The division between American-style role-playing game fans and Japanese-style RPGers is almost as deep as the split between Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter fans. While American RPG games such as Diablo and the Elder Scrolls series have focused on more real-time action oriented combat and deep character customization, Japanese RPGs such as Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest have focused on character development, turn-based combat, and semi-linear storylines. For years, it has been a back and forth battle, with both American and Japanese RPGs gaining popularity amongst fans at certain periods. When Final Fantasy VII changed the face of the genre, many American gamers flocked over to the works of Square-Enix, and its contemporaries. Fast forward to a decade later. Japanese RPG developers have been going as strong as ever, and even new ones such as Mistwalker have emerged. However, the problem with the current JRPG scene is that these developers have mostly relied on the same old formulas that they have implemented since the late 90s. The failures of games such as The Last Remnant and Infinite Undiscovery (as well as the cult status of games such as Persona, The World Ends With You, and Valkyrie Profile) have demonstrated that the public wants to see something different. Moreover, throughout the last decade, the American RPG market has been bolstered by excellent games such as Diablo, Oblivion, Neverwinter Nights, and Jade Empire. This brings me to this week’s feature, Mass Effect. Mass Effect was created by BioWare, the camp behind hits such as Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Jade Empire, Baldur’s Gate, and the forthcoming Dragon Age. As in the past, BioWare has taken the RPG genre to new heights by not sticking by the genre’s norms. Square-Enix, Tri-Ace, Mistwalker, and other RPG developers, both American and Japanese, would do well to study this game (especially if they plan on doing any more work with the Unreal 3 engine).
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Mortal Kombat caused a huge shakeup in the fighting game genre. MK stood in direct opposition to Capcom and SNK with its button tap friendly, yet accessible special moves and combos in contrast to the complicated joystick motions of Fatal Fury and Street Fighter. Although the character designs were simple, they had well developed backgrounds, making the game’s backstory more fleshed out than the usual “some guy wants to know who the world’s strongest fighter is so he holds a tournament” story we see in 90% of fighting games at the time. The game also featured digitized actors with motion capturing. While it looks incredibly cheesy by today’s standards, it gave the game an unprecedented level of realism for its time. Oh, and there was one other big thing about it…oh yeah, that’s right, the blood. Punches and kicks drew blood, bodies were decapitated, hearts were pulled from chests as they were still beating, spines were ripped out, parents everywhere had fits, and politicians sensed opportunity.

Like many big gaming movements before and after MK, many games sought to imitate what made it special. Rather than presenting gamers with an equally accessible play control scheme or fully fleshed out characters, the companies decided to concentrate on the gore. As a result, we got games such as Incredible Technologies/Strata’s (keep these names in mind as they will come up again later on in the article) Time Killers and the 3DO ‘classic’, Way of the Warrior. While the latter game at least went the extra mile to use digitized actors, the play control and character designs of both games were so bad, that they actually rank among the greatest games of all time (albeit for all the wrong reasons). There were good games that used blood as a selling point as well. Eternal Champions, or rather its Sega CD iteration contained lots of hidden secrets, as well as a fighting game based on real-life styles that was more akin to Street Fighter than Mortal Kombat. Primal Rage set itself apart by not only featuring Dinosaurs and prehistoric apes as its characters, but by having a unique style of control motions that had players holding down the attack buttons while entering the motions. One game that stands in the middle is Strata/IT/Chun Soft’s Bloodstorm. While the play control and character designs leave a bit to be desired, it featured some unique gameplay mechanics which would have made it a classic had they been developed further.

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Although this game was a flop in terms of sales, its clever gameplay, awesome musical score, bright atmosphere, zany characters, and deep storyline have seen this game earn itself cult status amongst fans, as well as high praise amongst reviewers and gaming critics. It was created by Michael Ancel, who also created the Rayman series. It was because of this game that movie director Peter Jackson handpicked him to develop the video game tie-in to his remake of King Kong. Players take the role of Jade, a female photojournalist. Using her camera, she and her pig-uncle Pey’j earn a living anyway they can until one day, when they get caught in a conspiracy involving mysterious alien creatures, government manipulation, and a resistance group.

