Sandy

Actually, I'm baffled that people are crying for a remake of FFVII, when they can still play the original game. Are flashy graphics really [I]that[/I] important? Everybody should realize that no matter how well they would re-make it, it couldn't give the same experience as the original. I can understand a remake of, say, FFIII, since it has never hit the stores in USA or Europe, but FFVII was released not ten years ago! Luckily Square Enix has said that they won't make the remake because people can play it with their PS2 (and PS3 in the future). I just don't see any need for it! In my opinion, SE should concentrate on releasing FFXII first before any "polymorphic" rehashes. Besides, people are giving a bad message to game designers, like the only thing people would want are remakes and sequels. Sure it's fun to see your favorite videogamecharacters prance around in new adventures, but soon we'll have Halo 18, Jak: Daxter's Grandsons Adventure and FF X-7, and where's the fun in that? I, for one, want new experiences from games, and in most cases those come from new and original games.

[SIZE=1][COLOR=DarkOliveGreen]The last tunes of the graceful dance faded, and the audience of men gasped at the dancers mesmerized. Trang Ten was present as well, summoned by Lady Ebony. He was given a mission to send some highly secret letters from Lady Peony. Ten had seen the young woman from a distance, so he had recognized her when she had joined the dance. Now that the performance was over, he approached Lady Peony. [B]"You were looking for me, milady?"[/B], he asked her, bowing deeply. [B]"Oh, I apologize but you must have mistaken me for... Wait, are you Jade Cat? Isn't he...[I]he[/I]?" [/B] Lady Peony looked hesitant. [B]"Indeed I am, milady. I had to dress this way to distract the guards at the entrance."[/B] Ten touched the rose-red silk kimono he was wearing. He knew he could have found another way in, but he got strange satisfaction from deceiving drooling men. [B]"Of course. I must say you could have fooled me completely."[/B] [B]"That's my speciality, milady. So, you had a task for me?"[/B] [B]"Follow me, please."[/B] Lady Peony led Trang Ten to a distant alcove, where she gave him two letters. [B]"The first one is from Princess Zhen Juan to Xian Xiang, the youngest daughter of counsellor Xiang. You know his house?"[/B] Ten nodded. Of course he knew it, Xiang was a close friend of his father. [B]"This second one is from myself to the elders of the Winter Pine Pagoda. This one must not go astray, it is highly confidential. That's why I asked for the best of messengers, and the nightingales sing that you are it."[/B] [B]"I just do my best to serve the Pearls, milady."[/B] At times like this he despised even himself. [B]"Let freedom haste your journey, Jade Cat."[/B] Trang Ten bowed, took the two parchments and tip-toed his way out of the teahouse. Fifteen minutes later he was far away from the Awakening Orchids and in his travelling suit. He opened the letters with a talent honed to perfection, so that there was no way to tell it had been already opened. The princess' letter was written in an aristocratic style, and it was basically a confession of love to the young Miss Xiang. Ten saw no reason to report it to his contact, Captain Fu, for if the Emperor would find about his daughter's perversion, it would mean certain death for both girls, and Ten wasn't that sadistic. The other letter, however, put even Ten off guard. It took a while to interpret Lady Peony's skillfull chit-chatting, but the point of the letter was her suspects on a traitor inside the Pearls of Winter. She asked for the elders to start an investigation. Ten knew that his whole life was at stake now. He couldn't show this letter to Captain Fu either, for he would take it as though Ten would have been exposed as a traitor, and would probably just slay him to the spot. The only sensible thing was to take the letter to the elders, and direct the suspicion on somebody else. So, instead of heading to the meeting with Captain Fu, Trang Ten went straight to the Winter Pine Pagoda. Fu would take it as he had nothing to report.[/COLOR][/SIZE]

