Linda Cubed because I can’t read well enough.
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The original SMT is pretty brief and snappy by RPG standards (30-ish hours) and is one of the few i’ve actually beaten. Lightning fast battles and a cool aesthetic/awesome soundtrack.
I don’t think this game gets enough credit.
I got conversant at fighting games by sitting down one summer and just beating SF2 Arcade Mode at every difficulty level with one character, starting with the easiest. Not entirely sure which version I was playing. Probably Hyper Fighting. I think they all have variations on 8 levels of difficulty.
I was 16 or 17 at the time, which felt as much like late blooming as you’d feel now, probably, and it didn’t actually take more time than just playing through a JRPG or whatever (maybe less). I then got better by buying a decent PS2 stick and playing through SNK and Capcom fighting game collections. This wasn’t really part of the mission, but I’m sure it helped. I was already better than terrible just from SF2 summer, but I wanted to know more about other series. I never got to play my friends much, but when I did I found that arcade mode had more than prepared me for average human combatants.
After just playing through SF2, I think I was good enough that I could have fun playing against an average player and also learn something by being trounced by a good or great player. I was only really passable at SF2, but I had the tools I needed to pick up other games (except for anime fighters, which I don’t know that I can really play now). Anyway, I imagine that’s about the level you want to be at, and you can always get better from there.
My only other advice is to pick an input method that you want to stick with. I went with a Happ style stick on the PS2, and now I’m really used to that. Haven’t tried Korean style, but I definitely hate the Japanese sticks that everyone seems to prefer.
Hm. SMT1 is definitely a neat game in some ways but that 30 hours is mostly a succession of horrible 1st-person dungeons. I got a fair way into it but it was such an utter slog i couldn’t push through to the end.
You definitely need to enjoy that first person crawl to appreciate SMT’s other merits.
Except the Cathedral though, there were maybe 4 true dungeons in the entire game. Instead, the game is structured into three distinct phases, each of which opens up a small selection of buildings on the world map which you return to throughout that portion of the plot. It honestly doesn’t help that there isn’t a wholly unique look to each of these, but over time I grew to know my way around each area before the end of the “chapter” as it were. For example, Shinjuku mall serves as a hub for the second phase of the game, with NPC changing dialogue and moving around in relation to your progress. I eventually knew that place like the back of my hand and that “mastery” of an area definitely tapped into my JRPG OCD.
The battle system also holds up nicely in comparison to the rather pedestrian efforts of other lauded SNES titles. The developers learned some lessons from DQ and made multi-hit weaponry your go-to option for dispatching foes. The auto-battle option was also fairly progressive for 1992, not to mention the monster recruitment/fusion system which beats out anything DQ5 or Pokemon offered imo.
tl;dr: I love SMT1
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As someone else who likes Grandia, I think if anyone likes the first half of Grandia, they are doing themselves a big disservice by skipping the second half! It’s a shift in tone, and there’s a ton of interesting moments in there. It’s definitely The Only™ Grandia game though.
As an aside, I also feel like if anybody thinks there’s a game they’re interested in that “they will never play”, maybe that’s a good enough reason to give it a shot! Life’s not so short that we don’t have time to put a little bit more garbage in us if we want to. I’m awful with shooters, but I’m sure I’ll get around to Metal Black someday. I’ll go see how far I can get right now!
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I always felt that classic SMT’s neverending bland hallways gave a sense of misdirection that matched with the horror-inspired tone of the games. Not knowing where an NPC was until they appeared directly in front of you also added to this. Also also Kaneko’s spritework, which kept characters and enemies just far enough away that you can’t make out facial expressions. Really evocative stuff for the SuFami.
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I was just thinking “you know what SMT could use? noneuclidean geometry” but then I remembered that Nocturne was all over that. So yeah, Nocturne is the best videogame.
Play Wizardry!
I should say that i really liked SMT1 until i gave up on it. It just got exhausting. Which is frankly true of most SMTs i’ve played, they seem designed to beat the shit out of you.
Like i’d tell more people ITT who haven’t played Nocturne to play it, because it owns bones, but i don’t think i can ever play it again honestly, it’s so long and tiring.
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I just can’t get on board with the generic fantasy setting/creatures/abilities. I like bargaining with demons whilst clutching a rail-gun. I guess I can add Wizardry to my list.
Wizardry: Tale of the Forsaken Land is supreme
in Japan it is called (Busin) Wizardry Alternative, because it is
bonus: if you play it, your GYSAWNP count won’t go down, because you’ll feel desirous of the untranslated prequel
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wizardry 6 is probably the best representative “regular” wizardry, it’s fairly playable (though you need to commit to making your own maps or you’ll have a bad time) and it has a cool JPN-only SNES port with a translation patch if you get sick of the original DOS version (which is hideous and has an overly complicated UI)
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Thinking about it I’d love to get solid at Vamp Savior but that’s never going to transpire
I brought up Wizardry entirely because of the non-euclidean geometry.
Witcher games, I’m overwhelmed whenever in conversations there are hints to the preestabilished, rich, probably not half bad lore, and I have this feeling that I kinda wanna know but not really and that by not knowing I’m missing the point of these games. Too much stuff going on in inventory menus as well, but never given it enough time in the end.
And to clarify, it’s not that it’s a bad game either.
I mean, its merits as a cartoon aren’t brought down by terrible gameplay* or anything.
- Did we find a term to replace “gameplay” yet? or are we allowed to say “gameplay” again?
“Gameplay” is really just a clunky mashup of “mechanics” and “game feel” when you think about it. I think separating out the terms it implies is better than thinking up some replacement word.
Or maybe just “play”. As in, “how’s it play” as opposed to “how’s the gameplay”
Sam and Max Hit the Road has some typically bizarre Lucasarts puzzles at times but i don’t remember any of them being egregious, the worst is probably when you have to get Max out of the minigolf course. It has easily some of my favorite writing in a game ever (A HIGH BAR TO CLEAR YOU CAN IMAGINE), it’s hysterical.
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When everyone is used to a word and everyone knows what it means, pedantry is the only reason to deny it.
Hmmmmm, nah.
I dunno, I think “gameplay” as the sum total of mechanics and the intangibles that contribute to feel isn’t so bad? Certainly in action games I think the two are hard to separate.
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