The Last Story

Happy September! 

I've been playing a lot of "The Last Story" lately. I'm a huge fan of Hironobu Sakaguchi and the game series he's been involved with developing, and ever since this game was announced I had my eye on it. I pre-ordered the game on Amazon and got all this nice stuff.

Soundtrack, a book that contains concept art, and the game itself!




Gameplay:

I really enjoy the original take on the battle system and game-play. It feels like it has the cut-scenes and storyline quality reminiscent of older Final Fantasy games, yet has an entirely original battle system. It's real-time, yet has turn-based elements of old RPGs, so it feels like a mix of an old-school RPG with standard commands and an action-RPG that's always free flowing.

Here's some footage of the battle system:


What I like about it (and apparently can be changed to how you feel) is that you can hit the control stick in the direction of the enemy, and it attacks that enemy.

There is  no targeting involved except for the use of spells, and even then it freezes the real-time gameplay in order for you to cast the spell and where it will land. It seems hack and slash, but there is some influence on where you attack the mob and what spell you use. It's not like Kingdom Hearts where one would simply spam the attack button, there is a good amount of strategy involved to still differentiate it from that kind of RPG.


Story:


The story itself so far is a little cliche...

Revolves around a group of mercenaries headed by a man named Dagran and the player is in control of one of the mercenaries, named Zael. They get caught up with the princess of Lazulis Castle named Calista, and the story revolves around their adventures with the conflicts in and about Lazulis including the internal affairs of the Lazulis family and the external affairs against the Gurak Empire.

However, I think it's told very well. There are a lot of freedom of choices and the quirky humor and voices are well done. Since the game was localized in Britain, some of the spelling threw me off a little. But it's a well done game and definitely worth playing.

Music:

Also, the music is done by Nobuo Uematsu, that in itself...

Doesn't the song on the top remind you of Final Fantasy IX's Hunter's Chance? I surely got that feeling.

 

   

Too Little Too Late Episode 7 - Lufia: Curse of the Sinistrals [Archived]

Lufia, the RPG that pretty much defines my childhood. If it wasn't for this series, I wouldn't be anywhere near the gamer I am now. My dad brought this game home after it was traded in, and I was hooked from day one. I had no idea what experience points, levels, or HP or anything was before this and if it wasn't for this game, I probably wouldn't be interested in RPGs at all. Lufia II was also the first game I ever got from Ebay, and I liked that game just as much!


Now... when I heard they were remaking Lufia II for the Nintendo DS, I HAD to get it. I missed my chance on playing the GBC and GBA iterations of the series (they're on my list, trust me.) But this. This is a game I could not pass up. It made me all nostalgic inside.

Too Little Too Late
Episode 7: Lufia Curse of the Sinistrals

Storyline:


The storyline of Lufia rarely changes from game to game. Every game has a red-haired hero (Maxim, or his descendant(s) depending on what time period of the game) who must use a Dual Blade to defeat the Sinistrals, four god-like beings who destroy the world. The movie below is pretty much the prophecy from the first game, released in 1993.

What is noticeable about the Lufia series is the first game is the sequel to the second game. The beginning (above) starts with the "end" of Lufia 2 and tells the story of Maxim's descendant, 99 years later. Lufia II focuses on how Maxim was able to do that whole journey, so in sense it's a prequel. The Lufia game I'm reviewing is Curse of the Sinistrals, which is a remake of Lufia II.

The characters are:

Maxim - A red haired monster hunter who "seemingly" takes on more than he can chew when he goes and fights against Gades, one of the Sinistrals. After being defeated, he needs to go on a journey to find more strong warriors to take down Gades and the other sinistrals.

Tia - Maxim's childhood friend. Has a big crush on him throughout the game. Is a whiny spoiled brat, pretty much.

Selan - Maxim's love interest. Commander of the warriors in Parcelyte and does not like anyone's help, until she falls for Maxim.

Guy - Dim witted strong buff guy. Yellow hair.

