Very small alignment Homebrew

nitpick homebrews for the win

Basically, since I have pretty much lost all of my documents, I’m just going to post on of the few I’ve manage to recover, a minor alignment homebrew. Basically, when the player makes his/her character, the player will choose the character’s alignment. However, the DM will be the one who knows the Alignment, and keeps track of the character’s real moral positioning. However, with the exception of characters who’s powers rely upon there alignment, paladins and druids for example, the character’s aren’t aware of there real alignment unless they have a magical item. Thus, a good ranger who murders innocents for food doesn’t suddenly get warned he is evil, because nobody has something that convenient. So the DM is the only one who knows the PC’s alignment, unless the PCs have magic (or are a special class), which makes the whole moral element as little more hard to gather for PCs, as it should be. Because unless they are a special class, again Paladin, the line between good and evil can be blurry, which is a good role-playing situation, and it also keeps people from using there good and evil as a sort of “karma meter”, where people can keep track of how many evil actions they can commit before slipping. It’s a minor rule, and I normally would have never posted it if I didn’t literally lose everything else. Enjoy

From

EE

Two bits of bad news

Ok, there are two problems. First off, i'm away for a week, so no articles obviously. Secondly, my computer sadly came down with a virus, and i had to restart the whole system. In the process, i lost almost all of my Microsoft documents, including almost all of my articles, so alot of my planned work is totally lost, as are unedited pieces, so i'm going to be behind schedule even when i get back. So i'm sorry if i am gone, think of it as a hiatus i suppose. Anyways, see you in two weeks i suppose.
regards
EE

DownFall: The Last Days of the Nazi Regime

Hitler......your just a loser

For obvious reasons, the idea of a movie about Adolf Hitler made in Germany is bound to send of warning bells to anybody hearing about the idea, particularly in Germany proper. For the last 50 years, Germany has been trying to make sure that everybody understands that the Nazis were a bunch of evil, ruthless, psychotics and that that was a dark part of their history where they were utterly in the wrong and are trying to move on, unlike some people I could mention (Japan, Russia, Serbia, I’m looking at you). Now, Germany’s attempts to prevent neo-nazism are producing mixed results, but they are certainly trying their best to make sure everybody remembers the Nazis as what they were, genocidal despots. Now, coming from a family of history buffs and having a German Aunt, I’ve read a lot about the Nazis and what they did, how they worked and who they were. So I know that the Nazis not were a bunch of demons who ate babies for breakfast, and were in fact human beings, with families, loved ones and hobbies (Heinrich Himler was apparently a family man), which makes them all the more horrifying for killing millions of people out of some mad mans racist delusions. So I tend to like it when films show the Nazis as people instead of as just mindless villains to be gunned down, as it forces the audience to come to terms with how vile human beings can be. There is a very good reason why Hitler is rarely actually played by an actor in serious films, because people are afraid of making Hitler look either too sympathetic or too cool. Actors can really change how a historical character is viewed, famous anti-Semite (fitting I suppose) Mel Gibson pretty much defines how everybody pictures Scottish revolutionary William Wallace, as a brave hero fighting for freedom, independence, but another actor could easily have shown him as a brutal murdering psychotic who is justly put down by the British, while another could show him as a complex and morally grey figure who does horrible things, but is trying to free his people (the most accurate portrayal I think).
'Downfall' takes place in Berlin as the Soviets are entering and tells the story of the last days of Hitler's he commits suicide. An actor could show Hitler as some sort of brave revolutionary who is fighting against the evil communists for the sake of a greater Germany, which could have some appeal as the Soviets were infamously cruel during their invasion of Germany. In the world of Hollywood, any evil horrible historical figure can still come off as cool as long as their crimes aren't seen on screen, so it isn't a stretch to have Hitler seem like a strong dictator determined to die with his people rather than a delusional despot who destroyed the lives of millions of people, and his own country. It is sort of a custom in Germany to not have an actor play Hitler, but instead show actual film footage of the guy, thus preventing actors from subtly changing the perception of the man. So again, I was kinda worried that an actual actor would be playing Hitler, and showing a more human portrayal, which is much more accurate than the cartoonish evil version of the man we sometimes see (Inglorious Bastards I'm looking at you) but I was afraid of the image of the grandfatherly Fuhrer might catch on unintentionally, making him like the Godfather.

