ShadowPaladin V1.0

I've already sent the cheque to the Ninja " To seriously answer your question though. There are some universal elements mostly revolving around your choice of protagonist and how the story is told through a mixture of FMV and cutscenes (to say these are outside of your control would be false). Other than that you will probably find a different system in every JRPG you play, even those from the same series like FF. Latest FF is different to anything you have ever seen before :cool:. One I could never really get on with was Baten Kaitos and the card system. Tales of Symphonia for example has the monsters on the field map so you can see and avoid them. Ironically this dillutes the roleplaying since it removes the avoidence from the characters and transfers it to the player. Star Oceen is another one where the critters appear on the map and can be avoided with relative ease. I think Shadow Hearts:Covenent would be a good choice. The story is strong, it comes on two DVD's and weighs in at around 100 hours gameplay. The combat is turnbased, but with a stop dial which you can change or adjust depening on your abilities. So rather than just watch your attack your always involved in the timing (unless you want to switch it off). It's scene heavy in places, but also has some huge dungeons and other areas where there is little or no interuption, has some nice puzzles too. Your still going to come across random creatures, but very early on you get the means to slow or even stop the non boss encounters.

On your grandfather or grandmothers side. Depending on how many generations you trace it back you can get some strange mixes.

Wouldnt count on that.

Not really, Nintendo might not have huge numbers, but when it comes to profits they made more than MS this time around. The Xbox cost MS millions in loses where as the GC was actually making a profit on hardware even at it's low price. There are probably enough core nintendo supporters to keep them going for a while yet. Actually I was looking over the released soon lists and I want 7 out of the top 10 nintendo releases.

Is this Indigo Prophecy ? http://shop.gameplay.co.uk/webstore/produc...tle=fahrenheit_

Aahh! Stop it! I liked it better when I was the only one who had even heard of the Gothic games <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I've really got to play one of them sometime. I played a German demo once but the controls were fiddly to say the least.

Wasnt implying that only making the observation about how people bring their movie experience into the game. It's the amine thats kept things going. I think they went pretty much hand in hand. We are not really talking about a game packed with FMV anyway thats simply beyond technology. But special scenes deserve it. I'm never going to forget Yuna performing 1000 words for example, or Yuna and Tidus in the pool in Macalenia woods before they take on the final stage of the journey. At the time of VII the technology wasnt there. Got to be honest the whole FFVII is lost on me, I really didnt like the Materia system and I always liked Tiffa more than Aeris. However there is little doubt that FFVII with FMV would have even more impact. The older Antholologies have FMV intro's and extro's too which certainly bring life and reality to what would otherwise be abstract characters. Personally I think you need FMV for the following. Intro - Pull the player into the world. Pretty much every game has an FMV intro anyway. Points of high drama - anything where you want maximum drama and or emotional impact is best done with FMV. Endings, again this is you rewarding the player for their time, it should be the highest quality possible. Actually most JRPGs follow what I outlined, they are not that FMV heavy in quantity, but rather in quality (as in the scenes will last a long time). Four or 5 good size FMVs will fill a DVD though. It does have a lot to do with how little time is devoted to the characters , another case of quantity over quality. Hopefully they will have more than 10 voice actors doing those 1000 NPCs.

The popularity of KOTOR is based on Star Wars , to believe anything I think would naive. Both Yu Gi Oh and Duel Masters have an animated spin off which is similiar. Well 60-70% isnt as good so I think you answered your own question there. If you want the best you use some really great FMV and allow that to to carry the game. Dont forget it's not just RPGs which invest heavily in kick arse FMV intro's DOA IV's intro movie alone for example took up about a 1/5th of the disk, but boy was it a scene setter I cant actually remember any of the TES characters, with the exception of the Ghost King because there just isnt much character there.

Something else just occured to me concerning the KOTOR games. It's the fact that there are movies which make them so popular. People transpose the movies to the games. Of course not every game can have it's own series, but cutscenes and good FMV perform the same function albeit less effectively than 9 hours of movie could :D

To the gameplay , no but to the game experience what they add is a realism that you can then take into the game with you. Look at it like this, you see the intro to Dawn of War , which is a fantasic representation of what WH40K combat is like and then when you get your little game pieces and battles which are nothing like that you mind transposes that onto them. Without that you would be left with an ok game, but with the cinematic additions you have a game that exudes warhammer from every fibre of it's being.

Can't wait for geriatric Snake to roll out. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Must.... subdue.... desire... to... post.... VGCats... again! <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Please do , it was great.

I get much more annoyed at games which appear to offer character freedom but are in fact just as straghtjacketed. The reason I dont worry about it when it comes to JRPGs is I know exactly what I'm getting and generally get a kick ass story and various enhanced gameplay aspects as a result. In purely gameplay terms the number of variations you can make to the FFX weapons for example go way beyond what you would get by having extra weapon catagories per character.

Can't wait for geriatric Snake to roll out.

Nice

You could have a point there. But MGS is kinda special.