I have to start flagging for [B]Shadow Hearts: Covenant [/B] (not just because you don't like it, NPC#3 *winks* ). I'm currently sixty hours into the game and nearing the end, and I've tried to do/find everything I can. Sure, you could perhaps rush the game through in twenty hours, but the bosses (and many regular monsters) being so effing hard, I don't think it is possible (this RPG, like every other, requires some serious level-upping and equipment switching, not to mention the dozens of sidequests to get all the nifty special moves and magic). The reason why you (and everybody) should get this game is the amazing and original storyline, situated to the time of WW1 in a world very much similar to ours. Adding to that, every single (playable) character is unique and fun to play with (okay, I have my favorites, but nobody in the party irritates me). I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the originality of the characters: no fragile healers, no mighty powerful ten-foot-long-sword swingers, no whiny teenage lead... Then there's the gameplay system, Judgment Ring, which is both fun and challenging, and even after sixty hours, I still haven't bored with it (and I still manage to mess up some battles). It's certainly a welcome change to the simple command executing. This is purely my opinion, and if you want another, just ask NPC#3 - he'll tell you the negative aspects he saw in this game. (Yes, I read your review, Semmy.) *** If sixty hours isn't long enough, get into the [B]Final Fantasy[/B] scene: the games give you a total of thousands of hours worth gameplay (over 100+ hours each, except the very early games). After playing FFs for the past six years or so, I couldn't settle for a short game - it would feel a waste of my money. So I'm with you, Bloodseeker!

Just to clear up things, here are the titles of Square Enix's [B]Final Fantasy VII Compilation [/B] project: * [B]Advent Children (AC)[/B] - a FMV movie situated three years after the original game * [B]Before Crisis (BC)[/B] - a mobile game involving the Turks and the Shinra Corps six years prior to the original game * [B]Crisis Core (CC)[/B] - just an announced title, no other information about the contents or anything else (it has an official website, though) * [B]Dirge of Cerberus (DC)[/B] - a game located a year after the events of Advent Children, it features Vincent Valentine as the leading character (it is rumoured that it would be an action game, but it's not official yet) I sincerely hope they'd end the "Polymorphism" (read: money milking) of the Oh So Sacred FF7 to these four titles, but nowadays it's the money that talks, unfortunately.

I thought it is hilarious when currently some people are spreading a rumour of a new member of the FFVII Compilation: Eternal Curse. The rumour originated from an April Fool's joke (AC, BC, CC and DC are all announced titles of the compilation, so of course EC would be the next in line ;) ), and has now gone out of proportions. Hopefully in time those people realize the bad joke...

[QUOTE=ThatOneOddDude] I would also like to give an honorary mention to Baten Kaitos for having quite possibly the worst battle system ever.[/QUOTE] I read about the card-based system it has, and it did sound very iffy. Something I'd like to steer away from. Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories uses cards as well, and I've heard that people don't like that system much either. Are these two similar to each other? I'm currently waiting for my copy of Shadow Hearts: Covenant (yes, it was just released in this corner of the world), and I'm a bit giddy to see if the system it has pleases me or not. The idea of having to press X in just right spots of a circle sounds challenging, but I'm not sure if it too challenging for my amateur gaming skills (seriously, I hate every action game simply because sooner or later it will get too difficult for me, like example in Jak 2 I've been stuck on the last boss for ages, just because I constantly mess up with the shooting. Irksome!) But we'll just have to see about SH:C... I'll post my first impressions about it at myOtaku as soon as I get it. My honorary mention of the suckiest battle system goes (surprise, surprise!) Unlimited Saga. Just plain STOOPID! The level-up system is all wrong: you get one single new skill per character after completing a whole mission, but the worst thing is that you have to choose the skill from a bunch of completely random skills that have little or no use to the character or even you, AND you [I]have [/I] to choose one skill, no matter how badly they all suit the character. The battle itself is a torture, you have to hit just the right spots on a wheel that spins like there's no tomorrow, and there's no way to guarantee that the enemy doesn't hit you first, breaking half of your attempts for a combo. You can't clearly tell if your character is dying or not, since the enemies' attacks AS WELL as your own attacks take away TWO types of points. It doesn't really matter, though, since you CAN'T heal when in battle... The rant just goes on! Trust me when I say: do NOT buy Unlimited Saga! ... Erhm, what's the topic again? Oh,[I]best[/I] battle system in a RPG! Well, I really liked the system in FFX-2, since it was really fast-paced and simple and GAUDY and MERRY and JOYOUS! Maybe overly so... But at the end of the day, it was actually quite enjoyable. But I have a hunch that FF XII's system is going to outbeat every other RPG out there, combining online elements (like no random battles and intelligent monsters and visible weapons etc.) to a single player turn based game. But we'll just have to see about that as well when the time comes...

You should really contact Shy, our event master, if you want another Otaku Idol contest. See, the Big Events we usually have in this board vary from year to year, except each year there's the Otaku Awards, which practically rewards the best members/threads/things of that year. The varying events thus far have been two Otaku Big Brothers and Otaku Idol, and this year Shy organized the Nifty Fifty, which wasn't really a contest as much as another Otaku Awards (except for things that were nifty rather than best). A little bird told me that Shy is currently planning for a new event, but we just have to wait patiently for him to announce it.