Luckily for everybody, that didn’t happen, the film is awesome.
The film follows Hitler’s personal secretary Traudl Junge, in the last days in the Bunker and right after during all of the insanity. I have to say, it was really interesting when, after all I read about Hitler and how he was a human being, a great public speaker, and all of his more human elements, and yet in the first scene when he came through the door, I simply had a feeling of just vile. Like I had been over come with something that made me sick, just disgusted in seeing the man come to life. And the depiction of him is actually really impressive. Bruno Ganz plays Adolf Hitler, and does a very good job of displaying both the human side of Hitler, the devilish charisma that made men follow him, but makes no effort to try to justify his actions or hide the fact that the man is clearly insane. One of the dangers of showing Hitler during his last days is, at that point the worst of the Nazi atrocities have already ended. The film can’t show the Death Camps, or the ghettos or the massacres, at this point they are victims of the Soviet brutality, and so the Nazis look more sympathetic, as they are fighting, admittedly heroically against the huge army of Soviets, who were a ruthless and brutal enemy in their own right, through still below the Nazis. But Ganz does a great job of showing how nuts Hitler is, and reminding the audience that despite how we might sympathize with these trapped and desperate men, Hitler is still a ruthless sociopath. Again and again we see him ordering his men to their death, murdering men for disobeying orders, even when those orders are insane (charging superior foes for example), killing German civilians in order to make sure Germany goes down with the Nazis, and demanding that Germany fights to the death, happy that he will ruin the country. Gantz also gets the infamous voice and Austrian accent right, chillingly so, to the point where the characters temper tantrums can make a viewer jump. And, even through they show the human side of Hitler, I think it is far more effective in hurting Neo Nazi causes than making him into some sort of evil messiah, a sort of Voldemort super man of evil who is brought down by the powers of good, but instead he comes off as a man, a broken leader whose disoriented and bipolar strategies only squanders Germany’s strength. Because he is a man, you despise and hate him, but also pity him, because quite frankly, he is a pathetic, a lonely, deeply disturbed individual who can’t be happy with anything, and loves nothing. It ruins the mystique of him being some sort of super villain, which would make him almost cool in the way a really dangerous story book villain is kinda cool. By demonstrating Hitler’s real nature, as a mad man who can’t handle his job (commanding units that only exist in his head, refusing any sort of negotiation, not allowing civilian retreat) Hitler loses his ability to be impressive, and just becomes a weak, pathetic, broken old man.

The portrayal the entire Nazi regime was really good. In the Bunker, a sort of microcosm for the entire nation, you see men like Goering and Himiler who are already abandoning their master for the chance to salvage something from the wreckage , you see some like the bald Doctor who are trying to help the civilians as much as possible and get sick with the regime, and then the Air Marshal guy who are loyal to Hitler but not to the cause. And then you have Speer, who is loyal to the man, but don’t obey his orders, and finally Goebbels (and family) who follows him to the bitter end, eventually committing suicide after Hitler's death. The movie is, to say the least, a little hard to take in one sitting. When it comes to historical films, I don’t mind spoiling the ending, but the entire experience of watching the Nazis' confused and chaotic scramble in the regime’s death throes has some really emotional scenes, such as when Frau Goebbels making her self the second most hated character next to Hitler when she poisons her six children because “A world without National Socialism is not worth living in”, not to mention the scene where various Nazi members shoot themselves. There is one scene where an officer is trying to get some men to assist him, and one of them says “I’m sorry sir, I can’t” before eating his own gun. Or the scene where one general, not allowed to retreat from Berlin, and knowing the Russians are coming, blows himself up while he is eating dinner with his family. Not to mention the panicked and paranoid shooting of “deserters”, throughout the film. The movie is makes the point that the Nazi inner circle was a nut house, And in real life, the Nazi party was a chaotic, ineffective, disorganized den of madness and infighting, with blind loyalty being contrasted with unimaginative back biting, with a total lack of compassion for other human beings. In general, it is a great way of showing the dysfunctional and chaotic nature of Nazi regime and those within it.

Just general notes about the film, I like how they showed the details of the Nazi party. From the really complicated inner politics, to the fanatical loyalty, to the infighting, it really felt like you were looking into the heart of darkness, into this bizarre and alien world, where the protagonist is trapped. Just a general side note, I loved the uniforms. And I don’t just mean the costumes, cause those were based after the real ones, but the actual uniforms. I’m not a Nazi sympathizer in any sense of the word, but, evil as they are, the Nazis uniforms are cool. I mean, even in all the chaos, you can’t help but noticed how awesome the guys look walking around in these fancy outfits with those large boots clicking everywhere, even the SS with those absurdly cliché skull and crossbones look pretty epic with there intimidating outfits. I mean, it helps you understand the appeal of the military complex in Germany, because pretty much anybody can look badass in one of those uniform, especially when they are contrasted with the ill-fitting and awkward looking appeal of the Soviets. Through it does help me appreciate our own military (US), for how utilitarian our suits are, its kinda avoiding that sort of romanticized militarism.

