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Super Robot Wars OG: The Moon Dwellers – Thoughts So Far

August 30, 2016 dan

Super Robot Wars OG: The Moon Dwellers came out a while ago, and I’ve been playing it nonstop since. I still haven’t beaten it, though, because on top of being really long, it’s hard as hell. I’m only a fraction of the way into the game and I’m already having trouble beating stages, something I haven’t really seen in a Super Robot Wars game in a long time. So, since my inevitable review of this game is still a ways away, I would like to at least give my thoughts on the game so far. Super Robot Wars is a series very dear to my heart, so prepare for a lot of hyping up, especially since this is the first time we’ve seen an English release of a Super Robot Wars game since the Game Boy Advance.

The Soul Saber finishing an attack (image courtesy of Gematsu)

Mechanically speaking, it’s more of what you’d expect from Super Robot Wars, but more optimized, which is a good thing. It’s still a standard turn-based strategy game, but with some if its own unique twists. Your team is composed of pilots and mechs, and each have their own individual stats. The pilots’ stats serve as modifiers for their mechs’ stats. Pilots have special abilities that offer different temporary boosts, like being able to have your next attack be a guaranteed hit, or taking 1/4 damage from enemies for a turn. There’s also terrain efficiencies, equippable weapons alongside the mechs’ base weapons, and the double up mechanic. You’re given a lot of ways to strategize for this game. The maps are very well-designed, and you actually have to use the terrain to your advantage to get hits in and damage done. They effect your accuracy and evasion rates, which are ridiculously important. Not only that, but the game has yet to feel unfair. Hard, yes, but not unfair. I feel like every time I lose, I lost because of a poor decision, and not because the game was screwing me over.

The game runs beautifully , and is absolutely gorgeous to look at. I never get tired of watching attacks; they’re so flashy and over-the-top, and literally everything ends in an explosion. The combat scenes have this great 2D-on-3D look to them, and the quality of the sprites and environments themselves look fantastic. The animation is fluid, and they transition from the smaller sprites to a full sized image of the mech seamlessly.

The Compatible Kaiser about to attack (image courtesy of Gematsu)

I’m especially enjoying the soundtrack to the game. JAM Project do their usual thing of being Japan’s best musical export with the opening theme. On top of that, the rest of the soundtrack brings back the songs from the previous games and makes them even better. When I first heard the new version of Ash to Ash (Lamia’s theme) and Brass Sincerity (Latooni’s theme) I had the biggest grin on my face. The music here is masterfully made, and I can’t wait to hear even more of it as I progress through the game.

As for the story, well, I don’t believe I’m far in enough to truly give it a go. I’m only just now getting to the point where stuff is like, actually happening. So I can’t really say. As for the characters, though, there’s not a single unlikeable one so far. This is something I really like about the SRW games. Their characters are always so well-made and so likeable. Be it Akimi’s love of all things super robots, Excellen and her stupid jokes, or even just the genuine coolness of someone like Sanger Zonvolt; All of the characters are insanely likeable.

Overall, I’m thoroughly enjoying Super Robot Wars OG: The Moon Dwellers, and am certain that by the time I’m done with it, I’ll love it even more. Everything about this game in incredibly charming, and I can’t wait to experience more of it.

Moral Choices in Games, Why do we Love Them?

August 27, 2016 Ricky

We’ve all had to make tough choices in games that will affect the story and the characters we care about. Weather it be to save something for ourselves or use it for the benefit of everyone. Moral choices are EVERYWHERE. Most often times they can affect the ending you get. This adds a layer of replayability, but it always gives players a sense of real control over the story. It allows them to react to it a little closer to how they would in actual life.

Oftentimes this can be done very well. Certain moral choices can be hard and not always lead to a good outcome However there are times where obvious black and white scenarios are presented. This you would see in games like Spiderman: Web of Shadows. Worst of all, the times where moral choices are done the worst are when they have very little impact on the story, such as the case in Telltale’s Game of Thrones. It doesn’t work to have a choice that doesn’t matter. Bioshock Infinite however takes that idea and spins it on its head.

