RPG Classics Mailbag

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Greetings everyone to yet another Mailbag. Good news, DG is back, drunk as always.

Drunk ? *Burps*

Yeah..... you...... drunkard !!!

..... *Burp* 8X

Yes. Drunk. Anyways, the bad news, SG and Kagon couldn't make it to this one.

Good. I'm glad they couldn't make it.

Quiet you.

Yeah, shut up !!!

Ugh. I'm getting back in my hole.

You do that. Anyway, I'd like to thank all of you that sent in Replies. We know this wasn't exactly the best topic, so thank you for dealing with a weaker than normal topic.

Oh no, you don't !!

Oh yes I do!

You're helpin' out since DG can't do everything since he's not.. like you know.... fully here...

*Burps* Ohhhh

See ???? He's way too drunk

Obviously.

Anywhoo...... uhhh..... yeah...... do I open the first reply ?

Goodness......... after this, you're going to rest, you need it !

*Burp* You really..... think soo ??

Obviously.

Oh yeah....... you're completely burned out, boss.

Ohhhhhhhh *Burp*

hey hey! it's Slavoc for his third time responding! yay!

Stratage RPGs eh? that's my fav type ov gaming yo! I think the emblem system of Knight of lodis (GBA) would be a sweet addition to any SRPG.

To anyone who hasn't played KoL, when someone accomplishes certain things in battle(1 hit ko, dodging like a madman, etc.), the character earns an emblem, which can enhance stats, make new classes available, or even just be an accomplishment to feel good about.

Sometimes emblems can be a bad thing too (Don Quitox: running blindly into an enemy on the forst turn, being countered and losing 2/3 hp), they'll lower certain stats, luck, dodging capability, or even the funniest one, 'broken heart'(male only) - which is earned by by being turned down 10 times by a female character trying to recruit her, it's so sad.

This system would add to any SRPG if used properly, so instead of getting lvl 3 squire to become knight, you'll have to get lvl 3 squire and the knight's cert emblem, which makes a lot more sence if you really think about it.

Another good addition would be practice mode. you'd think Square'd think of it by now, but i've only played one SRPG with it. Practice mode is just playing both teams with all your own troops, there are no permanent deaths, but exp is rewarded, yes, it's easily abused (endless lvl gaining), but it's a (cover your ears) FRICKIN' SINGLE PLAYER GAME!!!! IT'S USELESS TO CHEAT AT IT, ALL YOU'RE PROVING IS THAT YOU CAN"T HANDLE A SIMPLE GAME!!! (ok, uncover your ears).

SRPGs are my favorite, you're a lot more involved in the battles as apposed to menu based (FF6 is great and all, but the battles are too easy, I need a challenge), and all the class changing shiznat really adds to the replay value yo. Not to mention the (in most[99.9%] SRPGs) multiple endings.

Ohhh yeah TOG :D Now you're taking. Innovation would be good yes, but don't forget that Square recently bought Quest, so we might see another Tactics Ogre with a Practice Mode in the future.

An emblem system could be rather interesting. Shining Force 2 sort of employed that in the case of character class changings such as needing the Pegasus Wing to become a Pegasus Knight.

Uhh 984, there IS an emblem system in TOG :P

Psh. I don't play TOG. :P As for practice stages, Bahamut Lagoon sorta had one, but practicing against yourself would be fun. Possibly make it multiplayer too.

TOG has multiplayer :P

Fine. Go and piss in my porridge why don't you?

Heh heh....... *Burp*

Don't tempt him, he might go and do it since he's drunk

Oh. Right. You're drunk. No bladder control.

He stinks...... you need a good mouthwash

Obviously.

*Breathes on DeathJester*

Uhhhhh.. ahhhhhhh *faints*

Yeah yeah. I get it. DG's drunker and smellier than a lifelong hobo. Speaking of hobos, here's Deedly and his Reply!

The obvious answer to that question is to allow a more in depth Character Creation

I love games where you can make characters they are just fun

anything with lotsa customization r0x0rz

Didn't FFT sort of have character creation?

Indeed, 984. FFT, TO, and a bunch of other SRPGs already got a customization system

Oh well. Too much customization would be bad. You sort of need somewhat defined character roles for at least some of the characters.