Artea - An elf, he has a lengthened lifespan and gets to also live to see the future battles of Doom Island.

Dekar - Self-absorbed master of weaponry. He considers himself to be the strongest warrior in the world, and is a flirt.

Obviously, the storyline is very cliche. But the game makes light of this the whole time and really breaks the fourth wall at times to make it seem as such. However, the ending is kept in tandem with the game it is based off of, and I won't spoil it, but it's a tear-jerker.


Gameplay:

The gameplay in this installment is noticeably different from the other Lufia games, even the Lufia game it is based off of.

Here's some comparisons:

Lufia II Gades Fight (Original, SNES, 1995)

Now here is the same boss battle in the remake.

Lufia: Curse of the Sinistrals Gades Fight (DS, 2010)

As you can see, instead of a traditional RPG approach of the original, they made it more of an action game, not unlike Zelda/Kingdom Hearts. Despite the change, the game stays true and most all the main storyline sequences are the same and have enhanced voice acting.

Some more gameplay...

Music:

The music of this game is done by Yasunori Shiono, who did the composition for all of the Lufia series. This game largely has remixed/updated versions of music from Lufia 1 and 2.

Here are some of my favorite themes from Lufia: Curse of the Sinistrals. Note: The last theme is a sad one.

Conclusion:

I'm usually not a fan of action RPGs, but this game series seriously holds a place in my heart (as well as a lot of old school 16-bit RPG fans) This game has easy controls, and has a difficulty that revolves around your pace. I strongly recommend this game to anyone who has a Nintendo DS and wants a good RPG. You will not regret it!

Now if only they remade Lufia 1...



(Didn't bother giving a score, it'd be way too biased.)

Too Little, Too Late Episode 6: Chrono Trigger Review (SNES/PS1/DS) [Archived]

Introduction:

I've been wanting to get into the Chrono series for quite some time, and I was finally able to get myself a copy. Actually, I did have Chrono Trigger for years on the PlayStation, but I just never had any time to play it due to the busy round and about school schedule. So when the game came out for DS, I took my time and knocked out some RPGs I was working on at the time and then got a copy of the game to finally play through it as I had the chance.

Too Little, Too Late: Episode 6
By: Grover

_____________________________________________

Storyline:

The story of Chrono Trigger is simple, yet very complicated. Like the title suggests, it's a story that heavily involves time travel. You have Crono (Chrono in JP) who is your typical silent protagonist who is the strong swordsman. Marle, who is Crono's love interest and the princess healer chick, but she can be one hell of a damage dealer with her bow as well. Lucca who is Crono's childhood friend and is a genius with machinery. Robo who is a futuristic robot with insane amounts of HP, Ayla who is from prehistory who is a bisexual savage chick who was born before magic, Frog who is from the middle ages and was turned into such by one of the main enemies in the game, and Magus who I can't explain too much of without spoiling a good part of the story.

When something malfunctions with testing a time machine of Lucca's creation in 1000 AD (what is considered the present in terms of the game) while Marle is inside, Crono uses the time machine as means to go back in time to save her. Little do they know, that Marle was captured in the past because she was confused to be her own ancestor, who herself was also captured in that time period. (Which starts its own paradox). As the game progresses, it is shown that the events of the past affect the future in subtle ways when shown in the story, and the player gets to witness it firsthand, even some sidequests in the game can drastically change how the future of the same area looks.

It is notable that the characters were designed by Akira Toriyama of Dragon Ball and Dragon Quest fame. Parts of the story (in the PS1 and DS version) have anime sequences with the cast taking part making this similar in quality to that of the Lunar series which was released after Chrono Trigger.

Score : 20/20

_____________________________________________

Gameplay

*Note this game play is from the DS version. The SNES/PS1 are identical save for the slightly (in my opinion) more confusing user interface.




With that being said, Chrono Trigger is very easy to get into. And what turned me off from the original game on the SNES and PS1 was the extremely confusing interface in terms of combination techs. Combination techs are when two or all three members in the party execute an attack at once, taking all of their MP and their turns simultaneously. The DS version makes the combination techs more understandable and easy to use.