No matter how you choose, Bioshock Infinite shows that the choice is yours, but no matter what you pick, another you chose differently. Image Source: videogamesuncovered.com

Within that game, the game presents some choices where good and evil are obvious. However, it also presents choices that are meaningless. The brilliance of this is that the game is built around the fact that no choice matters. The one you did not make in this universe, you made in another. This isn’t cheating away the importance of a choice, but strengthening the theme of the game, so much so that you actually experience it and see that nothing changes as a result.

Adding the element of choice also helps make the playable character different depending on how you play the game. This can be seen most especially in games like Infamous. Cole Macgrawth of Delsin Rowe can either be saviors for the cities they are fighting in. Although, they can also choose to

Infamous Second Son has you choose weather you want to do something for yourself or for someone else. Image Source: gamerheadlines.com

be feared and become the most powerful. The moral choices you make also effect how you play in the game: using more neutralizing and acrobatic powers for good or more lethal and destructive powers for evil.

Weather they’re done well or not, it seems that moral choices aren’t going to be going away any time soon in the gaming community. And why should they? They invest players in the story. Add more control over the narrative. And make the protagonist feel more like the player themselves. Choose good or choose evil, but we can all agree, its a hell of a time making the choice.

TLC’s D&D 5E Homebrew: The Elements: Water

August 26, 2016 Greg

The Lifecast’s Dungeon Master Greg Fernandes shares some of his D&D 5e homebrew ideas. This edition attempts to create more spells for the elements that got less love. This week, Water.

TLC’s D&D 5e Homebrew: The Elements: Earth and Acid

August 22, 2016 Greg

The Lifecast’s Dungeon Master Greg Fernandes shares some of his D&D 5e homebrew ideas. This edition attempts to create more spells for the elements that got less love. This week, Earth and Acid.

Games that Especially Deserve a Digital Re-release

August 21, 2016 Kennedy

I recently managed to finally get a game called Shadow Hearts on the PS2. I’ve been wanting to play this game for a while, but it’s been pretty difficult because it’s considered a rare game on the PS2 due to its limited release, and unlike several other games in this day and age, isn’t available on the PSN or any other digital game distributor. After years of hoping I’d find it–and if I did, that I’d find it at a decent price–it finally made its way into a favorite local game store of mine that I happened to have a gift card for. Due to its rarity and price though, I would’ve much rather have bought this game on a digital game distribution network like PSN or Steam, play it there, and then buy a physical copy if I ended up really liking it. Shadow Hearts is very much a hidden gem, and like many other underrated games, has managed to go under the radar of PSN and Steam for years. If its quality wasn’t enough to warrant putting it on a digital distribution network, then its rarity should. It’s very hard for new fans like myself to get into the franchise without emulation because the games are so hard to find–and because of their rarity, they’re usually pretty overpriced, too. Shadow Hearts is far from the only case of this happening to a game, though. There are many games right now that deserve to be put on PSN, Steam, Nintendo E-Shop, etc., especially as the modern market seems to heavily lean toward digital releases in the future. For some reason though, they simply aren’t there yet. Here are some other games such as Shadow Hearts that especially deserve to be made more accessible by being put on a digital distributor sooner rather than later.

The entire .hack franchise

thegeekclinic.wordpress.com

I will sing the praises of .hack until the end of time. The .hack franchise–particularly the .hack//G.U. trilogy–is one of my favorite game series of all-time. This is why it breaks my heart all the more because this is such a difficult franchise for people to get into. There are two main series for .hack: The Infection quadrilogy and the G.U. trilogy. All of them are on the PS2. Each series had a pretty limited release, and the short of it is, they’re very expensive games. The first 3 games in the Infection series will cost you $20-$40 each depending on the condition, and then the final game, .hack//Quarantine, is worth about $150 if its in decent condition. Each game in the G.U. trilogy is worth between $60-$80 each depending on their condition. In total, you’d be spending at least $200 on the Infection series and $180 on the G.U. trilogy–$380 if you wanted them all. These games are amazing, but that’s just ridiculous. These games have a rather vocal cult following who all vehemently ask for an HD collection or digital re-release or some legal way of making these games more accessible. If nothing else, the G.U. trilogy turns 10 this year. What better way to celebrate than by breathing new life into an amazing franchise by bringing countless amounts of new fans into it?