And FFT had a pretty deep job system, to be able to give a Knight Summon Magic was really innovative.

Yeah. Innovation is good, but if it detracts from the foundation of a game that may depend on character development, it could be bad. So, I'd prefer a game where the generic almost no-name fighters can change classes alot while the main characters can still change their classes, but only down a set route with a few possible tributaries.

Tributaries, eh? Speaking of tributaries, I once knew a man from Nantucket, who-

QUIET!

Sorry.

Haw, that shut him up !

For that outburst, you shall have to get the next Reply.

Liek toly

What? Aw... Damnit...

Ahahaha !!! Loo-ser !

You mean Lo-ser....

*Glares at DeathJester then slices him with RalphtheRobopon's Reply*

This is lengthy, at least for my responses.
Hmm..let me think on how to make strategy games more innovative....
1. Resources are messed up. You shouldnt need to have a resource to make the building that collects that resource. For example(1), I need to collect nuclear energy, but I need nuclear energy to make a power plant. How am I gonna have that resource? I may start with some, but what if I use it to make stuff that requires nuclear energy?
2. More on Resources. Make them have more uses then building stuff. For example,(2) in Age of Empires 2(havent played AoE1) or Warcraft, you have to collect food and gold. Apparently, soldiers dont need to be payed and dont need to eat except when initially recruited. Villagers can mine all day long without taking some Gold of their own or needing to eat.
3. Even more on Resources. Make them equally useful and abundant. For example(3), in Age of Empires 2, stone is rare, and non replenishable like Food. Stone is used in some of the most useful buildings, such as towers, walls, and Castles. However, when I look at my stats at the end of the game, I end up with only around 1200 Stone Collected and about 10000 Food, Gold, and Wood collected.
4. Gripes about Graphics/Descriptions. Sometimes when building stuff/making machines/siege weapons, it looks like it was made of something it wasnt. If I make a house out of wood, should it look like it was made from stone? If I use Nuclear Energy and Iron to make a machine, should its description say it runs off of electricity and have a golden/bronze look? If I use bronze to enhance my weapons, should they still look chrome?
5. More gripes about graphics. Its strange how I can use bronze to make my sword at first and then use Iron later, yet still have a bronze look. Or if I stop using wood to make armor in favor of steel, why should it be brown? And if I kill 500 men with my broad sword, why is there no blood on it or chips from hitting shields? Thats a flaw most medievil strategy games make. Battle Realms, one of my favorite strategy games, does not, however. For example(4), when using Battle Gears(basically extra skills), such as the sniper skill with musketeers, a Scope appears on my musket. Or when using Yin Sword with my Samurai, my sword glows. And when killing enemies, my sword gets red splotches on it. Likewise, if I kill someone with a cannon, should they simply fall over? If I slash them with my sword, shouldnt their corpse have slash marks on it?
6. Heres the second biggest thing that makes a strategy game innovative:
DONT MAKE EVERY RACE THE SAME!
For example(5), in Warcraft 2, the Orcs and Humans are EXACTLY the same, just with graphical differences, spell differences, and different sounds.
7. Finally, the biggest thing that is wrong with strategy games:
DONT MAKE ONE UNIT BETTER THAN EVERY OTHER UNIT! GIVE IT A WEAKNESS!
Thank you for listening to my rants.

Ok.... So you're speaking of normal RTSes !!!! We're speaking of Strategy-RPGs. Do you see how diffrent they are ???

Yeah. You get this award!

You messed up, Sir Robopon

Obviously.

Awwwww ;_; Poor guy, he misunderstood the question

No need to feel sorry for him...

Well, we didn't do a good job of explaining what a Strategy RPG is even though that should be common knowledge among RPG fans.

Obviously.

Anyways..... let's move on. The next reply is by......... Gryzz203. Let's see what he thinks should be added...

::Gets poked in the back:: Fine. Fine. I'm writing. I'm writing. yeesh. I can't believe I let you talk me into this. Great cousin you are.

Yeah, well, we needed the Replies, cuz. Besides, I don't pester you too much.

What are you talking about? You pester him everyday!

Yeah, sorry dude, but we reeeaaaaallly appreaciate your reply :D

Energon, you spiteful little monkey...

So you wanna know Strategy RPG innovation type stuff, do ya? Well, I would add is more diversifimacation. Now let me explain.

