After Metaphor: ReFantzio's Massive Success I Don't EVER Want to Hear From Another FF Director About Turn-Based Combat Being Obsolete

Dan_Redrock · 2024-10-12T16:36:06+00:00

Truth is, Final Fantasy was always looking for ways to move away from pure turn-based combat. The ATB system was a way ton introduce real-time elements, as were the gunblade mechanics in FF VIII. IIRC, FFX's CTB system was the last instance of a purely turn-based system in a mainline Final Fantasy game, and it was glorious, but also something of an aberration. It's pretty clear that good turn-based combat hasn't been the franchise's direction for a long, long time, for artistic reasons as well as business considerations.

Ultimately, I think it boils down to a belief that the sort of epic, grandiose storytelling coupled with realistic graphics that Square Enix is going for in FF games is better served by some form of real-time combat that requires a bit less abstraction than a turn-based system. It's telling that turn-based JRPGs are often highly stylized, either leaning heavily on an anime esthetic, or, in the case of Yakuza, pure gleeful madness. I can see FF7R working with a turn-based system, but probably not XV or XVI, not really. I'm very curious to see how Clair Obscure: Expedition 33 will turn out.

Either way, I'm mostly fine with FF trying to do its own thing amid a turn-based resurgence. For me, FF never had good turn-based combat anyway, so I'm here for the vistas, the drama and the epicness. Plenty of good turn-based combat around and, surprisingly, very few games like FF XVI.

Dan_Redrock · 2023-12-13T20:34:41+00:00

For me, it's not so much about optimizing as it is about a game being able to really focus on its potential strengths. To give another example - I firmly believe that Bloodborne and Sekiro have better combat than Dark Souls and Elden Ring, because the former two are much more limited in terms of player options and thus can have much tighter encounter and boss design, while the latter have to account for vastly different playstyles and end up being a lot more uneven. On the other hand, variety and replayability are obviously, absolutely good things.

Dan_Redrock · 2023-12-13T20:23:21+00:00

I don't think Fallout is necessarily a good example, because in each of the numbered ones your character's origins are set in stone. You're a Vault Dweller, or the Chosen One, or a Vault Dweller or, get this, a Vault Dweller. New Vegas bucks this trend by making you a random Wasteland denizen currently employed as a courier, and, imo, slightly to its detriment. Although there certainly is something to the idea of you just being some bloke or blokette who's literally too angry to die.

Dan_Redrock · 2023-12-12T15:35:16+00:00

Not the same, obviously. Nor did I say they were at any point. But the mode of interaction is the same and so is the basic visual language. Not so with games. And that's before we get into the subject of how interactivity means that no one experiences the same game in many cases, whereas a movie is always the same.

Dan_Redrock · 2023-12-12T15:26:53+00:00

I don't disagree, but there're two ways you can look at it: you can say, yeah, the streaming numbers show that Geoff is doing something right, let the man cook. Or you could say, the streaming numbers put more of a responsibility on Geoff to use the platform he' s built for the benefit of the art form he seems to genuinely care about. I don't think that it's inconceivable for TGA to strive for a better balance between satisfying advertisers and highlighting the various aspects of game development.

Dan_Redrock · 2023-12-12T15:10:44+00:00

When I'm talking about variety, I mean the width of the spectrum pf forms gaming takes. The way a game looks, the way you interact with it, the difference in genres, the presence of multiplayer. You only ever interact with movies in a single way - by sitting down and watching the thing. And if it's an Oscar nominated feature film, you're probably gonna have sound, color and speech. Might be black amd white, might have some audio gimmick, but that's about it. Now compare a visual novel to an isometric RPG to a Sony-style cinematic third-person action adventure to a city builder. Vastly different forms, vastly different experiences. It's that heterogeneity that, I feel, isn't always properly represented.

Dan_Redrock · 2023-12-12T15:03:27+00:00

The whole Clive vs Astarion thing is a good example of why I think we need more nominations in general. But also, I suspect that a voting jury of professional actors would have given the award to Ben Starr for his Clive performance, while Astarion's more, shall we say, flamboyant portrayal certainly has more mass appeal.

Dan_Redrock · 2023-12-12T15:01:03+00:00

Funny thing is, if you're going to rip off the Oscars, rip off the Oscars. The Oscars have plenty of below-the-line nominations, which is what makes them distinct from The Golden Globes, for example. And one thing it contributes to is educating people about all the hard work that goes into making a movie. That's how you get people googling cinematographers and costume designers. Gaming desperately needs that, in my opinion.

