Anachronox

[Humodour]

Well, I finally found a copy of Anachronox and started playing it. It's not what I expected!

 

For some reason I was expecting an FPS RPG like Deus Ex. It's actually more like some weird mix between Fallout, KOTOR1 and Planescape: Torment.

 

I don't know what to think about it yet, but it seems like it has potential. I think what's most noticeable right now is that in some ways its a bit linear (go from A to C, through B then back to B) but things in each hub/ward change as the plot advances, so I guess that's tolerable. Also the combat system is quirky. It's like a mix between PS:T, Fallout and connect four. It seems a tad boring so far, though - perhaps with more NPCs or higher levels more options and tactics will become available. Although the levelling system seems very linear as well - each NPC has a set class and you have no say in their levelling up.

 

The plot seems sufficiently interesting and unique so far. The characters in the world are quirky and fun mostly. I guess in all I wish the game gave me more control, both in combat and in character advancement,

 

So am I right in my assessment? Do things get better? I am only up to having left Anachronox for the first time.

[GreasyDogMeat]

I wouldn't really compare it to KoTOR, Planescape or any other western RPG. Anachronox is kind of like the Fifth Element meets Chrono Trigger, or some other JRPG. As far as JRPGs go, its deffinitly the best I've played. Then again I haven't played many. Great music, story, atmosphere and humor at the forefront.

 

http://www.machinima.com/film/view&id=231 Machinima of the Anachronox cut-scenes. Worth watching, especially if you have no interest in it as a JRPG, and simply want to see the story.

[Moatilliatta]

How can Anachronox be a JRPG when it was developed by Ion Storm?

[GreasyDogMeat]

What would you define Anachronox as then? The game is nearly identical in playstyle to a JRPG... linear progression, nearly identical turn based battle style without movement, cutscenes/dialog with little or no options. Unless you have some other term for the style of RPG that Chrono Trigger & the Final Fantasy games are part of then Anachronox is as JRPG as a JRPG gets, even if it is from a western developer. Ironic that my favorite JRPG is from a U.S. dev.

[Xard]

It was made like JRPG's are made; it's not JRPG

[GreasyDogMeat]

Sigh... what would you call it then. Yeah its a RPG, but what kind?

 

CRPG usually refers to games like Baldur's Gate, Temple of Elemental Evil, Fallout etc. yet you could call every RPG ever made a CRPG. So I guess Final Fantasy is also a CRPG...

 

Any way you slice it, Anachronox fits in with the RPG style of JRPGs and I was under the impression JRPG was as much a style of RPG as it was simply saying... this RPG is from Japan. If Japan produced a western style Baldur's Gate type RPG with all the freedom, dialog options etc that we expect from western CRPGs is it still a JRPG?

[Moatilliatta]

jrpg - a RPG made in Japan. Mindnumbing.

 

[slight sarcams]The fact that the japanese sucks at making rpgs doesn't mean that jrpg is a genre, it's like marking a leper so you know to avoid them.[/slight sarcasm]

 

Edit: Anyway I haven't actually played this game but it is firmly on my to do list.

Edited March 23, 2008 by Moatilliatta

[GreasyDogMeat]

Again, what RPG catagory would you classify Anachronox under. Anachronox shares and was based on the playstyle of JRPGs such as Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy by the admission of the devs of Anachronox. Is there a specific term for RPGs like Chrono Trigger & Final Fantasy?

 

Whatever that term is... Anachronox is part of it.

 

Its quite a simple concept and you seem to be acting dense just for the sake of argument. Instead of trying to define the specific RPG playstyle of Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy(s) & Anachronox you keep going back to the "DUH Anachronox made in U.S. so not JRPG."

 

Perhaps 'Console Style RPG' would be a better term for Anachronox, however KoTOR was also a console RPG but fit in more in style with CRPGs.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JRPG As official as any wiki information, I guess it would be best to refer to Anachronox as an 'Eastern style RPG'.

Edited March 23, 2008 by GreasyDogMeat

[Moatilliatta]

They are all just CRPGs - computer roleplaying games, we just have a specific category that RPGs made in japan gets put under, which is JRPG.

 

RPG-------Pen and Paper

|

|--CRPG

|

|__JRPG

|

|__Hack and slash (CRPG variant)

 

Does that make it seem clearer what I mean? it is a sub-category which categorizes by geographical location of developement because that geographical place tends to make CRPGs that are different than the usual fare. Both Baldurs gate, Final Fantasy and Chrono cross are CRPGs even though the latter can also be termed JRPGs.

 

To the last point, console style RPGs are as the name tells you a style and as such KOTOR doesn't fall under it just because it is on the console, since it differs in style from what we would call console style RPGs.

[Humodour]

Nothing about Anachronox says "console RPG".

 

To be honest Anachronox is fairly RPG lite. Few dialogue choice, little choice in character advancement (really all you can do is choose your party members), a pretty linear plot (however intricate). Well, so far anyway.

 

Adventure game seems more of an appropriate title.

[GreasyDogMeat]

So... instead of pointing out that it would be more appropriate to call Anachronox a Console Style RPG, or an Eastern Style RPG we engage in a stupid 'yes it is' 'no its not' argument over the term JRPG when I'm sure you understood how I was trying to define Anachronox's specific RPG style as being closer to Chrono Trigger etc etc.

 

Next we should have a large back & forth argument over how to pronounce tomato. I say toe-may-toe and if you disagree you are a loon who needs to be locked up immediatly.