What I don't like about the gameplay is that in the later parts of the game, it gets very non-linear all of the sudden, and it goes from "holding your hand" on where to go next to pretty much on a "You're on your own" kind of perspective. Personally, I don't like the pacing of that, but I can safely say that's pretty much my ONLY complaint about the game, and that's a good thing.





Score: 15/20

_____________________________________________

Innovation to Genre

This RPG introduced the idea of New Game+. That's where once you complete the game, you can replay the game from the start, with all your character data, items and equipment being saved. This is an innovation in itself because it encourages the game to be played multiple times.

This concept was used in many future releases, such as FFX-2, Vagrant Story, and even the sequel to Chrono Trigger itself, Chrono Cross.

Score: 20/20

_____________________________________________

Music/Sounds:

The music of Chrono Trigger was composed by Yasunori Mistuda with some compositions added by Nobuo Uematsu and Noriko Matsueda.

I'd have to say the music within Trigger is very well done, and it reflects the music of the eras very well.

Not to mention this is the game that came up with countless Internet memes. Most notably what became known on the internet as the "Robo Roll" and "The Brian Peppers Theme".







Some other themes I like:

Antiquity: (12,000 B.C.)





Score: 20/20

_____________________________________________

Re-playability

Chrono Trigger has more than one ending. Take that back, it has WAY more than one ending. There are about 13 endings, if I remember correctly. And the only way you can really experience each ending is to complete the main story, start New Game+ and sequentially fight the end boss at earlier parts of the story. (The final boss of the game can be fought at any time, but it's advisable that you do not in your first playthrough, you'll probably be killed anyway.) Some of the endings are interesting, but I won't spoil it for you if you've not played it. But they are definitely worth seeing.

Score: 20/20

_____________________________________________

Conclusion:

Chrono Trigger was released in what I consider to be the golden age of RPGs, right before the 3D era and in times when games like Final Fantasy IV, VI, Lufia, and the first two Breath of Fires were the premier RPGs on the market for the Super Nintendo. Before it's re-releases, Chrono Trigger and its SNES contemporaries were going for quite a pretty penny, and they probably still do. They're very rare games if you're looking for the SNES originals and for a good reason. I highly recommend this game, and if you're a hardcore RPG fan, this is one you definitely cannot miss.

Final Score: 95/100 ( A. Recommend!)

Too Little Too Late Episode 5: E3 2010: Wrap-Up: Games/Periphreals/Systems I am excited for. [Archived]

The magical event that comes once a year. The moment us gaming nerds eagerly wait for every June. I'm an Atheist, and I don't celebrate Christmas, this IS my Christmas. That's right, it's the Electronic Entertainment Expo! (Or E3). This is the only thing all year that has me jumping around in joy like I am a little kid again, and LIKE IT! If you're a serious gamer like myself, then you most likely know what I'm talking about. Hell, you may even do it too. Anyway, this is my entry on what I considered to be really cool announcements for E3. If you're looking for standard FPS's, you're not going to find them here since I pretty much hate them with a passion. ...Except one, which you'll see below.

Too Little Too Late: Episode 5
By Grover

Nintendo 3DS Handheld (Nintendo)

This by far has me to be the most excited out of everything that has been announced so far. The last main series of handhelds that Nintendo released was in 2004 and everything they have made has built on that old hardware, now this pretty much declares the birth of a new generation of Nintendo as far as handhelds are concerned. The processors are rumored to be as great as the Xbox 360 and Wii as well as the graphics (according to what I've seen in Kid Icarus) to be between the latter Gamecube titles and Wii titles. So far this will be ahead of the PSP (in my opinion) until the new iteration of Sony's handheld is released. Now, I know for sure that I'm getting one, as this promises to be very awesome.



(Is it me or has that girl never played a DS before? Explaining how the bottom is a touch screen... Anyways!)

Release Date: Before March 2011.