Rule of Rose

via neogaf.com

If you thought $150 for a single .hack game sounded insane then strap in your seat belt because this game is undoubtedly the most expensive game on the PS2. Prices for Rule of Rose tend to run between $170-$350 depending on its condition. Why is it so expensive? First of all, it’s an Atlus game. Atlus games–especially at the time this came out (2006)–were pretty notorious for having low print runs despite generally being good games. Second, and there’s no way to sugar coat this so I’ll be plain about it, this game contains violent and sexual depictions of children akin to Lord of the Flies. Thankfully the sexual depictions are never explicit, but the implications are all there. It was banned in Italy and the UK, made European politicians want a re-evaluation of the PEGI rating system, and even got mentioned at the French National Assembly because of the moral controversy it caused. It even appeared in The Times.

via hardcoregaming101.net

It’s pretty easy to see why it almost wasn’t released in the States. After almost a year of court battles, it received a very limited English release–even by Atlus standards. On top of that, despite all its controversy it didn’t sell particularly well and received only lukewarm reception. It’s pretty easy to see now why it’s so expensive, right? I completely understand why Atlus probably wants to forget about this game and not start more controversy, but it’s because it’s such a controversial game is why I wish it were more accessible. Just as Lord of the Flies received lots of controversy at its time, so has Rule of Rose–yet despite this, that’s why a lot of people read it: To see what was so controversial about it. Rule of Rose is no different. After all, it’s not every day politicians try to ban a game as hard as they did Rule of Rose. With a price tag as hefty as Rule of Rose’s, it’s out of the question for almost anyone to play it without emulation, and I’m sure there are plenty of willing players out there who would pay the standard $10-$15 on PSN to add it to their library and see what all the fuss was about.

Any Fire Emblem game before Awakening

via youtube.com

Many fans agree that Fire Emblem Awakening breathed new life into the Fire Emblem franchise once it released. A previously niche franchise with few fans in the States, the Fire Emblem games that came out prior to Awakening spiked in price once the popularity of Awakening started catching on in 2012–even more so when Super Smash Bro’s on the Wii U came out in 2014 featuring several Fire Emblem characters. Ever since, more and more fans have been clamoring for more accessible, budget-friendly ways to play the Fire Emblem games that were released before Awakening–and even ones that weren’t released in the States. This isn’t the first time Nintendo has ignored the cries of the devoted fan base of one of their beloved but outrageously expensive franchises, and it certainly won’t be the last. Nintendo seems to be adding a lot of notable games to the Virtual Console lately, so why not show some love to one of its older franchises that goes largely underappreciated by them? Between Awakening, Smash, and Fates, Fire Emblem is enjoying a well-earned streak of popularity right now: Strike the iron while it’s hot, Nintendo.

Skies of Arcadia

via heypoorplayer.com

Oftentimes called one of the best JRPGs on the Dreamcast and Gamecube, it’s hard to believe that this game isn’t more available as it is. Whether it’s the original Dreamcast version or the enhanced Gamecube port, Skies of Arcadia is definitely one of the rarer games on both systems–but it’s far from forgotten, both by fans and by Sega. In fact, Sega gave cameos to the main characters of Skies of Arcadia in Valkyria Chronicles. Moreover, this game has a very devoted fan base keeping this game still frequently talked about to this day. Yet somehow, Sega still continues to bank on the shaky odds of success in producing new Sonic games rather than re-releasing one of their other most well-loved games that’s otherwise pretty difficult–not to mention pricey–to obtain. If Shenmue can get a sequel after all these years, then surely there must be hope for another wonderful Sega franchise that’s been forcibly overshadowed by Sonic.

Obviously, these aren’t the only games out there in desperate need of a digital re-release: Feel more than free to comment with other games that you think especially deserve a digital re-release and why. The common thread in the games I think most deserve to be made more accessible are that they’re hard to obtain physical copies of: They’re all rare, expensive, and generally at least 10 years old. If you have any other major reasons you’d like to see a certain game or a group of certain games getting re-released for, be sure and let us know.

No Man’s Sky: One Week Out

August 18, 2016 Deanna

It’s been a week, give or take a few hours. And it feels like a long one, at that. No Man’s Sky has released for PC and internationally as of August 12, last Friday, and it’s been a ride. Now, I’m not here to talk about everything that Hello Games had promised that didn’t make it into the final game. It’s been well documented at this point. I am here to speak about my experience with this game in its first week. This isn’t a review, just my early impressions of the game at around 9 hours in.