Also, there is pretty much no background music in this film, which is really good. If there was music added to this film, the Battle of Berlin would seem dramatic, a heroic last stand against the Soviet menace against the brave and fearless Germans, who are determined to not go quietly into that good night. You could have Hitler’s body being burned with a sense of glory and accomplishment, you could have Goebbels suicide being tragic and remorseful, you could have the coming of the Soviets seem like the approach of some sort of evil army (which you could argue they were, the Soviets were horrible, but far less worst than the Nazis). The movie would be what the Nazi’s wanted their final days to be remembered as, a sort of Spartan like last stand against the Asian hoards, despite all dying in the end in a Wanger like sacrifice, a bit like 300, and by that I mean that film is something that would come out of the Nazi film industry (Frank Riefenstahl Miller) . Instead through, the lack of back ground music maeks the last days seem not herotic, but pathetic. The burning of Hitler’s body doesn’t seem like a dramatic Wagner Viking style ending for a great hero, but simply a body being dumped in a whole and having brainwashed men burn it before being driven away by gun fire. The meetings with Hitler doesn’t feel like a frustrated man who is being forced to have his people fight to the last, but instead an uncomfortable talk with a maniac who is running everything. The scene feels more human, more real, and helps the audience sympathize with the protagonist as she is trapped in a world that she only just realizes has been crazy from the start, and wants to get out…but doesn’t know how. The Nazi’s last days, like Hitler himself, seem a pathetic and impotent force that is only waiting for a stronger power to finish it off.

The film in my mind has two faults. First off, they don’t introduce many characters. I recognized a lot of the more famous ones, but a lot of minor characters are hard to keep track of, and as they don’t’ all look like their historical counterparts, it’s a little hard. The real Goebbels for example, was very short and had a limp, while this one walks fine and is very towering. And finally, the only major historical inaccuracy, is that the film doesn’t show the brutalities of Soviets. Now I know that wether Traudl Junge escaped or was captured and raped is disputed, but the Soviets were brutal in their conquest of Germany, as Germany was brutal in their invasion of Russia. Mass rapes, torture, massacre of innocent German civilians, the Soviets were horrible. If it wasn’t for the far worst crimes of the Germans and Japanese, the Soviets would seem like the most inhuman monsters in the war (but seriously, how do you compare with Death Camps and Nanking). Now I am not denying that the Nazi were even worst to the Russians when they invaded the Soviet Union, but as it is, that doesn’t justify the Soviet brutalities (or the American ones for that matter, though ours are mostly against the Japanese), and as it is, the nature of the Allies brutalities are kept in the dark. I mean, the Axis were the most evil force produced by human nature, but I think its wrong to paint the conflict as black and white, it was more grey vs. black, as the allies did horrible things, and which should be noted. Denying it, just makes us abject hypocrites. That being said, I understand why this film didn’t do it, because by showing the Soviet atrocities, it makes the Germans seem more justified and heroic, and the film would want to avoid that. But in the end, this movie is a chilling and fascinating look into the Nazis when all of there delusions of grandeur were stripped away.

From

EE

a warning to all people who want to play oblivion, don't make my mistake

Now, i've always looked forward to the day where I can review Oblivion, because unlike games like Fable or Lost Oddessy, I can't simply attack it without mercy, but more than any other RPG, Oblivion is the one that gives me headaches. when i finally beat the game, I"ll review it (yeah, like that will ever happen) but until then, a warning to you all. Don't get it for Xbox. I did, because the combat is more fleshed out, as is movement, and that is true, as well as the game being easier to use. But you miss out on the mods, which actually take the game beyond a rough sketch of near perfection, and actually flesh it out as the suiting a game of such grand design (opposed to grand execution). Ladies and gentlemen, behold

http://hellforge.gameriot.com/blogs/Caveat-Emptor/100-mods-you-should-be-playing-for-Oblivion

Simply reading this list is making me slap my face in anger, as these things fix like 50% of the issues i have with the game, add in more content that really make the game come to life, and turn alot of boring side-quests into a real pleasure. So if you haven't gotten oblivion yet, and your computor can handle it, seriously get these. Don't repeat my mistakes.
from
EE