From my veiwpoint, most Strat RPGs tend to follow the standard formula started by games like Shining Force. There's a band of warriors on the field that can be equally strong versus most enemies, attack and magic power not being taken into account. Now, this is nice and all, but this formula's getting a little boring.

Take Dragon Force for example. In it, there are roughly 150 different generals that can control up to 10 different types of troops on field (not at one point naturally) that can range anywhere from 10 to 100 troops at maximum strength and are strong versus some troops, weak versus others. See, in this game, you not only have to worry about what enemy you're facing and what kind of spells he has, you have to worry about what troops he commands, how many he has, what troops the other enemy generals have if theirs a draw... It involved much more strategy in my opinion.

So basically, to answer your question as abstratcly as possible, to make Strategy RPGs more innovative, I'd make games that employ more variables than just the X amount of characters on the field. So, uh, yeah. Fewer games that use the Shinign Force formula and more that involve stuff like generals commanding troops.

Hmm... More Strategy RPGs with an emphasis on generals commanding troop types would be fun. Dragon Force did a damn good job at implementing that.

Well.... lesse..... uhhh Bahamut Lagoon has the hero, Byuu, controlling his band, Alphonse in TOG had his own min-army, umm Ramza in FFT had his own allies.... Having a leader govern an army ain't a bad thing, there is some interaction between the leaders and their loyal followers...

Well, I think he's actually talking about having those characters exist as generals, and each general gets to control a generic troop type. TO comes close to what he's saying, but not on so grand a scale.

Yeah...

DF is a hard game to explain if you've never seen it in action.

Yeah, actually I've never seen it

Well, you should sometime. All you need is a Sega Saturn. :P

Grah And those are hard to come by ;_;

Moving on... Doc Shinryuu is up next.

*Suddenly, a spear pierces through the celing, making a rather large hole. A moment later, Doc Shinryuu drops through the hole.* Hello all. Doc Shinryuu here. *fanfare* I- *fanfare* Sto- *fanfare* STOP IT!!! *silence* ... anyway, sorry I didn't respond to the last Mailbag, but I have a good excuse: I use a Mac, so I can't really play any MMORPGs.
To be honest, I think the question is sort of null. I think Strategy RPGs reached their peak with FFT and Saiyuki: the Journey West. FFT brought the Class System and Customizable Abilities to full force, while Saiyuki brought the Wereform System into play. I don't see how Strategy RPGs could become any more innovative, unless Square has some sort of trump card up their sleeve for FFT Advance.
Staying on the subject of future games, I think a good Mailbag topic for next time would be "Should Square remake more classic Final Fantasies, or should they stop with FF1&2?" Well, I'd better be going. See ya next time(I hope)! *Doc walks to the door and phases through it. The spear explodes in a ball of flame, leaving no remnant of it.*

Hmmm........ FFT did have alot, but I'm sure Square could have done more.... I've wanted to see the Blue Mage Class in FFT..... It's absent ;_;

I don't think Strategy RPGs have reached their peak. As in regular RPGs, new ideas are always being implemented, or the old ones are being implemented in new ways. So, I think we have plenty to look forward to in the future.

Yes, FFTA will be sweet, I know it :D

That's what you think.

Dude, you don't underestimate Square...... EVER !

They know their stuff indeed

Well, shall we move away from the fanboyish attitude? We shall. With a Reply by ClothHat that is.

I cut you! I mean, strategy RPG's, innovation, right. Well I'm going to go for the obvious answer and say a different setting. The majority of strategy RPG's stick with one of two settings, the standard medieval setting, or the present day mercenary force. There have been a few notable exceptions, FOT, battlebugs. I would like to see different settings in my strategy games: Cavemen, post-apoclyptic, (More of this for every genre!) Futuristic, little kids with squirt guns, snowball fights, gangbangers. I lost my train of thought, just go ahead and mock me now.

ClothHat : Ever tried the Front Mission Series ? If that ain't futuristic, I don't know what is !

Or Fallout. Fallout's getting a Strategy RPG. And yes, little kids with squirt guns would make an awesome Strategy RPG.

LOL

That has to be the worst idea, no offense, CH

What? You know it would. Hell, just make it Backyard Wars. Kids beat each other with sticks instead of swords. Water guns and water balloon throwes instead of archers. It could be great!