Final Fantasy XIV (PS3/PC)

The spiritual sequel to Final Fantasy XI, this next installment of the Final Fantasy series is going to be entirely online, but not be as medieval as its spiritual predecessor.

The setting looks like it's going to be very similar to Final Fantasy VI so I'm excited, that was one of my favorite Final Fantasy games.

Even though my PC doesn't pass the Benchmark test (only can get it to 1000 something. Ugh, Nvidia), I may end up purchasing a PS3 primarily for this game. It looks beautiful! I hope to see you guys in the game, as I will definitely be playing it from launch (if at least the retail launch).



Release Date: Retail: Late 2010. Beta: Summer 2010.

More info about Final Fantasy XIV can be found at its main website: www.finalfantasyxiv.com

Donkey Kong Country Returns (Wii)

One of my favorite platform series, this game is is the sequel to the game: "Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!" Though, it's not developed by its original development team Rare as they were bought out by Microsoft in 2003. This new iteration to the series is being developed by Houston-based Retro Studios who previously worked on the Metroid Prime series for Nintendo.



Release Date: Q4 2010

Goldeneye 007 (Wii)

This game doesn't need an explanation. It remains pretty much my only favorite FPS. I would play this game in multiplayer and single player for HOURS. I miss those days. >< This is a remake of another game made by Rare, but because of its acquisition by Microsoft, development has been handed to EA Studios which now possesses the license to the 007 series in terms of film-to-game franchise.



Release Date: November 2, 2010.

Twisted Metal (PS3)

For the end of the 1990's, Twisted Metal dominated the PlayStation as "the car battle game" for the console, until SingleTrac handed things over to Sony's in-house game development studio "989 Studios" which single-handedly raped the whole franchise with Twisted Metal III and IV. (Which are still good games mind you, just not in the Twisted Metal essence)

Development was then handed to Incognito Studios in the early 2000's which was made up of former SingleTrac employees to work on the new Twisted Metal: Black for PS2. Even though that studio is pretty much finished now since the main people have left the company, a new one made by Incognito team and the Twisted Metal creators are in "Eat Sleep Play" which will develop this new installment.






Release Date: 2011


Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light (Nintendo DS)

Matrix Software, the company that made remakes of Final Fantasy III and Final Fantasy IV for the Nintendo DS made their own FF from scratch. The musical director of FFXI, Naoshi Mizuta is doing the score for it too!



Release Date: October 8, 2010.

Sonic Colors (Nintendo Wii/DS)

Release Date: Holiday 2010.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (Wii)

The trailer for this game looked pretty damn awesome. Needless to say, the controls were unresponsive, but nothing ever goes well in a show now does it?



Release Date: 2011

Dragon Quest IX (Nintendo DS)

Work in progress.

Metal Gear Solid (Xbox 360)
Work in progress.

Fallout: New Vegas

Work in progress.

Golden Sun: Dark Dawn (Nintendo DS)

I never really gave the series a chance, but I really want to try out the series starting with this title. It's the third game in the franchise after "Golden Sun" and "Golden Sun 2" for the Game Boy Advance. Other than that, I really don't have any other details for it since I've not played the series.


Release Date: Holiday 2010.
Lufia: Curse of the Sinistrals (Nintendo DS)

Remake of the first RPG series I've ever played for the SNES. I'm eagerly waiting for a release for this!

Release Date: Fall 2010


Pokemon Black and White Version (Nintendo DS)
They said this would be mentioned in E3 2010, but didn't make it? I don't know...

Release Date: Spring 2011.


Mario Kart 3DS (Nintendo 3DS)

Announced for 3DS, but no major details for it were released. It's presumed to take advantage of the capabilities of the 3DS.
The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time 3DS (Nintendo 3DS)

Announced for 3DS, but no major details for it were released. It's presumed to take advantage of the capabilities of the 3DS.


Super Street Fighter IV (Nintendo 3DS)

Announced for 3DS, but no major details for it were released. It's presumed to take advantage of the capabilities of the 3DS.

