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Post by Discoalucard on May 24, 2009 23:05:50 GMT -5
OK, we're going to do something different and rock the Legend of Heroes/Eiyuu Densetsu series backwards, starting with the most recent entries. www.hardcoregaming101.net/loh/loh6.htmFor a bit of a quick lesson - Legend of Heroes started off as Dragon Slayer VI. Then there was a Legend of Heroes II. These were both Dragon Quest clones, more or less. Then game Legend of Heroes III, IV and V. These dropped the Dragon Quest style and are all part of what's known as the Gahgarv Trilogy (I probably spelled that wrong.) You can get these all for the PSP, in "English". They're very typical JRPGs, but the thing is it relies heavily on writing and characterzation, and when it's done so badly, it kinda loses a lot. They're also somewhat dimwitted ports done by Bandai. More on those later. This is for Legend of Heroes VI. There are three games in these series-within-a-series (which in turn was spun off of another series) and were also ported the PSP by Falcom themselves, although neither those nor the original PC versions have been translated. Graphically they're a lot like the recent Ys games, but like the rest, they're turnbased RPGs. They also have TONS of text, which is largely why fan translation works have been slow, and professional translation is all but a pipe dream. QUICKIE EDIT: The main theme of the first game, Whereabouts of the Stars, sounds a LOT like the theme from Castle in the Sky. I mean, if you're going rip off something, there's nothing wrong with ripping off Hisaishi, but it's really distracting, especially in the vocal song, which goes off a distracting modern direction after the first 30 seconds or so. |
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Post by Shellshock on May 25, 2009 8:30:22 GMT -5
Nice of you to tease us non-Japanese speakers with these great looking games, Kimimi. Good work!
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Post by Ganelon on May 25, 2009 10:14:18 GMT -5
What does this mean:
Are you saying the Material Collection Portable in the Set is different from the individual copy? Because it looks exactly the same from what I can see.
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Post by kimimi on May 25, 2009 10:22:04 GMT -5
There was an Material Collection "mini" given away with early copies of the final Sora no Kiseki set that included wallpapers and bits from The Third - the normal Material Collection (as I'm sure you're already aware) only includes stuff from FC and SC.
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Post by Ganelon on May 25, 2009 10:31:45 GMT -5
Oh wow, it is a Mini. Thanks, never noticed that before and never tried the disc. Thought it was the normal Material Collection Portable. Hmm, guess I'll need to hunt the real deal out...
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Post by kimimi on May 25, 2009 10:32:23 GMT -5
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Post by Allie on May 26, 2009 1:40:58 GMT -5
One thing I've always wondered.
Why is the Sora no Kiseki subseries considered to be like the ultimate mark of gaming elitism, at the moment? Especially if you check youtube accounts and everyone seems to consider this subseries of games to be the greatest thing that has ever existed.
I think it's part of what has started to make me hate Falcom fans....
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Post by kimimi on May 26, 2009 1:53:01 GMT -5
I don't know about gaming elitism, but I can explain this - "...everyone seems to consider this subseries of games to be the greatest thing that has ever existed" - it's just that good.
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Post by wyrdwad on May 26, 2009 1:53:21 GMT -5
Strange, since most of the Falcom fans I know haven't even played them, myself included. (: Go to the Ancient Land of Ys board, and there are only like, two regulars on there who have played the subseries to completion... and of them, only one mentions it regularly, and she's excused, since she's working on a fan-translation patch for it. Amongst Japanese fans, Sora no Kiseki is definitely Falcom's new big hit, though... it's the reason Ys 7 is going to PSP first, for example, since the PSP ports of the Sora no Kiseki games all sold like hotcakes over there. Anyway, don't hate Falcom fans in general based on the elitism of a few. Most of us aren't douchey like that.  -Tom |
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Post by Allie on May 26, 2009 2:02:17 GMT -5
Strange, since most of the Falcom fans I know haven't even played them, myself included. (: Go to the Ancient Land of Ys board, and there are only like, two regulars on there who have played the subseries to completion... and of them, only one mentions it regularly, and she's excused, since she's working on a fan-translation patch for it. Amongst Japanese fans, Sora no Kiseki is definitely Falcom's new big hit, though... it's the reason Ys 7 is going to PSP first, for example, since the PSP ports of the Sora no Kiseki games all sold like hotcakes over there. Anyway, don't hate Falcom fans in general based on the elitism of a few. Most of us aren't douchey like that. -Tom I hope not, though I'd got the impression that they were a bunch of "Ys sucks because it actually had games that have had English versions!" elitists angry that the language barrier being torn down meant the "unwashed masses" might like the game, and then all of a sudden they aren't ahead of the curve anymore. Don't ask me why, I couldn't really give an explanation. |