PLanscape Torment day 1

after hearing massive amount of things about this game, i've finally got PLanscape Torment (not the collectors edition, i don't know what is in that). And i'm about 5 mins in of this writing....and it is amazing......now i need to go play. chow

Ok, fine, later i will write up some of the cool things about the game, but for now, game awaits
from
EE

Vulpine fluff, unedited for now

Right, Tempest Fanatic was promised that I’d write some fluff for his race, the Vulpines, and so finally I’m going to actually write up there back ground.  Now I wanted to base them on the Volsci people of pre Roman Italy, but there is very little known about there culture and customs, so I just made up a lot of the details. The Volsci were a nearby tribe who constantly harassed the Roman when they are a small regional power.  So I am using what elements of there culture I could find (if anybody has any good sites about them, let me know) and make the rest up.  Bear in mind, this is the Vulpine’s in my game, where they are trapped between a rather hard savaged land, and a powerful expansionist empire.  Also based it off the fox perception in tales, and the expression “A fox many know many little things, a hedgehog will know one big thing”

            The Vulpines are a hill tribe, but unlike most, they are not nomadic.  Instead, their civilization is a stationary one, with large communities being set up when they can.   However they are often mistaken for nomadic, because they are forced to wander in order to find good land to set up their communities.  Thus small bands of Vulpines are often found moving through their hills or swamps in order to find a suitable place to build.  More confusion is caused due to the nature of their villages.  With the exception of their grand temples, all of the houses are not build out of stone, but are instead tents, or made of wood, or even tree houses, as the Vulpines make a conscious effort to not disturb the environment around them, and try their level best to avoid conflict.  The society is highly communal, with the entire society dedicated to helping each other out, but there is a strong society hierarchy within the community, based very much around how much attention an individual can gain himself.  While officially, there are only three social levels within society, Druid, Warrior, and Citizen respectfully (some societies keep slaves, through only the richest and most decedent, as slaves can’t be obtain in a large enough number to be used for anything other than showing off wealth), in reality, a Vulpine’s position is assured not by their birth or position so much as their ability to call attention to themselves.  Vulpine society is a constant popularity fight, as every indivisual tires to draw attention to themselves in order to make a splash and establish themselves in society, as truly popular Vulpines are able to direct and take charge of the community and act with impunity.  A Vulpin who has establish himself as a social kingpin can decide when the society moves, goes to war, or makes treaties, simply by “suggesting” a certain idea, which there many friends and partitions will take up the cause until it becomes reality.  The only counter to these cults of personality are the Druids, who’s word is law and can at any time override any “community decision”.  Only the most daring and influence Vulpin will challenge a Druid’s veto, and those that do will often find themselves in trouble, often finding their lands stormed upon, their animals rowdy, or, in some of the more shadowy communities, simply “disappear”.

            Vulpines are thus constantly trying to draw attention to themselves and make a splash in their communities.  Great care is taken by ambitious Vulpines to try to attract as much attention as possible to their every action in order to advance up the social ladder, however Vulpines at the top will in turn take great care to try to nip any possible threats in the bud and will try their best to limit the acclaim of lesser Vulpines, often trying to arrange a way to steal other’s credit entirely. In short, Vulpine society is a constant popularity contest, as each individual tries to stay in the public eye so as to increase there personal prestige.  Thus, the Vulpine views on art, writing, poetry, and philosophy are dictated more on how they get attention of the public and keep it.  Thus, a young wealthy Vulpines will learn to play music, and will show off his talents at a party, but most will not learn professionally, nor bother with pieces that are too obscure or complicated to bring positive acclaim, but will instead learn simply for the ability to show off that they are talented.  Singers and poets will produce based on what will get the crowds attention and, if the community is wealthy enough to have a music industry, money.  Dancing is never pursued as an art form, merely as a way to make an impression.  The average Vulpine will know plenty of tidbits about various interesting facts but will mostly focus upon showing off before anything else.  However, Vulpines’ aren’t necessarily shallow, for all of there pretensions, they are a vibrant people, but the view social class as an elaborate game to be played rather than real interactions, (Vulpines are much more honest with the nuclear family), but they find this “game” endlessly amusing, through, unlike humans, Vulpines don’t take it as seriously, as the real details of the community are taken care of by the druids.