[QUOTE=Generic NPC #3] Also, I don't think Ivy's weapon can easily be categorized as a simple "sword".[/QUOTE] I hesitated before putting her name on the list, but ultimately an "Ivy Sword" is still [I]some sort [/I] of sword, as I said (the name itself reveals the reason). ;) Okay, this is totally needless nitpicking, so forgive me... :sweat: Uh, SC3 rocks!!! (Phew, now this [I]totally[/I] has nothing to do with spam...)

Hmm, I think it's very good that they didn't add yet another character with some sort of sword, because frankly speaking SC 2 had way too many of those [spoiler] (let's see: Mitsurugi, Taki, Raphael, Cassandra, Xianghua, Yunsung, Nightmare, Ivy, Yoshimitsu, Sophitia, Cervantes, Assassin, Link in the CG version... 13 in total, a big majority)[/spoiler] So, the new characters are pleasingly varying: [spoiler]the arabic Zasalamel wielding a scythe, the bionic-looking Tira with a bladed hoola-hoop, and the geisha Setsuka with a dagger and a parasol.[/spoiler] Wonder if any more characters will appear...

The woman on the bottom-left corner is definately [I]not[/I] Lulu from FFX. I think it's Taki wearing an alternative dress (at least I'm pretty sure that the woman fighting Mitsurugi in the next picture is Taki), but it could very well be a new character, a gypsy woman or something...

Yeah, it's really strange to hear somebody claiming that Soul Calibur II is a bad game, or at least a big letdown. SC2 is currently the only fighting game I own (or have ever owned), and that's only because I'm really into fantasy weapons (and naturally fighting with them). SC2 has been the joy of many evenings in my life, and I see nothing bad in it (well, maybe to someone who has played all the fighting games ever made it might seem repetitive, but wouldn't that be the case in any other genre/game as well). I really hadn't heard anything about SC3 yet, so this article is new info for me. Are there only three new characters? That seems a bit too few... Well, the other features (like making up an own character) sound cool enough, although I'm a bit sceptical on how they make it happen (a character constructed of separate parts hardly compares to a premade character in visuals). Anyhow, I guess this is another game to wait for, although I'm not saying I'm going to buy it as soon as it hits the stores just yet. Let's see what it has to offer that SC2 doesn't already have.

