Two very good games that were small hits in Japan last year are making it to your shores this year and I thought I’d see whether anyone was anticipating them here. I ask because one of the common criticisms of console RPGs is that too they are too linear and I think these would appeal to alleviating that criticism, though Bumpy Trot isn’t technically an RPG (it can feel like one), since these rarely get translated.The first is called Steambot Chronicles, or Ponkotsu Romantic Theater Explosion: Bumpy Trot, as its known in Japan. Its basically a turn of the century, slightly steampunkish GTA-esque game. I say GTA because.it largely revolves around vehicles (mecha).its very non-linear and open-ended.but you can still follow a branching storyline wherein you can decide how good or bad you want your character to be.There’s tons of stuff to do. The mechs in the game aren’t just for battle, but are used for everyday activities as well. On top of that, you can join a band, fight in an arena, help people in a variety of storylines and quests, dress up your character, play billiards and so on and so forth.1up may be a really, erricky site sometimes, but they tend to have good information about smaller game like this. You can find some good stuff at these links:Metal Saga is an extremely non-linear (to the point where you could beat an entity that could be considered a last boss and reach one of the game’s many endings right at the beginning of the game if you wanted to) turn-based RPG that takes place in a slightly Wild Arms-esque wasteland after a supercomputer has wrecked havoc across the world.
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Its the latest in a long-running series of RPGs that have always been heavily open-ended, named Metal Max, inspired afterwell I think you know what its inspired after with a name like that.It has an enormously unique selling point that sets it apart though: the battle system revolves around customizing and fighting with tanks. This has some of the same kind of hyper-detailed geek-out appeal as doing so in Front Mission does.
It follows the DQ-style, quick and efficient over the flashy FF-style of battle system, and its more than solid.For its setting, Metal Saga can have an extremely odd sense of quirkiness. You can join a religion that worships muscle men, race frogs, go bar-hopping in order to have drinking contests and some of the many people who join your party are quite bizarre. You can also outfit heavy weaponry on dogs and bring them into battle to help you.Last year, Metal Saga took hold of me early in the year, and despite the wealth of great releases, it continues to be one of my favorite games from last year. A downside to the game is that beyond some quests the characters who join you don’t receive a lot attention to the story, and the game is overall is definitely more gameplay focused, but on the upside: there’s SO MUCH TO DO!There are no good English resources that I can see right now, sorry. (Why isn’t it getting any coverage?) Here’s a Japanese kouryaku site with some good screenshots though:-Kitsune.
Kitsune:The first is called Steambot Chronicles, or Ponkotsu Romantic Theater Explosion: Bumpy Trot, as its known in Japan. Its basically a turn of the century, slightly steampunkish GTA-esque game. I say GTA because.it largely revolves around vehicles (mecha).its very non-linear and open-ended.but you can still follow a branching storyline wherein you can decide how good or bad you want your character to be.Are there load times? Steambot Chronicles sounds very open ended, but if it has load times, then it’s not really like GTA. One of GTA’s big selling points is its seamless world.
If anything, Rogue Galaxy looks to be the Japanese GTA of RPGs. I’ve read that it’s got no load times and heaps of open-endedness and Level 5 goodness. (How is it by the way?)On a related note, while you’ve made it clear that some Japanese console RPGs are open-ended, I’ve yet to read about any that are open ended in any way beyond letting the player traverse an open world or play through portions of the game out of order. Can you name some JCRPGs that allow for the type of open-endedness found in games like Fallout, Planescape, Baldur’s Gate 2, and, hell, even Knights of the Old Republic?
More than just traversing an open world and experiencing game events out of order, these games model, to varying degrees of complexity, the effects of player actions on themselves and the world around them. I think the morality systems found in the above mentioned games allow for a great deal of this, but other interrelated systems also contribute to the sense that the player is part of a living/breathing/reacting world. I’ve yet to read about or experience this depth of open-endedness in any JCRPGs (consider, for instance, the complex and impactful dialog trees of the games I’ve mentioned versus the meaningless yes/no dialog choice provided occasionally in every JCRPG I’ve ever heard of). Can you name a few that are like this, and, with any luck, might be heading over here?
I’m really looking forward to Metal Saga. It’s like a continuation of the Final Fantasy IV - FF7 “I’m fighting a HOUSE??? Why is a HOUSE an enemy???” kind of weirdness that’s been missing in the later JRPGs. Wellexcept for all the Shin Megami Tensei’s. (Those games made me into an Atlus fanboy.)For a month, my work PC’s wallpaper was one of those dog-with-bazooka from Metal Saga.
Not many people at work will talk to me during that timeAs for Steambot Chronicles, I will get it as well (fanboy alert!) but I wonder if I will like it. Freeform games are not really my cup of teaI tend to get lost wondering what should I really be doing. Luke Malish:On a related note, while you’ve made it clear that some Japanese console RPGs are open-ended, I’ve yet to read about any that are open ended in any way beyond letting the player traverse an open world or play through portions of the game out of order.What? The ones I’ve singled that have made it to the US or the other ones?