 In order to keep this society actually functional, most of the “real” responsibility within the community is given to the warrior and druid class.  The warrior “class” isn’t just any Vulpline who can fight, which is most of the population, but instead professionally trained Vulpine who’s are committed to making sure that the society actually works, and maintaining the order.  Technically speaking, professional warriors, called shield maidens, as they are all female, are apart from the elaborate social structure of the Vulpines, through they have no official authority apart from that granted to them by the Druids, in reality, they act as enforcers of the Druid’s will.  The real masters of the society, through they would prefer not to have to deal with the political intrigues are the Druid/priests, who manage the great temples and try to keep the Vulpine race focused upon the importance of nature worship.  And for all of their foolishness, the Vulpines are deeply committed to the worship of nature, through rumors exist of Vulpines settlements that have departed the worship of nature and have embraced a fully decedent society, through other speak of society where the druids have taken a more active role in controlling society, often mentioned along with rumors of human sacrifice and cruel rites.  The Druids generally however, work to keep the society in check, and all major decisions will need their support, but otherwise focus mostly upon their religion and trying to help maintain the society. 

Due to their urban nature, Vulpines are somewhat reluctantly accepted, earning a well-earned reputation as charmers, as well as tricksters.  But Vulpines do generally attempt to stay on good terms with those who live near by, but they are perfectly willing to fight to protect their land, surrounded as they are by hostile forces.  However, Vulpines are know to try to nip off chunks of enemy land that they use for building community and farming, as their own lands tend to be hard places to set up farms.  Vulpines dislike straight out war with any fraction, preferring instead to raid and harass larger border nations, and will often unite with other fractions when they do go to war.  For example, if a neighboring human kingdom comes into conflict with a Vulpine tribe, the local tribe will send diplomats to all of the local groups in the area to try to pit them against their enemy before attacking themselves.  Vulpines prefer to attack nations who are already weak and struggling, as their small populations and generally peaceful life style mean they aren’t disposed to straight fight with well-organized foes.  However they are dangerous threat if riled and Vulpine raiders can be a plague upon a society for decades if they aren’t stopped.  Vulpines prefer not to go to war against foes who haven’t actually wronged them, or are generally good societies, but if they feel that the community has offended them or mistreated them, and they will have no compunctions about raiding and harassing the outlying settlements.  The tactics of the Vulpines differ from tribe to tribe, the mostly Good tribes will reserve their wraith to enemy solders or theft rather than murder or pillaging, the neutral ones will fight those who resist but otherwise leave the native alone, focusing mostly on taking land, and obtaining food, while evil tribes will try to destroy as many communities as possible until their enemy has had enough and tries to come to terms.  As a rule, Vulpines have no interest in excessive cruelty, even the evil ones, and focus instead on “getting the job done”. However, their raiding tactics, coupled with the fact that they have no problem about allying themselves with gnolls or goblins, lead to Vulpines being lumped with he former as nothing more than “demi human pests” to be exterminated, which has led to intense human/Vulpine tensions.  Vulpines do unite with gobliniod races, but in all honesty, they tend to unite with any race if it will help them in times of war, they aren’t particularly prejudice against any non Vulpine.  They refuse to unite with any race that they feel is “disrespecting nature” however, which normally leads to conflict with both humans, and orcs (and occasionally gnomes).  The only race Vulpines seem to generally like better than others are halfings, due to there witty and urban nature, through halfings have commented upon being disturbed by the Vulpines obsession with social standing.  Vulpines hate Kenders, finding them, as one ArchDruid put it “really annoying…just annoying little buggers.”, and will often try to lead them away from their settlements using what-ever means possible.  Otherwise, Vulpines try to stay on good terms with everyone in the area.  

from

EE

Next the Vulpins

I'm just finishing up the fluff for the homebrew given to me by tempus fanatic, which i'm having alot of fun with. If anybody else wants to have their home brew permanently put here, let me know
from
EE

Tales of Symphonia

It takes a real badass to be a stoic in purple

Now all critics have their own personal beefs, quirks, and biases that they tend to bring into their writing, and if you read enough of anybody’s work you will begin to detect themes in terms of there likes and dislikes. I know all critics try to make the claim of being impartial and not being slaves to popular option, but everybody does have there own personal taste, and a critic’s views will shine through in all of there writing, and I am no exception. Those of you who knows me or have read a lot of my posts will quickly catch onto a trend in my general likes and dislikes, for example, I am a fan of old movies, I dislike over the top violence, I liked conflicts that are very grey vs. grey with fleshed out villains, and I don't like Frank Miller. And building off that, comes the list of “hot topics”, things that I am strongly optioned about and am willing to go into massive rants to back up my fully justified and not at all exaggerated views against everyone else on the internet, who are all entirely wrong and deluded for having the audacity to argue against me.* Even ignoring politics and religion (LINK'S HAT IS GOD) and sticking strictly to more nerdier subjects, some issues that lead to instant polarization for me at least are things like 4th Edition, 300, Vs. threads, and alignment. And now, lets move to the next paragraph, because I’d rather start a new rant after my massive note below, and I’d rather be snarky then think of a better transition, much to the pain of future English teachers.