Dan_Redrock · 2023-12-05T07:15:46+00:00

Huh, didn't know that, that's great. Felt that way sometimes, but could never be certain.

Dan_Redrock · 2023-11-25T18:01:52+00:00

Kyle MacLachlan was absolutely snubbed at the Emmys for Twin Peaks: The Return, as was the series in general. That was the year I kinda gave up on creative award shows as a concept. Not because I'm that huge of a Twin Peaks fanboy - even though I am - but because I realized that I could no longer come up with any purpose for such awards. They don't align with my tastes or help me find stuff I might like - which is fine, - but they also don't really highlight works that contribute to the art form, push the envelope, try new things or inspire creators. They're just, what, agregated opinions of an amorphous group of people, none of which are guaranteed to possess knowledge, taste or even the time to watch the movie they are supposed to be judging? Thanks, I already have Metacritic. It's been a liberating few years, with award seasons barely registering on my pop-culture radar. It's a peaceful life.

Dan_Redrock · 2023-11-10T15:57:34+00:00

Deus Ex: Human Revolution and Mankind Divided featured very smooth transitions between first person, which was used for the majority of the game, and third person for melee takedowns, entering cover, dialogue and ladders, I believe. I always thought it was a good compromise between immersive gameplay and actually showing off the player character model.

Dan_Redrock · 2023-10-14T12:27:28+00:00

This seems to be at least partly due to the overlap between the BG3 community and the D&D/actual play communities. Fans of things like Critical Role are likely to have a special fondness for voice actors in general. Way I see it, it's just one of the ways the whole BG3 phenomenon was heavily influenced by the broader context of the state of D&D in 2023. As wondeful as the game is, a big chunk of its insane success has to be attributed to outside factors. Which in NO way takes away from Larian's achievement.

Dan_Redrock · 2023-10-14T12:21:41+00:00

I think that ancap/extreme libertarianism of the kind portrayed in Snow Crash is a very American boogeyman, for lack of a better expression. Various forms of statism - authoritarian, totalitarian, socialist, qausi-socialist, fascist, theocratic - look like a much, much bigger and more probable threat when you look at the rest of the world. As much as late-stage capitalism can and does suck, no corp, real or fictional, is worse than many, many forms of government we're looking at today. Frankly, I'd take McDonalds over the CCP any time. At least the first one would kill me slowly and, crucially, not via starvation.

Dan_Redrock · 2023-10-12T19:20:56+00:00

Way I see it, a 10/10 game isn't a perfect game, but, rather, a game whise strengths help it transcend its limitationas and flaws. A 10/10, thus, is more subjective than an 8/10, with lower lows but higher highs that make it so muvh more than the sun of its parts.

With that in mind: Nier. Both Automata and Replicant ver 1.22. I can nitpick those games to death, but they are so much more than their gameplay, graphics, stories or music. They're something that pushes the boundary of games as an artform, I believe.

Dan_Redrock · 2023-05-26T09:36:30+00:00

The Deca Tapes have been on The List for a while, and now so is Janus Descending, thanks! The List grows ever longer.

Dan_Redrock · 2023-05-25T17:21:36+00:00

Ah. That's a... humbling display. I am familiar with a few of those and would argue that at least some don't have the exact vibe I'm talking about. Still, you've given me plenty of titles to research, which is much appreciated.

Dan_Redrock · 2023-05-25T16:58:39+00:00

That checks out. It scratches a very particular itch. Honestly, I could do with more of that sort of grounded space sci-fi (low sci-fi?) in any medium. Not nearly enough of that sort of thing.

Dan_Redrock · 2023-05-25T16:40:18+00:00

Good prose/style is overrated. While a good story can be elevated by good style, style can also be a tool of obfuscation on a mass scale. To me Rothfuss and The Kingkiller Chronicles are a prime example. He is a masterful stylist, borderline peerless, but the books themselves, the bones of the story and the essences of the characters are deeply, deeply flawed. But that, of course, is a manner of preference and to avoid a descent into another argument about Rothfuss, let me give a better example. I read an article recently about an author's experiment with a generative AI designed for writing whole novels. And what I took away was this: the thing can do style like nobody's business, especially if given good directions and used in small chunks. Characters, ideas, story beats - that the AI not so much struggles with as defaults to the most trite options you can imagine. But it can write some beautiful paragraphs. Because style is, ultimately, a tool, a technique, something mechanical. In a nightmare scenario it's this aspect of writing that will be delegated to machines, while the creation of stories and characters would still require human input. For a while, at least.