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Either way, I’ve singled out more than games like that (and really that definition only applies to games like Legend of Mana, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories and Final Fantasy Tactics Advance). The ones I’ve talked about, for instance, Romancing Saga allow you to play through the story in any way you want, not just experience events out of order. That means, ignore or participate in the events you want, choose the storylines you want to follow, have any party members you want in your party and so on and so forth.Metal Saga’s storyline isn’t really the point, the idea is to do whatever you want in its world, with its gameplay. Its not a story-focused game. Bumpy Trot isn’t an RPG, but it does have a morality system of sorts and the open-endedness isn’t just playing things out of order.My posts about this are scattered all over the place, so I’ve written about this topic and given examples beyond what you name many times, but for completeness’ sake, I’ll round them up here again.Can you name some JCRPGs that allow for the type of open-endedness found in games like Fallout, Planescape, Baldur’s Gate 2, and, hell, even Knights of the Old Republic?
More than just traversing an open world and experiencing game events out of order, these games model, to varying degrees of complexity, the effects of player actions on themselves and the world around them. I think the morality systems found in the above mentioned games allow for a great deal of this, but other interrelated systems also contribute to the sense that the player is part of a living/breathing/reacting world. I’ve yet to read about or experience this depth of open-endedness in any JCRPGs (consider, for instance, the complex and impactful dialog trees of the games I’ve mentioned versus the meaningless yes/no dialog choice provided occasionally in every JCRPG I’ve ever heard of).
Can you name a few that are like this, and, with any luck, might be heading over here?Well I can name waaaaaaaay more than a few. But you’ll have to realize two things:.Japanese RPGs aren’t as universally focused in modelling morality.and they aren’t as focused on world-building as Western RPGs are.Having said that, here goes the list:Oni series - instead of a system of good and evil, ran on a sense of karma, you got bad karma for doing certain things, good for others and it followed you around.Tokyo Majin series - Hideously complex dialogue choices. Kitsune:Two very good games that were small hits in Japan last year are making it to your shores this year and I thought I’d see whether anyone was anticipating them here. I ask because one of the common criticisms of console RPGs is that too they are too linear and I think these would appeal to alleviating that criticism, though Bumpy Trot isn’t technically an RPG (it can feel like one), since these rarely get translated.The first is called Steambot Chronicles, or Ponkotsu Romantic Theater Explosion: Bumpy Trot, as its known in Japan. Its basically a turn of the century, slightly steampunkish GTA-esque game. I say GTA because.it largely revolves around vehicles (mecha).its very non-linear and open-ended.but you can still follow a branching storyline wherein you can decide how good or bad you want your character to be.There’s tons of stuff to do. The mechs in the game aren’t just for battle, but are used for everyday activities as well.
On top of that, you can join a band, fight in an arena, help people in a variety of storylines and quests, dress up your character, play billiards and so on and so forth.1up may be a really, erricky site sometimes, but they tend to have good information about smaller game like this. You can find some good stuff at these links:Metal Saga is an extremely non-linear (to the point where you could beat an entity that could be considered a last boss and reach one of the game’s many endings right at the beginning of the game if you wanted to) turn-based RPG that takes place in a slightly Wild Arms-esque wasteland after a supercomputer has wrecked havoc across the world.
Its the latest in a long-running series of RPGs that have always been heavily open-ended, named Metal Max, inspired afterwell I think you know what its inspired after with a name like that.It has an enormously unique selling point that sets it apart though: the battle system revolves around customizing and fighting with tanks. This has some of the same kind of hyper-detailed geek-out appeal as doing so in Front Mission does.
![Metal Saga Ps2 Review Metal Saga Ps2 Review](https://static.giantbomb.com/uploads/original/9/97089/1455622-b.jpg)
It follows the DQ-style, quick and efficient over the flashy FF-style of battle system, and its more than solid.For its setting, Metal Saga can have an extremely odd sense of quirkiness. You can join a religion that worships muscle men, race frogs, go bar-hopping in order to have drinking contests and some of the many people who join your party are quite bizarre.
You can also outfit heavy weaponry on dogs and bring them into battle to help you.Last year, Metal Saga took hold of me early in the year, and despite the wealth of great releases, it continues to be one of my favorite games from last year. A downside to the game is that beyond some quests the characters who join you don’t receive a lot attention to the story, and the game is overall is definitely more gameplay focused, but on the upside: there’s SO MUCH TO DO!There are no good English resources that I can see right now, sorry. (Why isn’t it getting any coverage?) Here’s a Japanese kouryaku site with some good screenshots though:-KitsuneDo either support 720p or (yeah right) 1080i? I’m having trouble enduring the jaggy hideousness of the ps2 now Especially when I know it can output those resolutions but noone bothers because they hate pretty things etc. Kitsune:I don’t think so on either game, and you’re definitely not going to play either of them for their graphics.As for the reviews, so what? Plankton is smarter than most of those reviewers (don’t think I’m just siding with the positive reviewers, the positive reviews are dumb too).
Take a look at Nightmare of Druaga and Romancing Saga, too mostly excellent RPGs that got dragged through a muck of shitty criticism and reviewed badly in the Western press.-KitsuneHaving been a reviewer, I’m not sure whether or not I should take offense at that, Kitsune.:P However, I’m asking the question because I know how much someone’s feelings about a genre can influence their feelings about a game. I already know that you love these titles, and that’s enough to get me interested, but not enough to get me to purchase them. If more people agreed with you, on the other hand thus the question. There are certain games that frequently garer badly done reviews, and many of them seem to come from Atlus. For better or worse, a lot of reviewers can’t handle weird or very foreign games.
Maybe that’s the case here - or maybe Metal Saga just sucks. It would be good to have some other opinions, either way.
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