*for those of you reading this, yes, that was sarcastic, and slightly self mocking. I feel horribly patronizing to have to include this, because almost all of you will easily get my point, even if it is rather heavy handed, and thus might find my explanation insulting to your intellection, but one of the two things I’ve learned about the internet is that there will always be people who simply miss the point when it comes to sarcasm, so I felt the need to include this disclaimer both to protect my image (insecurities ahoy) and to make another heavy handed joke. The other thing I learned about the internet is that it leads to painfully over the top run off sentences, often full of lampshade hangings.

Anyways, painful transition aside, one of the issues which constantly leaves me up at night fighting against people I don’t know via forum, is JRPGs. For those of you who don’t know, within the Video Game world, Role Playing Games (RPG, again being patronizing) are divided roughly into two main categories. Oh there are some sub categories, like “action RPG”, such as Dark Alliance, or Legends of Norath, and of course MMO’s and stratigy games, but within “Pure” RPGs, we are given two vaguely defined and yet totally rigid categories. There are Western RPGS, or WRPGS, through the latter title is rarely heard, as they tend to be known as just “RPGs” and there rival is “JRPGS” or “Japanese RPGS” coming from everybody favorite island with a higher living standard than the US, Japan. Now obviously, this is kinda of an “East vs. West” conflict, which is one of those many cultural conflicts between the radically different cultures, but I feel the need to point out that neither genre is exclusive to either region. For example, western games can and often do follow the “Japanese” model, Lord of the Rings the Third Age is a notable example. And while “JRPGS” is a style, Japan isn’t the only video game maker in Asia, South Korea and China are there, through overshadowed by the video game juggernaut that is Japan. Now, while both are RPGs, they have different conventions. Western RPGs are my favorite style of video game out there, and they tend to focus upon wide open style of playing, where the character effects the world around him and makes up his own personality. For example, in Baldur’s Gate, there is a centralized main plot that the player is forced to follow, but the methods in your doing so is left to the player. You have many side missions that you can do in no particular order, which while never actually changing the main plot, subtly effects it. You can chose your own party members and interact with them, you often will have a “good/Evil” path, through the better ones will give you even more options, and you really make up the personality of the character. In short, Western RPGs are about options, and choices, and while some of the lesser ones (Fable) aren’t as good at this, the giants in the genre can offer a massive amount of choices that shape your character, the idea being that it is the player who makes the story happen. Some of the games, such as Mass Effect and Icewind Dale will even have your character design effect the way the game works, such as a character who focuses upon Charisma and diplomacy will have different dialogue options. Most, through not all Western RPGs will allow you to make your own character, and will almost always allow you to alter his actions, thus making it really a “Role Playing Game”. Western titles include, Baldur’s gate, Planescape Torment, Icewind Dale, Fable, Legacy of Kain, Neverwinter Knights, Jade Empire, Mass Effect, The Witcher, Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Overlord, Bard’s Tale, Diablo, Knights of the Old Republic, Might and Magic, and Thief are all examples of this, and the debatable example of Warcraft. Now, you might haven noticed two main patterns among these examples. First off, some of the games on the list are literally the best games ever, no exception, and secondly that most of them are kinda old, because many developers have realized that explosions, gore and cleverage sell better than plot and character devolpment. But almost all of the games on that list are amazing, at least the ones I’ve played (Might and Magic can’t comment) with the exception of Fable of course. Ironically, one WRPG I’ve never played, “Wizardry” is apparently huge in Japan, but we have to bear in mind, neither of these are culturally absolutes.

Now JRPGS tend to focus less upon choices and available options, and more upon story and character development. Instead of making your own character and choosing your own paths, and instead you watch a series of pre-made characters who simply go through the plot. Now, when I say it focuses upon story and characters, I’m not saying that Western RPGs are somehow lacking in terms of plot and characters, just that the story details are left up to the player, while in JRPGs the story is much more linear and the characters are already written for you, so the choices are often more minute and subtle. Final Fantasy is the most famous JRPG out there. Now, I dislike JRPGs. I find them tedious, as you are often simply going through a series of cut scenes and just move the pre existing character around and do the fighting. JRPGS are formulaic, and while the formula can and has worked, the fact that the genre relies so much upon the formula just seems primitive to me. JRPGs also tend to be full of my pet peeves, like people wearing absurdly revealing clothes for no reason (WRGPS aren’t innocent of this either through), people being so absurdly good looking that it feels like the graphics matter more than gameplay and story, crazy hair, absurdly young main characters with hard to tell genders, and turned based combat, not to mentioned lazy world design and absurdly over the top weapons and fights (that you see in cute scenes obviously). And also, because the characters are premade, if you don’t like them, well your screwed then, because they aren’t controlled by you. This can become particularly annoying if you want the character to follow a different path, for example, I’d be actually pretty interested in playing a character who serves the cliché evil empire rather than fighting for my generic and shallow motives.