[SIZE=1][COLOR=DarkOliveGreen][CENTER][B]~Pretence~[/B][/CENTER] The midday sunshine reflected from the polished garnet plates that covered the front yard of the House of Hua. Only the faintest sound could be heard from the soft silk slippers passing the yard. But the two hired guards were alert, and took notice of the young woman as soon as she came in sight. She was wearing a light green silk suit, and had white lotus flowers attached to her gleaming black hair. The guards glanced at each other, and the other took the initiative. [B]"Beautiful day today, young lady. What is your business to the Hua Residence?"[/B] The young woman kept her eyes shyly on the bright pavement. [B]"I am the assistant of Mr. Wong the Teamaker, and I have come to deliver some tea for the lady of the house"[/B], she said delicately, almost whispering. She showed the basket she was carrying, filled with little sacks and decorative blossoms. [B]"Hmm, usually the son of Wong takes care of such business as this. Is he sick today, per chance?"[/B] the guard inquired casually. [B]"Yes, he got a cold from being out so late, so I was hired to make the delivery today."[/B] [B]"Very well, do enter, miss."[/B] The guards stepped away from the front door, and the girl slipped in. A male servant greeted her much less politely than the guards. [B]"What do you want? Lord Hua is not in the House currently."[/B] [B]"I have come to deliver some tea for Mrs. Hua from the Teamaker Wong"[/B], the girl replied with a charming smile, that went obviously to waste with the sour-looking servant. [B]"I can deliver it to her. Just hand me the basket and go."[/B] The servant was reaching his hand to grab the basket when a voice interrupted him. [B]"That is enough, Lui. Let the girl do her job and concentrate on yours."[/B] The servant flinched and faced the speaker. [B]"I apologize, Mrs. Hua"[/B], he muttered and left after a quick bow. Mrs. Hua smiled at the girl. She was dressed like any noble wife, but her grey eyes reflected wisdom beyond that of most householding women. The weigth of numerous years had wrinkled her skin, but it was obvious that once she had mesmerized men with her grace. [B]"This way, dear"[/B], Mrs. Hua said to the girl and led her to a private room. She sat down and pointed a pillow to the young woman, who shook her head. [B]"I must apologize on behalf of Lui. He works for my husband and I think he is on to my private businesses. So, you're the infamous Jade Cat. I have heard of your talent, and I must say I would have been fooled if I hadn't known."[/B] The girl took a parchment from the bosom of her costume and handed it to Mrs. Hua. [B]"Mistress Meing wishes well upon your household."[/B] The lady of the house took the parchment and read it. [B]"Ah, tell my old friend that the times are bad now, and getting worse. She should visit some other time."[/B] [B]"I will tell her that."[/B] Then she gave Mrs. Hua a piece of green silk with a black siamese cat embroidered in it. The elderly woman smiled at her, petting the smooth fabric. [B]"Who could believe it? Such a sweet young girl... I hope to see you again, Jade Cat."[/B] The girl called Jade Cat just bowed and left the room. She nearly bumped into the servant Lui at the corridor. The servant gave her a stern glare, but she just smiled delicately and headed out. After gaining enough distance from the House of Hua, the Jade Cat took of the silk suit and tore the lotuses off. A quick face wash, and in a blink of an eye a pretty young woman had transformed into a slender youngster. [B]"The things I do for my masters..."[/B] the young man sighed, not a trace of femininity left in his voice. The man retrieved his backbag and two-headed spear from the bushes nearby, stuffing the disguise into the bag. Then he dashed into the woods, for his mission wasn't finished yet. Delivering the message from Mistress Meing of the House of White Bamboo Forest of the Pearls of Winter to Mrs. Hua who was responsible of keeping contact with some of the Emperor's wives loyal to the Pearls had been only half of Jade Cat's task. His true name was Trang Ten, and he was the son of the Imperial Ceremony Master. He had worked hard to gain the trust of the women in the resistance group known as the Pearls of Winter, but it was his duty to betray them all. Now he was on his way to meet his contact in the Imperial Army, Captain Fu. After half an hour's journey through thick woods and swaying treetops, Trang Ten met Captain Fu at a small shadowy waterfall. [B]"Report"[/B], the captain said bluntly. [B]"Mrs. Hua wasn't able to make an appointment with Empress Chi Chi. Her husband's servant is very suspicious towards her actions, so she feels its too risky."[/B] [B]"Hmm, so poor little Chi Chi may live to see the next day. I'm not too sure if Mrs. Hua should be spared, though. Her existence threatens the Emperor, but on the other hand she seems to be a valuable source of information. There might be more Imperial Wives who support the rebel whores. Tell me, boy, what's your take on the situation."[/B] Ten knew that Fu asked the question in purpose to annoy him. The captain seemed to be unable to completely trust Ten's loyalty. Ten couldn't blame him. [B]"Do whatever you see best, captain. I am just a messenger."[/B] [B]"You're a spy, no more, no less. Don't you forget that."[/B] The captain mounted his steed and rode off. Trang Ten, the Jade Cat, gazed at the sparkling waterfall gushing down the side of a rocky hill. He would never be able to forget...[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[quote name='Desbreko][color=#4B0082']And I can't believe anyone would think Sabin is worthless. He's one of my most used characters! Seriously, his Blitz abilities are awesome if you're decent at pulling them off. And later in the game, his final Blitz, the Bum Rush, regularly does 9999. That's basically Ultima against a single enemy, but without any MP cost. How could you not like that?[/color][/quote] I know it sounds insane, but I have a good enough reason for it: I couldn't use the diagonal arrow patterns with my PS controller. I don't know why I couldn't, they just didn't work! I wasted so many turns during the game just trying to enter the blasted Blitz codes in vain, so I just gave up, and left Sabin out of the final twelve [spoiler], as well as Shadow, but only because he was dead. :p [/spoiler] Well, this was bit side-tracking from the subject at hand, but at least it evolved from the original topic, unlike so many other offtopic discussions. ;)