Star Fox 64 3DS (Nintendo 3DS)

Announced for 3DS, but no major details for it were released. It's presumed to take advantage of the capabilities of the 3DS.

Pilotwings (Nintendo 3DS)

Announced for 3DS, but no major details for it were released. It's presumed to take advantage of the capabilities of the 3DS.

Too Little Too Late Episode 4: Super Mario Galaxy 2 [Archived]

I can't think of any serious gamer who hasn't played or heard of a Mario game. His 8-bit theme pretty much defined the sound of video games for decades. When a non-gamer thinks of video games, that catchy tune comes to mind almost instantly. Anywho, his newest installment came out for the Wii a couple of weeks ago now, and being the massive gaming nerd/geek that I am, not only did I play through it and rescue the princess, I wanted to write what I thought of the game. Now bear in mind, I didn't go for all 240 stars or all of that shiz. I will eventually. So far I've nabbed the princess back and I was on my way to getting all the extra green stars.

Too Little Too Late : Episode 4
By Grover

Introduction:

Storyline (20 points) -

The Super Mario franchise has had the same story throughout the whole series. You shouldn't expect any major deviations from the formula.

Mario loves Peach, Peach gets kidnapped by Bowser, Mario goes through levels to catch Bowser, Mario rescues Peach. They do unspeakable things to each other while the credits roll. Pretty simple.

The story is actually not as significant here as in Super Mario Galaxy 1. Rosalina's role is pretty much non existant in this one and it's just Mario going for Bowser.

You get a nifty hub area too, but that will be explained in the gameplay.

Score: 20/20

Gameplay (20 points)

The gameplay and controls are identical of Super Mario Galaxy 1. One uses the Wii mote and the nunchuk to control Mario. Shake the wiimote to attack enemies, and so on.

Attacking an enemy and killing them by shaking the Wiimote yields star bits which can be picked up by walking into them or pointing at them with your Wii mote.

Though the biggest change in the gameplay from Galaxy 1 was the addition of Yoshi. One can lick/eat enemies by pointing with the "tongue" (via Wii mote) and spit out star bits. Yoshi is also required for some of the levels.

Speaking of levels, some of them are pretty damn imaginative. See for yourself! The levels themselves use the same engine as Galaxy 1, but they've massively split the different galaxies into many different levels. In Galaxy 1, one galaxy would have 3-5 different stars. In Galaxy 2, with the more diverse set of levels, each of them only have between 2-3 stars. It's a welcome change (at least in my opinion) because I didn't like being shot to the same level four-five times for a slightly different objective.

Also, the hub area! It's much more accessible and straight to the point. In Galaxy 1, the hub area was this giant space station that took 5 minutes to get from one place to another. Galaxy 2, it's a small area which is in the shape of Mario's head. All you have to do is run to the cap (where you usually start off anyway) and then you go to a world map (reminiscent of Super Mario Bros 3, World and New Super series) where you can literally jump right into the action from there. It's a very welcomed change, and it puts way more emphasis on level creativity than ever before.

Also: You can play as Luigi, he's not too different than Mario, other than flutter while jumping instead of flipping around. Developer ghosts also appear if you clear the level with Luigi.

Score: 20/20







Music/Sounds (20 points) -As in Super Mario Galaxy 1, the music was done by the great Koji Kondo of all Mario music fame as well as Mahito Yokota and Ryo Nagamatsu. As with Galaxy 1, the Galaxy series has taken more of an orchestral influence to most of its themes rather than the traditional approach.

Some of my favorite music from the game:








Score: 20/20
Innovation to Genre (20 points) -

Although Super Mario Galaxy 2 set a new standard for all platforming games from here on out, I personally believe Galaxy 1 had a way bigger impact, before Galaxy 1, no platformer had such precision despite the massive change in physics in the game engine and how it worked. But in any case, it only is outranked by its predecessor, and that's really saying something.

