On Indie Nation #53, Anthony Burch featured a small Flash-based game called The Linear RPG, which essentially makes a critical analysis of JRPGs.

To be honest, I wasn’t very pleased with the game at first. It seemed to me that the person who had made this game was simply trying to be witty by making fun of one of my favourite genres. After having “played” it some more however, I started to change my mind, because although the game was obviously meant as a figurative poke to the ribs, it was in fact very clever, and although I hate to admit it, awoke in me some of the simple pleasures I receive from playing a real JRPG.

As for the article by Burch itself, I understand his general argument, but still believe his logic is flawed. He argues that:

Although I will admit that many JRPGs make use of rather simple combat mechanics, I would hardly say that I “suffer” through them; in fact, I would dare say that I rather  enjoy sending my party into combat, sometimes spending countless hours leveling them up simply because I enjoy doing so. It should also be noted that his argument against repetitive gameplay could be used against many other types of games – we’ve all played through some very monotonous first-person shooters and hack-and-slash action games. As for the worth of the stories they present, I can’t argue with him about his own personal tastes, but I will simply state that I have found many JRPGs to have amazing stories, riddled with intrigue and moments in which I have found myself brought to tears.

*****

Another game I highly recommend you take the time to try out is a small indie game called Don’t Look Back. It’s a rather simple platformer with rather simple controls, but there is a certain level of beauty and intelligence behind it that I can’t help but appreciate. Sometimes the simplest designs are the best, and this is a perfect example of just that.

We mix things up a bit on this episode on the Northern Geekcast.

Back  from the depths of Vana’diel is Darren, who joins us for a discussion on game design theory, as we try and aswer the age ol’ question: “What is a game?” We go over some of the more interesting news items from the past two weeks, such as the PSP2 rumours, Capcom’s list of new games, and a few articles that left us scratching our heads, like Guiness making it’s own Top 50 Games of All Time list.

All this, and much more, on episode 7 of the Northern Geekcast!

 

 Northern Geeks: Episode 007 [109:04m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

I’m really starting to hate video game teaser sites. All they seem to do is build up hype and unfounded speculations, which usualy end in dissapointment. I remember when Square launched a teaser page showcasing the Chrono Trigger pendulum; I started thinking (read hoping) that they were FINALY going to announce the third Chrono game, or perhaps they were going to make a new 3D remake, similarly to the way they remade FFIII and  FFIV, but no, turns out it was just a port to the DS.

And then there was the Metal Gear teaser page, which we talked to lenghts about, and as we know now, turned out to be for an iPhone game. (Really, who wants to play a neutered version of  Metal Gear Solid 4 on their iPhone?)

Now it seems to be Sega’s turn with Project Ringo.

Why even bother doing this kind of advertising? Do people really get excited about games when they don’t even know what it is that’s being advertised? Why not just tell us what you’re making, so we can actually start speculating about the cool features the game may include?  And really, when was the last time you were excited by one of Sega’s products?

Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing againts Sega, I just don’t believe they carry enough weight to have me excited when they don’t anounce a new game.

Everyone likes string cheese, right? But not everyone’s had the chance to play Michel Ancel’s Beyond Good and Evil.

So the logical step would then be to combine the two, right?

At least that’s what this Giant Bomb article would lead us to believe.

Now, if you’re like me, you must be thinking to yourself that this is just too good to be true. A free copy of Beyond Good and Evil, and string cheese?

Well! I needed proof! So I hopped into my car, drove to the grocery store, and low-and-behold, picked up my very own bag.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got some cheese with my name on it. (Literally.)

The group, being sans Darren once again this week, does its best to cover the Midway Bankrupcy, Square Enix’s latest bid for Eidos, and the smack talk that’s been going on between EA and Activision. We also talk a little “bit” about  GTAIV: The Lost and Damned, Dead Rising 2, and Codemasters’ new promo.

Designer’s Corner returns this week with an indepth look at Skate 2, and in General Geekeries we discuss the business of “americanizing” things which come from Japan.

All that, and much more, as we do our best (and fail) to stay on topic!

 

 Northern Geeks: Episode 006 [135:45m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download