[QUOTE=Desbreko][color=#4B0082] Also, FFVI was brought up, and that's a good example of just the opposite. While FFVI is one of my favorite games in the series, I think it would've been a lot better if you actually had a decent way of using more than just a few characters for most of the game, short of the times where you're forced to use others because of storyline events. I mean, you could change your party around all the time if you really wanted to go to the trouble, but the game just isn't designed to accomodate that. And in the end, you'd have a lot of weak characters compared to where your main party is supposed to be at in terms of levels, which would force you to do a lot more leveling than should be necessary. To get the most out of FFVI's multitude of characters, you really just have to play through the game multiple times, using a different main party each time.[/color][/QUOTE] I don't fully agree with you on this, Des. There were actually several occassions during FFVI where you could split up the party: [spoiler]at least to my memory the places were the Narshe Battle, the Phoenix Cave, the Hidon's cave and Kefka's Tower.[/spoiler] Those events seemed really imaginative to me, something I haven't seen in the more recent FF-games. The dungeons were much more creative and puzzle-like, and it allowed the player to use (almost) the whole array of characters at once. Besides, leveling up or boosting stats for the characters is what you do in every single FF-game and most other RPGs as well, so there's no reason to complain about having to do that in this game. ;) FFVI is the kind of a game where you have the option to choose your favorite members for the party from a large variety of characters, thus you don't even need some of the characters, so why even bother with them? Some of them aren't even worth leveling up [spoiler], like Gau, Sabin and Umaro IMO[/spoiler]. Anyways, I'd like to see more dungeons like the ones mentioned above in future games - especially if the cast of characters is excessive.

I want to stir up a little conversation over the [B]amount of playable characters in rpgs[/B]. To my knowledge, when the roleplaying games were first transferred to videogames, the party consisted in most cases from one sword-wielding hero who had to hack&slash his way through hordes of monsters in order to save a princess. The thing that separated the rpgs from e.g. platformers was the fact that the hero's strength grew as the game progressed. Then, when technology allowed some variation, the swordsman gained occasional mages and thieves by his side. One hero was replaced by a party of heroes, usually three or four members. Still, the stories were in most cases very simple, and the party members had little to no personality in them. Good example of a game like this is of course the first Final Fantasy. As time flowed onwards and technology advanced, more and more complex storylines appeared, requiring more and more complex characters. When the invention of switching characters during the gameplay was born, the amount of members in the party of heroes grew rapidly. In the Final Fantasy series the largest amount of playable characters was in the sixth part (fourteen main characters in total, plus some guests). While the FF-series has calmed down from that (steadily decreasing the amount of playable character), some other games that have been made have had massive amounts of heroes. The best example might be Chrono Cross with fifty or so recruitable characters, although I've understood that some game has 108 (Have I understood correctly? What is the game then?) People may agree that the games with ten+ playable characters usually suffer from the same problem as the first rpgs: most of the characters have very shallow and simple personality, and don't develop at all during the game. Then we come to modern days. Two words: Radiata Stories. 150 playable characters. I think we can forget about deep, complex personalities when it comes to this game. To balance that, many other recent rpgs have parties of three. It's all or nothing, then. Now I'm going to get contradictory: I actually don't mind large troupes of heroes. The anxiously waited Final Fantasy XII is said to have very many playable characters, and I'm excited about that. It's the fact that the more characters a game has, more plot twists and relationships it contains (and I'm a sucker for [I]those[/I]!). A party of three or so characters begins to annoy me in the long run, I like variety and freedom of choice. To this issue as well applies the context of modesty. I'm not looking forward for FF XII to have 50 characters, just maybe twelve or so. I know scriptwriters can create twelve unique characters with deep personalities and a place in the storyline, but there's no way they can create fifty at least somewhat interesting characters. It would mean that after a while the characters you recruit during the storyline would start to be something like "Bob the Baker" or "Mary the Random Girl You Rescued From The Thirteenth Dragon". Just a while ago I tried to prove myself wrong by writing a little FF-style "gamescript" that would have as many members in the party as I could force into it. I got 19 characters, but most of them seemed to have been ripped off from the most traditional rpg ever to be made, e.g. a knight, a princess, a samurai, an elf ranger, a random moogle, a fairy, not one but two dragons who could turn into humans etc. The most original one I made up was probably the female werewolf shaman. Ultimately only about four of the whole lot had any greater significance regarding the plot. I know what you think about my little hobby, but I love making gamescripts (and sometimes apply them here for an online rpg). Huff, I think I've written enough now, I want to hear your intake on this issue. Simply said, [B]which do you prefer in a rpg: hordes of playable characters or just a few of them?[/B]

IMO, Midkemia sucks MAJOR arse as a fantasy world. It's basically one of those "this would be like Earth but not quite" worlds that have absolutely no originality in them. The nations were basically Brittish, Spanish, Mongolian etc. with different names. Don't get me wrong, I really liked the Serpent War Saga, but to me it seemed more like a series of historical novels rather than fantasy. The magic in the books was nearly non-existent, and while the characters were quite likeable, they could've easily lived in Earth about a five hundred years ago. So my suggestion is that you should go and find a better environment for your game, or create your own. But again, these are my opinions, and if you decide to do this game, I wish you luck.