You, sir, are an idiot.

It sounds way too corny

Hey. Corny is good. Especially on the cob.

I'll get the last reply !

No, me !!

MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE !!!

How about all of you?

All of us ???

Not you. You smell.

Grrrrrrrrrr !!!

I'll take care of it, boys ^.~ Our last reply is by BahamutXero, welcome him everyone.

Hey guys,

BahamutXero here. I'd have to say that strategy RPGs are my favorite type of RPG. I've played most of them but FFT has to be my favorite (big suprise huh?). I liked the Arc the Lad Collection (I can't wait for the PS2 game) ,TO, the Vandal Hearts series, and Brigidine too.

The main one thing that I think should be in all strategy RPGs would be class systems or some other type of character development. Let's face it, the battles are the main thing in the games, although a good story would be great. There should be a large variety of stuff to learn so that you won't use the same abilities every battle and get bored quick, that happened in VH.

The only other thing I'd think that would improve strategy RPGs would be to have a difficulty setting or something. Some games allow you get to level 99 or whatever and you can kill everything in one hit. What's the fun in that? Although I do admit I would go level crazy too if a boss pissed me off.

Oh well, that's all I can think of. Untill next time then.

Long live the king of dragons!!

Well, we've said our thoughts on character development and classes, but difficulty would be good. Although, if you're patient enough to level up characters to Level 99, you sorta deserve to take out characters in one hit.

Right, but I recall a certain boss in FFT, I couldn't beat him until I reached Level 50, then the rest of the game was too easy ;_;

That sucks.

But a difficulty setting would be a good idea, really

I laugh at you.

..... Evil DG, fry him good !

Yes-siree !

*Jumps on Evil DG's head*

Grah..... Idiot !! *Bites Energon*

You bit your own head?

No, fool, I bit your leg...

Well, that was interesting. Next Mailbag's topic comes from Amaranthinus. Take it away, Amaran.

Rpg musical! Rpg musical!

Cidolfas refused to host it! (he said, and I quote, "no way am I doing that @_@") But here is *your* once in a lifetime chance to host the rpg musical mailbag!

The concept? If you were to make any rpg into a musical what would it be? Just imagine Ozzy or Ultros crooning "I Will Survive", limit breaks to "There's No Limit", "Food Glorious Food" from that weird tongue thing in FFIX, Ernest from Star Ocean 2 with "The Fandom of Opera", Squall with "My Technicolour Actually-Just-A-Bit-Shabby-Really Furry Dream Coat", Kit from BoF2 on "Cats" and Cloud, Barret, Cid and Vincent getting down to the "YMCA" for a free night's rest in a youth hostel!!! (I think that deserves a few more exclamation marks) !!!!!

Even better, the more enthusiastic readers out there can even provide exemplary lyrics!! What fun!!! And what would an rpg musical mailbag be without links to mp3's of readers singing their own songs!!!

Ladies and Gentlemen, the power is *yours*!

Amaranthinus.

P.S. My GOD it sounds awful, doesn't it? I think I'm evil. I must actually be evil to unleash such an idea upon the world. That said, the results would have to be funny... you might not survive them, but they'd be funny... that's worth it, right?

P.P.S. Jesus. I just thought: what would Charlemagne do with *this*? I'm not going to sleep tonight.

Hear that folks? You get to put RPG characters in an existing musical, or better yet, design your OWN musical starring RPG characters! So, send them on in. No mp3 links though. We don't want to hear you sing.

Yep...... that's a niiice topic.......... uh oh......... *crashes on the floor, sleeping*

AW, do we have to pick him up AGAIN ?

Yes. You do. I'm not letting that bum sleep here.

Seems so, stop complaining, it could be worse.

I've said it once and I'll say it again : You..... lousy....... drunkard !!!

*Slashes Evil DG in the back of the head, making him fall on top of DG*

Ow !

Now you get to carry TWO DGs.

Grrara !!!!

Oh god, they're heavy....

*Chuckles then turns off the lights as everyone leaves*

Wait... I, Garland, wasn't in the whole Mailbag! I, Garland, shall knock someone down! Well, I, Garland, would knock someone down if someone was here. *Cries* I, Garland, am so sad. :(