Could the nameless one wear armour,use a longsword ? Nope. Could your character in Jade Empire wear armour ? Again Nope. Tidus can use a variety of swords though with upto 4 customisable options on each one. Customisable options range from instant death to petrification increased damage, faster AP gain, the list goes on and its a bloody long list let me tell you. Same goes for the armour too. And the quest for the celestial weapons is a doozy. For customisable equipment it's one of the best. But customisable equipment tends to be at the core of JRPGs anyway. Anyways if RPGs have a legacy it's that they have become part of almost every genere from FPS to Sport.

I agree, but it goes beyond that too. Programmers are not good directors. You look at some of the in engine scenes in KOTOR and Jade Empire and they are , well, wooden for want of a better word.

I've never come across an RPG where you cant choose what equipment you use. It might be restricted, but your still able to choose it. Hang on Jade Empire didnt have any equipment. OK well thats one then. I think the things are becoming so restricted anyway that choosing your appearence has become more of a triviality than a reqirement. I just picked the hottest model in Jade Empire and the game didnt come out any different than if there had only been a single character at the end of the day.

Heres another non typical game which follows the same dark/lightside as KOTOR does. From his first appearance in Sonic Adventure 2TM to his most recent role in Sonic HeroesTM, Shadow has emerged as one of the most popular characters in the Sonic The Hedgehog universe. And now, he is headlining his own game. Shadow The Hedgehog boldly redefines the intense, high-speed action that fans have come to love in the Sonic The Hedgehog series. Created as the Ultimate Life Form, Shadow is a rebel tormented by a dark past, and he is struggling to unveil his true identity. Was he created to save humankind or to do the evil bidding of the dark side? His only clues are his own forgotten memories, and those secrets can only be unlocked through the powers of seven Chaos Emeralds. Now, Shadow's once peaceful planet is under siege by a malevolent force. The government must take whatever means necessary to stop this deadly attack. Timing is critical and the Chaos Emeralds are at the heart of it all. In order to secure the Emeralds, Shadow must play both sides...but the path he takes will ultimately be up to you! It's missing the customisable options, but it has the consequences of actions down perfectly. Shadow is also 1000 times cooler than Sonic :D Shadow can use special skills, like Chaos Control to manipulate time and space, or Chaos Blast, for unbelievable destruction. Heavy-duty weapons are on hand, such as bazookas, blasters and worm shooters. There is a wide assortment of vehicles for Shadow to use, including motorcycles, alien crafts, and SUV's. Shadow is able to pick up and use environmental objects like poles, sticks and debris to plow his way through a mission. Players can decide to stay on a path of good or veer onto a path of evil; choices that the player makes will determine the progression of the story. I'm even going to put my platform hatred aside for this one

True, but you can say the same about any RPG , like why cant I be a knight in Jade Empire. I doubt you have seen the level of customisation on offer in Tiger Woods in any traditional sort of RPG.

Well thats the thing about a game like Tiger Woods to all intents and purposes it's an RPG. You play the role of a golfer, your golfer is fully customisable and your golfer earns experience. How you play is modified by your characters skills, and if you go on the tour made there is a story of sorts. You can equip the character and earn money to buy better equipment. I think that covers every criteria to be classes as a roleplaying game short of beating things over the head with a nine iron :D

Thats making less and less difference since RPGs have started to use such restrained backgrounds and storylines anyway. I'd agree about the names however thats a pretty recent thing which came along with full voicing(even in FFX you dont ever hear Tidus refered to by name). And given the choice between being called "The Exile" or "The chosen one" the whole game or having people address you by a name the latter feels much less artificial.

Because if Oblivion is anything like Morrowind it will be large but empty. You wouldnt get away with that in JRPG because the Japanese are all about content and characters. So it's really about having a game where you can have people walking around looking at the same stuff for hours on end, rather than any sort of technical skill. It remains to be seen just how well Oblivion will adapt without a HD too.

Well look at it this way. The PS had a CD at the end of the PS's lifespan you were getting games on 4 disks. Along comes PS2 and you have DvD now towards the end of the PS lifespan your getting games on two disks. PS3 along comes blu ray now this is where it gets interesting. At the time of CD no one could really see a time when you would need 4 disks for a game, but in 5 years you did. No no one can see you needing more than one blu ray right now (since they are huge) but if the pattern continues that will be the case by the time the PS4 rolls around. Like hell I'm going to be greatful to MS just for covering their own arse, but then I'm not a Epiphany. The idea that people are running two disk games before a console is even released I find laughable. Plus you know what is really going to happen, your going to get smaller games to save on space, because the alternative increases the cost of development and anything that wont fit in a standard DVD case (thats not even taking into account the chance of scratching) will cost even more. So like I said excuse me If I dont feel in the slightest bit greatful to MS for giving me a substandard machine just to cover their own arse.

Fable has some pretty frantic action. I dont think you can just pick and choose what you call an RPG unless your just applying your own criteria.