[quote name='Dagger']It deeply saddens me that anyone would feel "diminished" by having a low post count, especially since post counts aren't even displayed (except on one's profile page). I like to think that new members are treated with the same consideration & respect as people who have been here a while.[/quote] Such feelings are often subconscious, and require some soul-searching before one figures them out, but at least I believe they are there. They are a part of every human's "dark side": envy, bitterness, inferiority... It's not the fault of the objects of the jealousy, like it rarely is in any case. And there isn't much anybody can do except accept people as they are, which unfortunately is quite hard sometimes. When someone comes to this boards speaking l33t or using "z"s instead of "s"s, many of us automatically judge him or her as an immature little kid - hey, including me! The thing that you said about consideration & respect, Dagger, is a goal we should always aim, but even though we're on the Internet, we're all still humans who live in a real world. Complex stuff...

Er, I wasn't being that serious about my claim, Semmy-boy (that's why I put the smiley there). I know what you tried to say, but the way you said it could be interpreted in two different ways (and me being the silly me, I decided to nudge you a bit about the other possible interpretation). Just think if somebody said to you: "I've got all this money but I don't need it". There's many ways one could understand that claim as well. ;) Anyhow, it is easy for you people who post often to say "if we don't care, who should anybody else?", because you don't really understand how diminishing a low post count or title or whatever makes the others feel (or maybe you've just forgotten it). You have this status, this aura of respect upon you whenever and where-ever you post, and many people take it for granted that all of you must be some sort of superpeople just for being able to make such many quality posts. It is really weird, I know, but I feel like that sometimes.I'm also guilty for letting people into my rpgs at the Adventure Arena just based on their high post count, even if the sign-up wasn't that fabulous. Authority is a powerful thing, and its effects are often unseen. It attracts people, and makes them want it for themselves. [I]That's[/I] why we care about our post count. ;)

[QUOTE=Generic NPC #3]What achievement? You posted a lot. Congratulations. I don't know why people put so much stock into that, lol. I have the third most posts on this site and I don't give a crap, I don't see why anyone else should.[/QUOTE] Aw come one! It [I]was[/I] a big achievement to gain the famed "Otaku" title! (It still kind of bothers me that I lost so many of my 1000+ posts when the old threads were deleted/moved to archives - but I'm back to over 800 posts, steadily rising towards the people who joined at the same time as I did (three years ago!!!)). Okay, so I care about my post count? So what? It's not like I'm spamming the boards in order to grow it. I just want to... take care of it. :toothy: But as far as member titles go, I must say this new system is much better. I know few words that ooze as much loath as "newbie", or even "junior member" ("Otaku" had a nice ring to it, however ;) ). PS. I think it's kind of a hypocrite thing to say "I have the third most posts on this site and I don't give a crap", Semmy, as such bragging clearly states that you give a [I]huge[/I] crap. :smirk: You should be proud to have made such an [I]achievement[/I], really! I know I would...

I have pretty much same reasons as Sakura about why I like [B]fantasy[/B] games the best. The reasons I'm not so keen on for example [B]action[/B] and [B]sci-fi [/B] rpgs is that I know so very little about guns and technology etc. In fantasy everything is made possible - one can move between dimensions and time, cast fireballs and wield a three-foot sword without having to explain it with anything other than "it's magic". [B]Romance[/B] doesn't appeal to me as such, mainly because they seem so fake and pretentious ("Oh, I fell for him at first glance!!!") I don't think there has been that many games about romantic relationships at these boards anyway, or maybe I just haven't look hard enough. However, what I do like is plotting, and I'd love to participate in a game that would occur for example in a Renaissance-style court with cunning lords and treacherous ladies. IMO, plot-twists are the salt of roleplaying games. [B]Real life[/B], as fantastic it may be, doesn't do much for me either. I'm just not a very realistic person, although I have a scientific world-view. To me, magic happens inside peoples minds, and it should be spread wide and far, wether it be by writing about it or playing it out in a game. [B]Anime[/B]... hmm, tricky. I adore anime style, but again the problem is my little knowledge about the issue. I've only seen a few movies, watched a few shows and played a few games. Not tons of them, like so many of you. Well, this is an interesting little thread you created Reiku, but why didn't you post your own opinion? It seems to me that in many forums people who start polls often forget to speak their own mind.