Why Did Guitar Hero and Rock Band Fail?

August 17, 2016 Ricky

We all at some point plugged in Guitar Hero or sat at the drums with our friends for Rock Band, but it seems like none of that is around anymore. Rock Band and Guitar Hero each tried a comeback last year, but they only received mixed to average results. The problem? It seems like the concept could have had a great progression, but with its over saturation a few years back, it just ended up becoming a fad.

And what happens to fads? They die. That’s by definition what will happen. They have their glory and then are quickly dropped for the next big gimmick. In order to find out how this came to be, you need to take a look into what caused this failure.

For both series, they each came out with a new entry every year. Not only that, but variations of those entries (Rock Band Beatles, Guitar Hero Van Halen, Rock Band Aerosmith, etc.). It came to the point that nearly three games a year were coming out for both series. As that goes on, it isn’t hard to see that people got sick of it. Why continue to buy the same thing over and over again with slight variations in graphics and different songs?

Everyone remembers the ease of difficulty but still being able to test you more and more. Image Source: Amazon.com

Guitar Hero had a good flow of difficulty but still being able to test you more and more. Image Source: Amazon.com

What could have worked is if they sold less entries but consistently released track packs. This was back in the days where DLC wasn’t as popular, so track packs eventually overlapping into DLC would have been the natural progression. You have people who can buy the entry for a year or so and still be able to get all the songs they want to use.

However, while the various developers could have thought more proactively with their success, they decided to cash in as much as they could as quickly as they could, fearing when it would die. But you can’t over-saturate fearing death of an entry or a genre, what you need to do is see how you can improve it and plan a natural life for it, being more rewarding as the years go on.

If you plan a system like it’s going to die, it WILL die. And that’s not to say that any of the games that came out were bad. They functioned well and had songs everyone loved. Of course they started running thin on music when more and more entries came out, but that could still have exposed people to great unknown rock music. However, the public’s mentality was that it was the same thing with a different coat of paint. Strikingly similar to how people view games such as Call of Duty or Assassins Creed today.

Trying to relive the magic, but not strong enough to make us want to. Image Source: Gamespot.com

And when they tried to make a comeback last year, they had a few good ideas thrown into the games, but it wasn’t nearly enough to recapture the attention of the public. Live action bandmates only seemed to raise the cheese level for Guitar Hero Live. Rock Band 4 was hurt by a weak soundtrack and bad publicity.

Hopefully as time goes on these games can reclaim their place as a giant in the gaming world. But for now, plug in your Playstation 2 and relive the nostalgia while you wait.

Smash and the FGC: Both Sides are in the Wrong

August 16, 2016 dan

Drama happens all the time in whatever community you look at. It’s a fact that you just have to deal with. As of a few years ago, Smash has been getting into the spotlight more and more as a competitive game, and for good reason. Not only does its competition get really intense, but the games are incredibly accessible, and generally easier to follow than most other competitive games. Sadly, Smash has obtained this reputation in the FGC for not being a “true fighting game” for almost no reason other than it being different. This whole debate between whether or not Smash is a true fighter has been going on for literal years.

Though, as of late, it’s gotten worse. Not only are Smash players being verbally attacked at basically every chance someone gets, but members of the FGC who encourage Smash and allow them good treatment at tournaments, such as Alex Jebailey, organizer of Community Effort Orlando, who I have seen multiple people on social media openly go after, are attacked for essentially being “smash sympathizers” and also get disrespected by members of the FGC. Basically, everything I’m talking about with community disrespect from the FGC can be summed up in this Redditor’s letter to the Smash community (WARNING: tons of harsh language). Now, before you say anything, yes, I know that post is from r/Kappa, and while r/Kappa is a generally toxic place anyway, this letter still does a good job at showing many people outside of r/Kappa’s position on Smash as a game.

The conflict between the FGC and Smash doesn’t stop there, though. It also spans into actual tournament organization. Smash 4 was handled horribly at EVO. Hardly any setups per pool in the 2nd or 3rd largest tournament there, some setups not having all the stages unlocked, inefficient space for the size of the tournament, and more. Smash 4 had it the worst at EVO.

These are just two accounts of the FGC’s disdain towards Smash; there are many more. And all of them are acting like god damn children.