Now, as much as I dislike JRPGs, and the formula they stick to so rigidly, I can’t in good conscious condemn the entire genre to be nothing more than tedious game play and cliché writing, because there are a few that I like. Even through I dislike most of Final Fantasy and what it stands for especially today, I will admit I like a few of the titles, even through I hated FFXII, FFX, FFVIII, FF X-2 (yes, they made a Final Fantasy Ten 2, don’t ask). I liked Tactics and Tactics Advanced, the Crystal Chronicles, and the first 3 games in the franchise, and I fond FFIX and FF XII to be decent. But all of those are not games I’d really love, as I’d never put them in the “RPGs worth recommending” and I more just had a fun time rather than have a great wonderful time. And while I liked Fire Emblem, I’m not sure if that counts as JRPG, so within the JRGP genre, there aren’t very many “Great” games by my standard. In fact, most of the so call “great” games I found to be really primitive and vastly inferior to the biggest hitters in the Western RPG world. And there are so many just bad JRPGs, Lost Odyssey is still the biggest waste of money I’ve ever seen in a video game. Now to be fair, I don’t play JRPGs often, because I’d rather use my money on RPGs that I can have reasonable expectations for a good game, so there are almost certainly some really good titles I’m missing, but for me, there are only two games that prevent me from simply giving up on the genre as a broken formula. FFVI, and Tales of Symphonia. Now the former I don’t own, and I haven’t been able to play it for years, but lets just say it was awesome, and so, after this truly massive introduction explaining my bias, I think this is a good time to review one of the few stable columns that hold the JRPG formula from proving to be a waste of time.

Right, Tales of Symphonia, lets start, and on an actual new page too . Anyways, I have to admit, I’ve never actually played any of the tales series, which is apparently a “different” approach to JRPGs, and if any of them are like Symphonia, I’ll be quite content honestly. Now, it should be noted, that ToS doesn’t break the JRPG story formula, in fact, follows it as rigidly as they come, with the singular exception of combat, and adding in more options than the average JRPG in terms of story. The combat is far more entertaining than turn based, as you have limited control over your characters in terms of fighting, which I gather is a common element of the Tales franchise. But the general JRPG mannerism is readily apparent, so I have to reluctantly conclude that JRPGs can work without being subverted. However, a good deal of the clichés and overused concept are cleverly subverted throughout the game. For example, like most JRPGs, the main character, Lloyd Irving is an overly enthusiastic moron with a short attention span, who is somehow the most moral person in the group, however in ToS, the fact he is a moron is constantly pointed out, and mocked by other party members. The fact he is a legitimately good person comes from him becoming less stupid and more focused, rather than some strange “Dumb people are good” ethic that seems to be prevalent in JRPGs and bad manga (including an infamous orange ninja). And while he is stupid, he isn’t painfully so, and so is actually quite likable, not to mention how, for all of his ignorance, he is rather mature, especially compared to the rest of the cast. Or the plot is very linear and formulaic (with one notable and amazing exception), but a lot of thought goes into the plot and more importantly the presentation, so it doesn’t feel forced or cliché, but instead actually pretty engaging and enjoyable. Ok, I’m getting ahead of myself, lets actually talk about the game?

Tales of Symphonia at first glance seems like a typical cliché story involving a Chosen one, a long epic quest to unlock the elemental seals in order to seal away evil, and a world full of monsters and magic. And, as you will be able to tell almost right away, this is entirely not true, and the plot is in fact a far longer and more elaborate than that, but I’ll save spoilers for the end. The important thing to know is that ToS has an elaborate story that while it doesn’t invent anything, it is still fascinating and wonderfully presented. So if you don’t want spoilers, which is kinda the only way to explain the plot, then know this, it is a shiny gem among the JRPG mine that encourages people like me who don’t like the genre to keep digging...through slowly. I’d go into more detail about the plot and the characters, but honestly, just play it. I will say through, the game has a remarkable sense of humor, which, along with numerous lampshade hangings, makes even the most cliché plot points seem entertaining.