 

To talk about the ACTUAL GAME...

 

I wish more RPGs would focus on humor like Anachronox. I don't think I've ever laughed so hard playing a game before or since. PAL cracked me up quite a few times, interrupting a few sequences where the game started to get serious for a moment. How many RPGs are there where you can have a planet for a NPC?

 

I think the weak points of Anachronox would be, as the OP mentioned, a lot of backtracking in places, some really weak secrets & unskippable battle animations. In one section of the game you run into 'Stare Bears' who use a hypnotizing attack. During the animation the screen spins around in circles as it moves towards the Stare Bear. This damned animation plays over and over during the battle and it frankly almost made me sick to my stomach. As for the secrets, you could go through ridiculous amounts of trekking & searching for items & artifacts that were garbage and had little or no effect on the game.

 

I think the game's story, humor, music & characters more than made up for the shortcomings though.

[Moatilliatta]

Nothing about Anachronox says "console RPG".

 

To be honest Anachronox is fairly RPG lite. Few dialogue choice, little choice in character advancement (really all you can do is choose your party members), a pretty linear plot (however intricate). Well, so far anyway.

 

Adventure game seems more of an appropriate title.

The most interesting question haven't been answered yet, is it fun? I know GDM has already sorta vouched for it but have you come to any conclusion?

[GreasyDogMeat]

You can get a pretty good feel for the game with the demo. http://files.filefront.com/Anachronox+Demo...;/fileinfo.html

 

The only thing the demo isn't good at is showing the overall quality of the cutscenes, though you can check out in the earlier machinima link I posted.

 

The demo gives a feel for both the exploration aspect of the game & the second half of the demo shows off the combat.

[Humodour]

Nothing about Anachronox says "console RPG".

 

To be honest Anachronox is fairly RPG lite. Few dialogue choice, little choice in character advancement (really all you can do is choose your party members), a pretty linear plot (however intricate). Well, so far anyway.

 

Adventure game seems more of an appropriate title.

The most interesting question haven't been answered yet, is it fun? I know GDM has already sorta vouched for it but have you come to any conclusion?

 

If you were okay with PS:T or KOTOR, I reckon it'd suit you, yeah.

 

Here's an example of the humour Dogmeat was talking about... maybe it's funnier in context, I dunno. I got a pretty good laugh out of it though:

 

Casically it's a section in the game that's closed off until you progress a bit in the quest. To close it off, instead of just arbitrarily not allowing you entry, they've done the following:

 

Police tape across the entrance, a policeman standing in front of the tape. You talk to him he says "Some bloke is on fire around the corner. This area is closed off until he puts himself out". In the background you see a man on fire briefly run past screaming his head off.

 

Will comment more thoroughly when I've played more of the game.

[Pidesco]

There's a trailer somewhere showing off the style of Anachronox's cutscenes and humour.

[Zoma]

Anachronox has awesome NPCs.

 

I mean, what other RPG games lets you have a floating shrunken planet using its satellite defence system as its main method of attack to kick ass together?

[Pidesco]

Trailer

 

 

Edit: Now it's the right trailer.

[Humodour]

Well, the game seems a fair bit more fun and interesting now that I've gotten off the Sunder; more intriguing plot and less linear combat.

 

As usual the humour is excellent.

[Tale]

Few dialogue choice, little choice in character advancement (really all you can do is choose your party members), a pretty linear plot (however intricate). Well, so far anyway.

Good thing none of that defines a computer/video game RPG.

 

jrpg - a RPG made in Japan. Mindnumbing.

 

Actually, it's come to mean "RPG made in the japanese style." There's a critical difference. It's a reference to a style prominently coming from that location, not an RPG in general coming from that location. That's just silly. Trying to claim JRPG means RPGs made in Japan is like trying to say that Chinese food has to be prepared in China. As it stands, the Chinese I eat is prepared locally here in Texas by Hispanics. (Note: this does not make it Tex-Mex)

It's slightly ironic, because the JRPG style is supposedly inspired by Wizardry.

Edited March 23, 2008 by Tale

[Pidesco]

I've always felt like Anachronox was a satire of JRPGs.

[Humodour]

It's a ****ing planet! A planet. A ****ing planet.

 

Oh my god this game is awesome.

 

Few dialogue choice, little choice in character advancement (really all you can do is choose your party members), a pretty linear plot (however intricate). Well, so far anyway.

Good thing none of that defines a computer/video game RPG.

 

Yeah. Except not.

Edited March 23, 2008 by Krezack

[Tale]

Few dialogue choice, little choice in character advancement (really all you can do is choose your party members), a pretty linear plot (however intricate). Well, so far anyway.

Good thing none of that defines a computer/video game RPG.

 

Yeah. Except not.

Except so. I can name several RPGs that have little or none of that.

[GreasyDogMeat]

If one were to call Anachronox an 'adventure game' you would also have to put Chrono Trigger & many other JRPGs into the adventure game category.

[Tale]

And then you'd have to find a new category for Broken Sword and Dreamfall. Because they play nothing like Anachronox.

[~Di]

Oh!! I love Anachronox! I've played it a half-dozen times. Quirky, irreverent, edgy, humorous, with characters that run the gamut from utterly outrageous to utterly adorable.

 

I'm not going to get into another pissing contest about how to categorize it, though. To me it was just a damned good game, and spent quite a few years on my personal top ten list! Hope you enjoy it as much as I did. I think it has "held its age" well!