Alright, I need to ease my anxiety concerning this game, and what a better place to do that than in here! Just a while ago Squarenix president Yoichi Wada talked about the company's plans to release one game/month at the next quarter beginning in April. So, out of the unreleased games Egg Hero comes out this month, Romancing SaGa: Minstrel Song comes out in April, and Hanjuku Hero 4 and Samurai Legend Mushashi in May. Where does this leave Final Fantasy XII? The earliest possible release date is in [I]June[/I]. Although it would make a fine birthday present for me (who has his birthday that month, in case somebody didn't get it), I have a bad feeling that it will go beyond that, maybe even into September! I don't know what it is about this game that makes me feel such a fanatic, but I want to play it asap!!! And the earlier it gets published in Japan, the earlier it will arrive here (even though in any case it'll go way into the year 2006 until I get it in my hands). The worst thing about all this waiting is that there's not even new information about it that would ease the pain! Nine months without any significant tidbits has been a torture... Which is actually strange because I don't want to spoil the game for me too much, I just want to know if it really is as good as it looks and as promised. I have such high expectations on this game that I begin to doubt if they are even possible to make. Right now I live on the knowledge that Squarenix promised new information "when weather gets warmer". But when does it get warmer in Japan? In Finland it'll be freezing until May! I'm hoping new info before E3, because it's such a long, long time ahead... Uh, I'm turning into a whining pile of mushed fanboy now... So, I'll just stop now. Please, share my pain by telling your take on this issue.

I'm sorry, elfpirate, but you're thinking [I]unisexual[/I], or diclinious (like the strange simple-celled creatures who can reproduce by splitting themselves.) Asexual [I]is[/I] non-sexual, they're the same word! (A- is a negative prefix like non-) Sepiroth, how old are you? If you're just in your teens, you can hardly say for sure you're an asexual, because you're too young to know. These things take time, and it is really normal for people not to fall for any attractive person that crosses their path. Besides, supposing you're male from the Carmen Electra reference, if you have had a hard-on yet, you can be pretty sure you're [I]not[/I] asexual, because I believe people with no sexual tendencies do not have those. ;) So just wait before rushing into any conclusions: maybe it's just that Carmen Electra isn't your type. Maybe it's that you really prefer men (I know [I]I[/I] certainly do!), or you simply like girls that have something at the top portion of their body as well, which is a very respectable feature in a straight man, because there's actually many more intelligent women than there are women with model proportions ("No kidding!!"). So hang in there! :)