Now for those of you who played the game, or don’t care about spoilers, then just some of my personal notes concerning the story. One thing that struck me was the moral of the story and how, while still very idealistic, was actually pretty thought out, and not quite the typical platitude seen in most video games. The central concept of the story is that people shouldn’t have to sacrifice themselves for a cause, that a truly good person will find a way to do good without sacrificing others, through it is much harder. And I have to say, I kinda like that. I like that the hero rejects not just the sacrifice of innocents, but even people who try to sacrifice themselves. It is absurdly idealistic of course, but the game does acknowledge that, and the massive obstacles faced by somebody who would follow such a path. I mean, if the main characters had simply accepted the need for sacrifice of a single life to save many, and gone along with the unfair system, the game would have been only 1/8 the length as it had been, and they would have been heroes for the rest of their lives, opposed to a massive journey full of hardship and pain. And honestly, while I think the ethics are rather naïve, I agree with it, that it is better to fight against an unfair system than to accept it. Through there are a few inconsistencies, for all of the talk of racism, not much detail goes into the Designs (Half elf Nazis) and how the main characters do kill them pretty nonchalantly (along with the Papal Knights, who only are doing there jobs). But that aside, I like the message of the game, which is rare for a video game to even have a message worth conveying. I also like the dynamic between the Mithos and Lloyd, the latter’s idealism vs. the formers cynicism. Mithos is interesting both in his status as a hero, which is partly legitimate, and his utter apathy for the world around him. He cares about his sister, and gives half hearted effort to caring about his people, but mostly he simply accepts peoples’ weakness as inevitable, and thus doesn’t bother trying to change people, just keep them in check. He deliberately stagnates society and technology because he is convinced that people can’t use power for good, and he tries to rid the world of racism by taking away free will because he thinks people are fundamentally unable to accept each other and doesn’t bother any other way, he dictates who’s lives are sacrificed and whose lives prosper, because he feels human kind can’t take care of themselves (and if this sounds like an Objectivist rant, I assure you, I would never stoop that low). Mithos simply has no faith in anyone but himself and his sister, which might explain his devotion to the latter. Lloyd in contrast, believes in people and has faith in them, and in there ability to change. While Mithos is ultimately alone, Lloyd has 8 other dudes to help him beat people up, and yes, this is a game where the “friendship speech” actually works, shocking as that may be. The whole concept is faith, not in religion per say (which doesn’t really come up much, in a game about angels) but instead in human nature. Now again, Lloyd has the advantage that he is in a situation where people can have faith, opposed to a more complex issue, like say, real politics, but I digress. There are a few nitpicks when it comes to the game, for example, the levels themselves range from painfully tedious to outright infuriating, the wind valley and the sewers being the most painful examples. And I wish they went more into the characters of the pope and the Cruxis, who are only sketched out. But I am nitpicking, in all, the story is astounding. Finally…Zelos. Who I think is the best character in the game series. The moment he is introduced as a foppish ladies man, the audience knows he is more than that and the playboy look is just a disguise, but instead of the pervert who is in fact a gentlemen, I was honestly shocked when it is revealed that he is in fact just an embittered, selfish, self hating cynic in the end, who, like Mithos has little faith in anything. And the thing is, he honestly hides it quite well. When I played through the game the first time, I had no idea about the true nature of his personality, despite numerous hints. It wasn’t until he second play through when it became apparent, in one of the most shocking/emotional traitor scenes I’ve ever seen, especially since you actually kill him. The character is more multi layered than anybody else in the cast, because he is more subtle, you don’t get a sense of his true personality until later, and so he didn’t become my favorite character until my third play through, when I caught all the hints I’ve missed. Just another example of really good writing

So ToS is an example of a very good JRPG, proving that the formula of the genre isn’t inherently bad. But the second question is, while it does prove the formula workable, does it prove it beneficial. And in that I say, no. While it does an excellent job of telling a good story and being a good game, I still can’ in good honesty say that the game is somehow better because the land map is just one avatar walking around, or that combat takes place in some separate world, or that I can’t choose more than two options. In fact, the best part of the game is when you can choose how to influence a single party member. Honestly, ToS isn’t great because of its formula, but because of its writing. The formula doesn’t seem to actually help the game, the game just used it to tell its own story and show its own characters. So yes, JRPGs in there current form can work, but while ToS is amazing and I recommend it to everybody out there (and I hope to play more tales games) it doesn’t debunk the complaints towards JRPGs, it just averts them
From
EE