Score: 16/20

Re-playability (10 points)This game is the poster child for re-playability. You only need 70 stars to "beat" the game, but there are so many extra stars to catch once the main quest is over, the total racks up to over 240! That's not to say it's easy, because it's not. You need 120 stars to even unlock the second half, and it only increases in difficulty from there. Needless to say, I'm not much of a completest myself, I'll probably come back and finish the stars once I've finished some other games I've been working on. But the challenge is still there.

Score: 10/10

Nostalgic Inclusion (10 points) -This game bleeds itself with nostalgia, two of the three themes I posted were from Super Mario 64, the game starts off and has many levels which takes place in a 2D side-scroller position, there are notes around the level that make up tunes to well known themes from earlier mario games. There's a nod to the series all around here, and that's not really a surprise there.

Score: 10/10
Conclusion:

This game is an absolute must have for anyone who has a Nintendo Wii. If you have a Wii and do not have this game, I can legitimately ask this question: "What the hell is wrong with you!?"
Final Score: 96/100 (A+ HIGHLY-HIGHLY Recommended!)

Too Little, Too Late: Episode 3 - The Legend of Dragoon (PS1) [Archived]

For those who have been tracking (or stalking) my Facebook status in the last couple of weeks, you would know that I recently finally finished off "The Legend of Dragoon" for the PlayStation. Now since it's Friday, and I have nothing better to do with my existence, I'm going to write my opinions about it, 10 years after the release.

Too Little Too Late Episode 3:

By Grover

A peaceful beginning, the legend was born 10,000 years ago. A violent uprising. A civilization of flying creatures enslave the human race. A bloody war. In a bid for freedom, the humans harness the spiritual forces of Dragons and triumph. Tranquility and harmony exist between all. But the past and the future are about to collide.

Unveil a fantasy of magnificence, deception, magical combat and retribution.

The journey that seeks the past ends. And the journey to discover today begins. Unleash that spirit of the Dragoons. And discover your destiny.

Introduction:

Storyline (20 points) -

The Legend of Dragoon's storyline is not that bad. I really enjoy the pacing of the four disc long epic.

Each disc is its own chapter. When the chapter is ended, and the next disc is inserted, it gives the illusion in game that considerable time has passed between the discs. Kind of like starting a new chapter in a book. And I really like how it's written.

However, some of the story is cliche though. Main character is a sword wielding hero who is in love with the healer chick. The healer chick has feelings for the main sword wielding hero from the start, but the main character is too macho to admit it until the climax of the game... Etc.

I won't spoil the rest of it for you, because this game has a lot of interesting plot twists that will have you saying "Damn, I never saw it coming". Well, unless you actually read the walkthrough... But that's cheating now, isn't it? But then again everyone knows Aeris dies in Final Fantasy VII.

Score: 17/20

Gameplay (20 points) -

The gameplay for Legend of Dragoon mixes the old with the new. Well, new as much as this game is concerned. (It was released back in 2000, so by new, I'm talking the games it was up against at the time.) Anywho, unlike regular attacks in role-playing games, an "attack" can be more than one slash. But what determines the slash is if you can time the pressing of the X (and in some cases, O if the monster is trying to counter) button. Other than that, the battles are traditionally turn based, and it's in essence a throw back to the old RPGs of the 80's and early 90's. In a ways, that is what makes it fun.

In battles, the characters can turn into Dragoons which are pretty much super powered versions of the characters. This is also the only way the characters can cast spells, as magic cannot be used when the character is not in Dragoon mode.

One of my complaints is that if you link attacks together, they make a voice acted saying, and it gets fairly annoying- especially in longer battles.

Another thing about the gameplay: The world map and actual map design is very interesting, and strays from most RPG concepts. The world map is not open. It's a very linear path. I mean literally, you run in a line.

In terms of how regular monsters are encountered, there is a pointer above the main character. When a random encounter is far off, the pointer above Dart's head is blue. As you run, the pointer will eventually change to yellow, and when the pointer goes to red, that means a random encounter is about to start. I like this system because it ensures that progress is actually made before a battle. I hate how in some games, you take one step and it triggers a battle. What's up with that? Ugh!