Congratulations, Cyriel, for creating such breathtakingly beautiful rpg. I'm just curious if this game will include Wuxia-style overdone battling and magic, or will this take a more realistic approach? Here is my sign-up: [CENTER] [SIZE=1][COLOR=DarkOliveGreen][B]Name:[/B] Trang Ten [B]Sobriquet:[/B] Ten has gained the name [I]Jade Cat[/I] from his astoundingly green eyes and soundless movement [B]Age:[/B] 19 years [B]Gender:[/B] male [B]Appearance/Description:[/B] Ten is as short and lean as most women, but his bodybuilt has enabled for him to gain his current position. He has long, rich black hair that he usually ties over the top of his head. As said, his eyes have a remarkable light green shade, and it is rumored that they gleam in dim light. His face is fair and delicate, which he has found a great asset, for he can believably transform into a young woman with a simple change of dress and little make-up. Thus he has charmed several men to believe him to be just a harmless girl. [B]Affiliation:[/B] He joined the Pearls of Winter as a spy of the government, but after spending time with the women of the Pearls, he is torn in two, not knowing who to be loyal to... [B]Brocade:[/B] He is a member of the White Bamboo Forest, acting as a messenger, although many of those secret messages reach the ears of the imperial government as well. His calling card is the moss-green of his house, and it has a black cat embroidered to it. [B]Weapon(s):[/B] Ten has mastered the use of the imaginative two-bladed spear, a deadly weapon capable of piercing enemies left and right, back and front. Basically it is a reinforced bamboo stick with a sharp circular blade in both ends. [B]Circumstances:[/B] Trang Ten was born to the family of the Emperor's Ceremony Master. Being the youngest son and thus having no position in the family, he was sent to the imperial army, where his exceptional talents in stealthy. He went through the hard training of espionage, and was finally sent to join the Pearls of Winter in order to help the Emperor take down the organization from inside. He was given a false biography to tell to the Elders of the five houses about his parents being enslaved by the Empire. But the more time he spent in the House of White Bamboo Forest, the more he began to understand the reasons why the men and women there resisted the imperial government. For now, he will continue betraying the Pearls of Winter, but only time will tell how long it will last... [B]Introduction:[/B] The young Ten was sitting on a fork of a tree, gazing the setting sun, when he heard his name being called. He looked down and saw Mistress Meing, a proud woman with piercing cold eyes. Sometimes she stared at Ten so mercilessly he was sure that she knew his secret, but he reckoned he would be dead in that case. Ten jumped down in front of Mistress Meing, who didn't as much as flinch. Ten was not surprised. "Jade Cat, deliver this message to the Elders of the White Pine Pagoda. It contains information that is meant for their eyes only. I can trust this only to you, [I]you [/I] must carry it all the way. Understood?" Ten bowed consently. What a naïve fool she was... Mistress Meing gave the parchment to the youngster, who put it inside his tunic and dashed into the forest. In no time Trang Ten, loyal to the Emperor, handed the message to his contact, Captain Fu, a hard-boiled veteran of the imperial army. Carefully Fu rolled the parchment open and read it through quickly. "Worthless! This is old information!" the captain groaned. "Not my fault, captain. I am only the messenger", Ten replied. "Keep that attitude and you'll be delivering messages to the Ancestors soon!" With those words Captain Fu turned and left the meeting place. Ten closed the parchment and continued his way towards the White Pine Pagoda, bothered by the question why Mistress Meing entrusted him with a insignificant message while claiming it was highly important... The answer came to him when he reached the Pagoda and gave the parchment to one of the elderly women who led the house. The Elder read it through like Captain Fu had. A frown distorted her already wrinkled face. "What on earth... Ah, that mischievous minx Meing! She used that invisible ink the sisters of the Plum Blossom developed! Read between lines, I'll say..." Suddenly the woman seemed to remember that Ten was still present. "Are you still here? Oh, no reply this time, now off you go..." Ten bowed respectingly and left the pagoda. Now all he could think about was how to get the formula for that invisible ink... [/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER] I sincerely hope this will suffice. This is going to be one great game, I know it will.

[quote name='Harry']Have you ever been hunting? I'm just wondering. Also the hunter's "claim" as you put it is truth. Deer are a great example of why hunting should always be legalized.[/quote] No, frankly I hate everything that is connected to it: guns, killing, men acting all macho, crawling through bushes... But that doesn't mean I can't have an opinion about it, does it now? In my country hunting and restraining animal populations are still a big part of common life, especially in the countryside. If I'd gone ahead and presented my opinions in a smalltown pub, I'd surely gotten a beating just for being a city-dwelling little homo. In this country every discussion related to the matter is always divided by where you live, which is sad, really (nothing is resolved with "we're right, you guys are wrong, period" attitude). I'm amused by the claim that overgrown population of mooses and deer kill innocent people who are just peacefully driving along the roads. But isn't it the people who have built their roads through the forests where the animals live. I'm not saying that people have to stop building roads, they should just stop whining and concentrate on improving the safety of the roads with e.g. fences (not guns!). Same goes to wolves, who must be the most misunderstood species in the whole planet (meaning people think they're pure evil, when they are just beasts acting like nature intended.) Again, my opinions, not claiming them to be the Ultimate Truth, get over it...

My opinion is that wild animals should be killed only if they are a considerable nuisance, or if they are in pain. IMO people get enough food and clothing materials out of tamed animals. But unfortunately world isn't as simple as that. The hunters claim that without their efforts the populations would overgrow, and begin to spread to people's backyards - and who would want a wolf at their back door? People who breed foxes and weasels etc. for furs claim that it is their job, and it shouldn't be taken away from them. There's always excuses for being able to kill "inferior beings". (I'm not saying that people who hunt are all lunatic murderers, but if one gets satisfaction from killing, something's bound to be wrong...) What people usually fail to remember that this planet belongs to animals as much as humans. Sure, we have managed to climb to the top of the food chain, but does that mean we can just ignore the nature alltogether? This connects to the question of environmental protection, but I'm not going there. I think that with power over the other lifeforms comes a responsibility to protect the biodiversity, taking from the nature only what is needed, and giving something back. Of course all this is just idealistic talk. Things won't change until we people change them. Restricting hunting licenses is a beginning, but in the world of today it won't happen. Future is the answer, so if our generation raises its children to be respective and considerate towards nature and all life, this planet has still hope.