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Post by kimimi on May 26, 2009 2:05:14 GMT -5
Well, considering I'm actually trying to open up this series to people and explain just why I enjoy it so much I don't think I could be considered part of that crowd  You get those kind of people with all sorts of games - there are plenty of "real" gamers out there who don't want Radiant Silvergun ported to anything, because modern gamers "just wouldn't get it". Moomins, one and all - great games should be for everyone. |
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Post by Allie on May 26, 2009 2:07:45 GMT -5
Well, considering I'm actually trying to open up this series to people and explain just why I enjoy it so much I don't think I could be considered part of that crowd You get those kind of people with all sorts of games - there are plenty of "real" gamers out there who don't want Radiant Silvergun ported to anything, because modern gamers "just wouldn't get it". Moomins, one and all - great games should be for everyone. I don't want Radiant Silvergun ported because I just plain didn't like it |
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Post by kimimi on May 26, 2009 2:08:33 GMT -5
Fair enough, but you know that wasn't my point  |
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Post by wyrdwad on May 26, 2009 2:27:50 GMT -5
Yeah, I think you get those kinds of people for any fandom whatsoever. I remember back when I first played Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne, before it had ever even been announced for an English-language release... I was a regular on the GameFAQs board for it, and while everyone was very nice and helpful (as is often the case on GameFAQs boards for semi-obscure Japanese games that aren't available in English), they also seemed a bit elitist (as is ALSO often the case on GameFAQs boards for semi-obscure Japanese games that aren't available in English), with the general perception being that "non-Japanese people wouldn't understand Nocturne, so I hope it never gets an English release".
I do not share that particular way of thinking, however. (: I believe anything and everything that's awesome should be released in every language possible. The only exceptions? GODAWFUL LOCALIZATIONS. I actually kinda think the Legend of Heroes Gagharv Trilogy games probably would have been better off having never been released in English, than having been released in English with Bandai's subtlety-smashing Babelfish translations. Not because I'm elitist, but because BANDAI RUINED THE FREAKIN' GAMES, and sullied the reputation of the entire series to the entire English-speaking world, which was at least indirectly responsible for the Sora no Kiseki games being turned down by at least one company for American release.
If another BETTER company came along and wanted to RErelease the Gagharv games, though... I would SO be all over that. (:
-Tom
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Post by Ganelon on May 26, 2009 13:04:58 GMT -5
Sora no Kiseki has been the most popular JP CRPG series for awhile now. I have both the trilogy on PC and PSP but haven't got far in FC yet.
Honestly, it's like the situation with Fire Emblem. Back in 2001 on GameFAQs, I said it ranked among the best SRPG series ever and was appalled that nobody mentioned it for dozens of posts in a "recommended SRPGs" topic (that still exists today, almost 8 years later). It was always FFT, Shining Force, Front Mission, Ogre, and the rest of the US PS SRPGs. I probably wouldn't make similar comments today but I told people that they weren't really diehard SRPG fans because their knowledge of SRPGs was too limited without having played enough JP-only games (plenty already emulated).
Fast forward to when a few FE games finally cross the ocean and now it's regularly mentioned in similar topics. At one point, none of the Fire Emblem boards had any posts; now, they have regular posts. Every FE since the 2nd GBA game has been localized. So no, rather than elitism of a few, I've witnessed firsthand that it's more a matter of ignorance from the majority. Sure, you can say I'm just being elitist. But on the other hand, I called exactly what would've happened had Fire Emblem been released earlier: a great series but underappreciated due to lack of fans willing to go all the way to play games that may appeal to them.
It's also hard to avoid the accusation of elitism sometimes. For example, in Growlanser, it's pretty clear that GLII, III, and V are the 3 worst installments in the series. Nobody is making stuff up when they say GLI and IV are the most solid, followed by VI. But it just so happens those installments weren't released outside Japan. Looking as a whole, I think the US got a solid array of good RPGs from the 16-bit and 32-bit days although at times, the selection has been a bit random.
The only time I wish RPGs don't make it to the US are when I buy a JP RPG that shouldn't have any shot of making it over and then some months later, some US company decides to bring it over out of the blue. Nobody wants to waste their money. That said, even though I own the SS Radiant Silvergun, I wouldn't mind at all if it was suddenly released on Xbox Live a la Ikaruga.
And yes, I realized I touched upon many different interpretations of elistism here.
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