Another minor complaint I have is once you get to disc 4, if you want to visit some older areas from Disc 1-3, you'll be swapping discs in order to go there, it's a minor inconvenience if you want to do some side-quests on the world map.

Score: 18/20

Music/Sounds (20 points) -

The music in "The Legend of Dragoon" is pretty well done. There is a whopping six battle themes. (Three battle themes, three boss themes) and then there is the final boss battle.

Since there are actually so many themes, I'll pick some of my favorite music from the game.

Score: 16/20

Innovation to Genre (20 points) -

Pros:

Innovative Map Design.

Innovative Encounter System.

Extremely good graphics for its time. Compared to FFVIII and FFVII which were released shortly before and had considerably worse graphics, Legend of Dragoon set the standards for the end of the PS1 and put it to its capabilities.

Cons:

Terrible voice acting alignment. It feels like an old movie in the 1930's.

Long loading screens, especially for the FMVs.

Drawn out battle transitions. The waterfall transition gets old around disc 2.

Score: 17/20

Re-playability (20 points) -

Depends, really. If you want to go to the final dungeon, you better make two save files. Because in the final dungeon, once you go in, you can't leave. Plus there are save spots in there. So you get that feeling if it's worth it to either go back and do all the extra stuff, or waste the one block of memory space to have the option in the future. OR just not do it at all.

Anyway, some of the sidequests are actually well designed, but the way the final dungeon is structured, it just doesn't allow for a lot of re-playability, just from the way it's poorly designed at the end. That's not to say that the ending is good, but the way that you're trapped inside makes it distasteful.

Some other RPGs do it too, notably Lunar 2: Eternal Blue and Final Fantasy VIII. It's really annoying.

Score: 16/20

Conclusion:

If you're a RPG fan like myself, The Legend of Dragoon is definitely worth a purchase if you can find a copy. Finding one not online is pretty rare, unless you scrummage through rummage sales or Swap Meets like I do. You'll probably not even find one at GameStop anymore. It's a must-have to a game collection. I kind of wish they made a sequel, but apparently Sony saw the game as a failure. I see it as bad marketing because the game came out like right before the release of the PlayStation 2, so I don't feel that this game ever really got a chance to shine like it should have. Maybe it should be released for the PlayStation portable, now that would be pretty awesome.

17+18+16+17+16

Final Score: 84/100 - ( B ) Recommend!

Next episode of "Too Little Too Late" will be on the Chrono series. ...Whenever I get around to finishing both games.

Too Little, Too Late: Episode 2 - Pokémon Heart Gold & Soul Silver Review [Archived]

Too Little Too Late

Episode 2

By: Grover Wimberly IV

Note: This is a review of the SoulSilver version. The HeartGold version is largely identical in structure save for the appearance of some pokemon and the legendaries that are obtained in each game. In the case of SoulSilver, Lugia is encountered at level 45 where as Ho-Oh is encountered at level 70. HeartGold is reversed.*

*I'm not reviewing the Pokewalker. I am considering it a separate peripheral.

The year 2000, hard to believe it was ten years ago. But if you're like me, the hottest handheld game at the time was Pokemon Gold and Silver versions for the Game Boy and Game Boy Color. I have fond memories of 5th grade where we would all bring our Game Boys (and the link cables) to recess and play multiplayer battles on the picnic tables after lunch. It was a simpler time, but it was a fun time. That's for sure. These two games have pretty much accurately brought that feeling back even after the first time of turning my DS on with the game inside. It's that good. But perhaps I should grade it by the guidelines, shouldn't I? I did make them after all. c.c

For fairness sake, I'm going to be showing a lot of footage from the original Gold and Silver and compare them to the gameplay within the new. For people who are on the edge of getting it.

The introduction:

_______________________________________________________________

Storyline (20 points) -

The storyline in Heart Gold and Soul Silver takes place chronologically three years after the events of Fire Red and Leaf Green for the GBA. For people who played the older versions, Gold and Silver took place three years after the original Red and Blue. So in essence HeartGold and SoulSilver are the chronological sequels of Red, Blue, Yellow, FireRed, and LeafGreen.