Now that we know a bit of the FGC’s side of the conflict, let’s look at how the Smash community responds to it. Spoilers: They’re acting just like the FGC; like god damn children.

Let’s look at CEO 2016. Smash players drowned out the awards ceremony for Guilty Gear Xrd by screaming “Melee!” constantly, not only disrupting the event, but completely disrespecting the players who put in just as much effort, if not more, in their game of choice, just like how those Smash players do in their own game.

As for responding to the fiasco at EVO, the way they treated it wasn’t much better. The community has every right in the world to be mad at the organizers for messing up as badly as they did. That said, the community had lashed out in a way that only harms them and the reputation of their community. Yes, EVO was a mess, and yes, you should be mad about it. But what you should be doing is not whining about how you’ll never go back to it, and instead try to work things out in a civil manner through connecting with members of the community that want to support you, because they are there.

This kind of behavior, from both the FGC and the Smash community, is completely unacceptable. Not only does treating games like this completely undermine all the hard work and effort the members of each community put into their games and events, but it also horribly damages the look that competitive gaming has today. Do we want to be seen as a group of kids who just argue about video games all day, or do we want to be seen as actual competitors in something much bigger than we could imagine? Do we want respect, or do we want to be looked down upon? Because right now with the way the communities are acting, the outcome is not respect. This kind of drama is what holds back competitive gaming as a whole, because instead of working together to improve the overall scene as much as you can, you feud and nitpick and piss and moan about how wavedashing isn’t as demanding as doing an FADC. In order to better the community as a whole, this fighting needs to stop entirely, and we need to work together to make both Smash and the FGC as great as they can possible be.

I love competitive gaming; I love the sense of community it brings to people. We need to strengthen this sense of community as best we can, and it’s impossible to do so if all that’s happening is people being pushed away from both sides. The only way we’re going to reach the point where both communities are working at their best is by having both sides get off their high horses and get it through their thick skulls that everyone is playing their games for the same reason: For some good matches and some good fun. To improve themselves and each other.

To get hype.

TLC’s D&D 5e Homebrew: Samurai Class

August 15, 2016 Greg

The Lifecast’s Dungeon Master Greg Fernandes shares some of his D&D 5e homebrew ideas. This edition attempts to create a unique take on the frequently homebrewed Samurai class.

Cover Image by Lubliner

DragonBall Z: The Perfect Game Cycle

August 10, 2016 Ricky

Weather you loved it or not, no one can deny what an impact Dragon Ball Z had. For a lot of people, myself included, it was their first introduction to anime. Most remember coming home and trying to catch one of the nineteen (not exaggerating) episodes of Goku fighting Frieza or Gohan fighting Cell. And what better to do with a series that blew up than make a game out of it.

And not just that, but many video games off of it. Its still even to the point where

A game that by no means was bad, but didn’t stand out amongst the mountain of games with it. Image Source: Drangobnball.wikia.com

games are still coming out even now, with Xenoverse 2 scheduled for release later this year. I even contemplated doing a “Games Gone By” of one of the series of games, but there really is no one to choose. Do you consider Budokai within the same series as Budokai Tenkaichi or Raging Blast as its own line with Ultimate Tenkaichi being a one-off? My point is, is that there is no definitive series for the game.

And why should there be? It can work in a traditional fighting game style (Budokai and Burst Limit) as well as an open range fighting game (Tenkaichi and Raging Blast) or as something entirely different (The Legacy of Goku series on Game Boy). The limits are endless, and no matter how many times you tell the story, it always seems to have people coming back for more.

An element of nostalgia is present for sure, but for a lot of people, they still are just as involved into it as they are Pokemon. But they always progress in what seems like a natural way. Now an online character creator game has been doing well with Xenoverse, and the sequel will no doubt do just as well.

A failed experiment for sure, but Dragon Ball Z Kinect showed the developers trying to listen to what fans wanted. And thankfully this lead to some great changes. Image Source: Game Shogun.com

But why? Why is Bandai Namco able to make game after game? The answer is simple:

THEY KNOW THEIR AUDIENCE

When the Kinect title didn’t work out, they scrapped it and built something familiar but still inventive with Battle of Z. When that did slightly better, they decided to build something that the fans have always wanted by taking the Dragon Ball Online from Japan and making it into Xenoverse for the Playstation 4. The developers listen to feedback, and while they may try and re-use a formula with a new coat of paint on it, they use the formula that worked and fans likes. It still showed that they pay attention to what people like and don’t. And for me, that is extremely important for any consumer company to do.