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It’s the Monday after Thanksgiving, a.k.a. “Cyber Monday”. As if we didn’t get enough shopping done on “Black Friday”, now there is an online holiday shopping rush. Now it seems we have another opportunity for some early X-mas shopping. Well be that as it may, now that your turkey is digested, I got this week’s $20 Game of The Week for you. You don’t have to wake up early for this one. Also, I got two lost classics this week, so there is no shortage of leftovers either. This week, you’ll get a remake of a classic, a classic remake, and a game that should have been a classic. So click after the jump and be thankful for Powet.tv.
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Remember when Nintendo released Zelda II: The Adventure of Link? Its side scrolling gameplay was and still is a radical departure from the series. The most we would see of another 2-d Zelda are the crapfest CD-I entries, but the less said about them, the better. However, Y’s III, Wanderers from Y’s is pretty close to what another 2-D Zelda would be like. Ironically, Y’s III itself is a departure from its norm, as all prior and subsequent entries are from the top-down perspective (in fact, a 2005 Windows remake of the game is done with an over the top view with a 3-d graphics engine).

The game once again puts players in the role of series hero Adol Christin, as he and his friend Dogi visit Dogi’s hometown of Redmont. Seems some strange things are happening there, and Adol takes it upon himself to investigate. Before long, he gets mixed up in something involving monsters, demons, and such. Unlike the previous entries, this is a platformer with RPG elements. You now have to press a button to swing your sword (as opposed to just running into enemies like in the first two entries), and there is some typical platform jumping. Along with gaining levels, you can equip several rings which grant special powers. Cool boss battles, catchy music, large areas, and an interesting storyline round out the package. Y’s III was ported to several systems at the time of its release, but its most well known port in the United States is the Super Nintendo version, which was released shortly after the system’s launch. Hopefully this should show up on the virtual console in the near future, as Y’s Book I & II, (the Turbografx-16 port of the first two games) is already available on the service.

Tetris is one of the oldest and most endearing puzzle games ever. Most other puzzle games that have come out since then have not steered too far away from Tetris’s basic design. So how does the age old-formula manage to remain fresh for its Nintendo DS debut? Nintendo has combined Tetris’s classic gameplay with the look and feel of several of its classic franchises, added several new game variations, and added online play to boot. Even the classic version of the game has a new twist; as players create lines, Mario moves through the levels. Puzzle mode, which has its look inspired by Yoshi’s cookie, has players using a set amount of blocks in order to clear the screen. Mission mode, inspired by Legend of Zelda, has players completing lines while having to follow various rules, such as not being able to use a certain block. Touch mode, which is taken from balloon fight, has players use the touch screen to slide blocks into place to clear the screen, kinda like those slide puzzles. A mode inspired by Metroid has players scrolling upwards, kinda like a vertical shooter. You combine falling pieces into clusters of blocks to get rid of them. Finally, a duel mode inspired by Donkey Kong, has players making lines in order to push the stack onto their opponent. In short, Nintendo has done so much more than simply regurgitate another version of Tetris with touch screen controls. They have created an all new way to experience Tetris, and created a must-have title for the Nintendo DS.

Veterans day was this past week. In honor of our brave men and women fighting for this country, we have a special $20 GOTW/Lost Classics, centering on games about our military fighting to defend our livelihood. Although one game is more realistic than the other, both of these games are so good, that you will be proud to be an American as you play them. So sit back, enjoy, and remember the sacrifices of our brave men and women, in both the real world and in digital form.

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Election season has passed and we’ve elected a new president. To commemorate this occasion, this week’s $20 GOTW focuses on a contest, which, just like politics can get brutal and leave a lasting effect on its participants. This week’s lost classic represents a bold change in the formula of a well known classic shooter franchise. So head on in and celebrate the end of this historic election season.
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