Not much has changed storywise from the original Gold Silver to HeartGold and SoulSilver other than the enhancement to the storyline from Pokemon Crystal. (Suicune story and what not) and its inclusion into the game.

As in Gold/Silver, the player must traverse the Johto Region, eradicate Team Rocket, investigate the Lake of Rage and claim/fight Red Gyarados, help the kimono girls in Violet City capture the legendary pokemon of the respective version, beat gym leaders and the Elite Four, beat the Kanto Gym Leaders, and then beat Red atop Mt. Silver.

The story is much more indepth than recent versions of Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum and I'm very happy that Nintendo and Game Freak went to their roots and re-released this marvel for the DS.

They did clear up some things, however, and I'd like to mention them.

In the case of Team Rocket, they added four central executives to the story. Back in Gold/Silver they were simply called Executives, but they now have their own names, hair colors and personalities.

In the original Gold/Silver, Giovanni was rarely mentioned in the game. Due to a better translation, he is now officially mentioned in the game by various Rockets, but he is not seen unless you obtain a Celebi from an event and go to the Ilex Forest.

Mentions to new regions Hoenn and Sinnoh are referenced and alluded to by various NPCs, and a lot of missing points were patched up.

Here is some gameplay of the storyline:

Score: 20/20

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Gameplay (20 points) -

Needless to say, the gameplay presented in HeartGold/SoulSilver is way improved from its original counterparts.

My only complaint is that the frame rate is slower than its GBA predecessors. It's very noticeable if you use the Pal Park, or if you're trying to complete the GBA versions concurrently. Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald/FireRed/LeafGreen run at 60 frames per second where as HeartGold/SoulSilver only run at 40 frames per second. It's nothing huge or game breaking, but it offers noticeably slow gameplay for the game.

They also added 2v2 gameplay from the newer games that were not in the original Gold/Silver.

Here's some comparisons:

Original Falkner in G/S

Score: 19/20

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Music (20 points) -

The music of Pokemon HeartGold/SoulSilver was done by Junichi Masuda and Go Ichinose. The music team never changes from game to game, and I think that is great because despite different themes being used for different regions, it gives the games a feeling of consistency between them.

My only gripe for the music is that the new legendary pokemon battle themes seem uninspired, but fortunately they do not play that often.

Another comparison between the original and the new.

Oh, I forgot to mention, you have the option to change the music back to the original beeps/bloops of the original if you want. You'll need a special key item though.

Score: 18/20

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Innovation to Genre (20 points) -

This game didn't really innovate anything into the RPG genre. Everyone knows how Pokemon works by now. This didn't add anything too significant that I would consider innovative. This is a remake, after all.

Score: 16/20

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Re-playability (10 points -- 20 if not a sequel) -

It's Pokemon. These series of games are re-playable by default. That's the great thing about them, you'll be playing them long after the main story is beaten. HeartGold/SoulSilver has online battles against friends or random people world wide in the Battle Tower, and also has a Wi-Fi plaza, and you can climb up the battle tower with a friend. You'll be playing for hours and hours, and hours.

Score: 10/10

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Nostalgic Inclusion (10 points -- 0 if not a sequel) -

Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver effectively recaptures the Johto and Kanto regions in a beautiful rendition of 2.5D. Every dungeon from the original as well as ones that didn't make it into Gold/Silver from Red/Blue are included as well. This includes places like the Power Plant, Seafoam Islands, and Cerulean (Mewtwo's) Cave.

Score: 10/10

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20+19+18+16+10+10/100

Final Score: 93/100 A (VERY Highly Recommended)

I highly recommend this game to anyone who owns a Nintendo DS. In short, it's worth every freaking dollar. It's very fun and addictive. I had to force my DS to die just so I could focus on studying for my finals and writing this review. (I'm not lying. I this game. XD)