So now I say, enjoy Xenoverse, but if you can’t afford the newer games, put in one the old Budokai games r Super Dragon Ball Z, because no matter the time, Dragon Ball Z stands out as a beloved franchise that people can enjoy.

My Hopes for new Alola-Form Pokemon

August 9, 2016 dan

Pokemon Sun and Moon have been doing a lot of interesting things with the series. Hyper Training, the potential replacement of gym leaders, and, most importantly, the Alola forms of specific Pokemon. So far, we have 5 confirmed Alola Pokemon: Alola Vulpix, Ninetales, Sandshrew, Sandslash, and Exeggutor. Obviously, these aren’t the only ones that are going to be in the game, and I thought it would be a cool idea to share potential new Alola forms for older Pokemon. I personally feel like doing this kind of thing to older Pokemon is a really cool idea, and breathes a lot of new life into the game by adding a certain level of realism. My big rule here is that I’m not just going to pick Pokemon I want to see re-typed. I’m choosing Pokemon that I feel would fit into the ecosystem Alola has going for it and how their new forms would fit into the area.

Fire/Rock-type Golem

Golem

Golem has always been a weird Pokemon for me. I’ve always wanted to like it, but felt no reason to. If we were to make its design a bit better and slap a fire typing onto it, I feel like I’d like it a lot more. Alola Golem (and by association, Geodude and Graveler) could be living around the tip of a volcano on the island, and being by the lava all this time has caused them to develop a fire typing to withstand the heat better. For aesthetics, I feel like it’d be a really simple change. Take all the grooves between rocks on Golem and fill them with flowing lava, and then make the rocks acting as his main body take on a darker color, closer to something like coal. The Alola Golem would basically have its stats flipped. Make it a special attacker, with high special defense as well. Regular Golem already gets access to Flamethrower and Fire Blast, so maybe Alola Golem can hold onto those moves and also learn Power Gem to seal the deal. It could get something like Flame Body as its ability or keep Sturdy, both work.

Grass/Fairy-type Bellossom

250px-182Bellossom

A lot of you may be thinking “but Dan, Bellossom is already doing a hula dance and has flowers in its hair, it’s already Hawaiian enough!” and you’d be right. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if a regular Bellossom has already shown up in some sort of Sun and Moon trailer or image. But that won’t stop me from decking this thing out with even more flowers, changing its color scheme to make it brighter, and giving it a fairy typing which is honestly should have anyway. Way I see it, the Bellossom could be a more friendly Pokemon of the region, consistently interacting with humans, and as such, have been closer to the culture of Alola than in other regions. Because they’re more interactive with humans, they live closer to civilization, making them adapt to the life there as opposed to the wild. If Bellossom were to get a fairy typing, its decent defensive stats would actually be a lot more useful in battle, too.

Normal/Fire-type Mamoswine

mamoswine

Let me tell you, I love Mamoswine. I love its bulk, I love its typing, and I love its design. But wouldn’t it be super cool to see it as a fire-type? Alola has icy mountains, so you could still have the ice-type ones alongside the fire types. Mamoswine that went into the icy areas stayed as the ice/ground-types we know, but the ones that chose to stay in the more tropical parts of the area eventually developed into normal/fire-types. In order to survive the warmer climate, their thick coat of fur got thinner and thinner, and being in such high temperatures also gave them an affinity for the hot rather than the cold. The blue patch around their eyes is red now, too. In terms of new stats, Mamoswine’s defenses would be lower, but a little more evenly split, and its speed would be higher, as it doesn’t need to traverse mountainous landscapes anymore. Attack stat stays the same, too. For an ability, it could have Flash Fire or Defiant.

Adding any of these Pokemon, or any new Alola Pokemon, really, would be awesome.

But Drampa will always be the best.

All images courtesy of Bulbapedia

TLC’s D&D 5E Homebrew: Druid of the Land Variant

August 8, 2016 Greg

The Lifecast’s Dungeon Master Greg Fernandes shares some of his D&D 5e homebrew ideas. This edition attempts to improve the Druid of the Land Circle.

Cover Image by DarkKenjie