and Magic at times, though that may be for a reason. Obviously I can't talk about growth or progression because it's episodic and things don't carry over.

I think the people who love Sonic enough to bother making a game with as much effort required as an RPG would rather make either a painstakingly accurate "new Mega Drive Sonic game", or an erotic dating sim starring Rouge, Cream's mum and Elise.

Ugh. I can see that happening.

Social Linking with them too.

 

[Emitan]

max our your social link to be able to summon sonichu

 

[Hot Coldman]

You know you'd love it!

I wonder what Vanilla's Persona is. Ghoul!

 

[Professor Beef]

alix henriol as the final boss

 

[BlackJace]

Grandia II - Fight!!

Fake edit: The other theme is Chaos Legion - Welcome to the Darkness (I just decided to scene select that instead of playing through, so I'm not that far yet; just got to the second episode).

The presentation isn't jiving with me at the moment (and this is generally a big thing for me because presentation and artstyle are things I tend to be more critical towards), but at least it shows some sort of progression as opposed to the other one. It looks like it gets better as time goes on anyway. But I have to commend the person for actually doing most things themselves (especially with regards to animations). Spelling and grammatical mistakes are generally things I focus on because one of my majors was in linguistics. But proofreading goes a long way in terms of presentation, and I think the dialogue reminds me a little bit of English Suikoden II dialogue, lol.

I'm a patient person, though. In terms of balancing, I don't think it's too bad. You have more things at your disposal to balance out hit damage and attacks--I do think that it needs a Defend/Parry command. I don't like how some options are blanked out for you, like Extra and Magic at times, though that may be for a reason. Obviously I can't talk about growth or progression because it's episodic and things don't carry over.


Ugh. I can see that happening.

Social Linking with them too.

YES! Thanks, I've been looking for those songs forever. And thanks for your thoughts on the game. The Extra and Magic commands become more readily available as the episodes progress.

 

[Dark Schala]

You know you'd love it!

I wonder what Vanilla's Persona is. Ghoul!

We need Jeff and Vinny on this, stat! And then they'd discard him over and over until they realize they need him for a fusion (and thus have to buy him)!

YES! Thanks, I've been looking for those songs forever. And thanks for your thoughts on the game. The Extra and Magic commands become more readily available as the episodes progress.

Now that I've played the second episode, I wouldn't be wholly against a Sega All-Stars crossover RPG if it had competent writing. It'll be like Super Robot Taisen or Namco x Capcom. Ristar guarding an emerald...

But I really want Sega to take a good stab at a [Sonic] RPG again. Team up with anyone else besides Bioware this time.

Edit: On Episode 3 right now, and Sonic's writing is pretty bipolar. One minute he's Vegeta, talking about revenge. The next, he's Goku, being rather level-headed.
"You miserable creatures!!!" Yes, this is English Suikoden II, alright. Haha. It really needs proofreading. Desperately.
Sonic just said, "[Shadow] needs loneliness... it makes him stronger..."

I find it amazing that both Sonic RPGs things I've played --and Super Mario Bros Z-- use Dragonball Z sound effects. I like the villain's skillset, and at least the balancing in this seems better than the other one; Sonic and Shadow's skillsets are fine, and they don't have obnoxiously poor balancing either.

The game just needs a better skin and a better editor/dialogue writer. For example, "Finnish" is an adjective. "Finish" is a verb. Use the correct one (the verb, obviously).

 

[Psxphile]

Now that I've played the second episode, I wouldn't be wholly against a Sega All-Stars crossover RPG

Would've been nice...

 

[Nert]

Stuff like Charles Barkley: Shut Up and Jam Gaiden (which is a really damn awesome game, by the way) gives me hope that someone out there could make a decent Sonic RPG in RPG Maker or whatever.

That game was a revelatory experience for me. It's easily the funniest game that I've played.

 

[Dark Schala]

http://i.imgur.com/0EgjW.jpg[IMG]

Would've been nice...[/QUOTE]
Well, Segagaga's not exactly what I had in mind, but it definitely works as a good example.

[quote][IMG]http://i.imgur.com/OBfus.jpg

If only, indeed.

 

[Psxphile]

If only, indeed.

Ha ha. And now I'm imagining a Sonic/Alex Kidd Rpg in the vein of Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga... complete with recognition jokes at the expense of Kidd.

"Well hey, aren't you the world-famous Sonic the Hedgehog!?"
"And this must be... um... Big Ear Guy, right?"

 

[Seven Force]

That game was a revelatory experience for me. It's easily the funniest game that I've played.

The writing is a thing of beauty. I can barely play through the sewer section without busting into laughter.