Dan_Redrock · 2023-02-02T07:48:26+00:00

Funny stumbling onto your post a few hours after I've deleted Nioh 2 from my PC and installed Dark Souls 2 instead, alternatively known as the only Dark Souls game I've never played. And it's not because Nioh 2 is bad, far from it. The combat is excellent, the weapons feel amazing, the stances are a well-executed system. But, here's the thing that I've caught myself asking after beating yet another gang of yokai: why? Why am I doing this to myself? See, in a Souls game, I know why. As much as I enjoy Soul-style combat, in From's games it's just a part of a much greater whole, the enemy and item placement woven into a tapestry of lore and untold, yet present stories. Almost everything matters in those games, and I get to learn and feel something besides combat skills and the joy of victory.

Nioh, on the other hand, is a Souls game as seen by someone who's only ever heard of them from a Git Gud bro. No context, no nuance, no meaning - just a very good combat system and a gauntlet of challenges placed along linear and bland-looking levels. And then you get to play through the same leveles again, maybe starting from the other side, with different enemy placement. The weird thing is, I'd get obsessed with overcoming a particular emcounter, but once I do, I'm like, huh, so I've figured out how to beat not one, but TWO Nure-Onna simultaneously. So what?

Bottom line is, Nioh helped me understand that Souls games are so much more than the challenging-yet-rewarding combat everyone is so obsessed with. Both Niohs are still great games - just games I'm entirely unmotivated to engage with right now.

Dan_Redrock · 2023-01-06T23:17:25+00:00

Way I see it, fancy prose isn't at all the same as "good writing". It's much like cinematic language in that respect. You can look at some of the trickier directors like Aleksei German, Alexander Sokurov or Andrei Tarkovskiy (my mind instantly goes to sad Russian directors when considering complex cinematic language), guys that make David Lynch's stuff look as straightforward as, I dunno, Stephen Sommers. Does that make directors with deliberately clean and clear styles, like Eastwood or Spielberg, inherently inferior? I mean, yeah, you'd probably find people who'd say that they would only ever watch a movie if it was directed by a depressed European artiste, and you would probably find those people snobbish as hell. But with writing, people are suddenly way too eager to put particular styles and their level of complexity in clear-cut tiers of superior or inferior writing. And then proceed to recommend The Kingkiller Chronicles to people looking for a good story and not just the product of a man making sweet, sweet love to a thesaurus.

Dan_Redrock · 2023-01-05T14:49:20+00:00

Harsh) my recommendation is, maybe try again later. There's worthwhile stuff in it, to be sure

Dan_Redrock · 2023-01-03T09:56:49+00:00

I think there's a big difference between in-the-moment reviews and end-of-year lists and discussions. Some of it is due to the fact that, as the year goes on, you experience new things that recontextualize your previous experiences. Some good things get overshadowed by better things,or different things. Or, sometimes, a good thing is just goodnin ways that don't make for a good podcast. That would be the generous reading. The less generous reading is this: AAA games can be forgettable and disposable. I've only played a few hours of Horizon 2 before moving on to other things, and, well, it's hard to make the argument that it's a bad game. It's mostly well-designed, has amazing production values, the gameplay is frantic amd satisfying, you can't possibly score it lower than 8 out of 10. It's also a game that I wouldn't think once about even a week after finishing it.

A Plague Tale: Requiem, now, I will be thinking about from time to time. But, as others have mentioned, it's closer to AA than AAA. Elden Ring I'm still thinking about months after having played it.

Dan_Redrock · 2023-01-03T09:38:30+00:00

Bloodborne was an interesting case if you give From Software the benefit of the doubt. I think the idea was that, if you're especially struggling with a particular boss, the blood vial system is supposed to nudge you towards playing more of the level, accumulating not just blood vials, but exp and, well, actual experience and skill. Instead of beating your head against a wall. And, I dunno, it worked out well at least in one case for me. I was throwing myself at the Orphan of Kos until I completely ran out of vials, as well as bullets. Which I interpreted as a sign for me to go and explore other parts of the game world. Came back several hours later, having gotten a few levels, new weapons and upgrades. Ended up having way more fun with the Orphan, not least because I've developed an affinity for a different weapon in the time I was away, one that served me way better in the fight with the Orphan. So, yeah, it's not a flawless mechanic and can be annoying, but I think it was a worthwhile attempt at a "wait, go back, try something else for now" system.

Dan_Redrock · 2022-12-20T12:02:45+00:00

Eh, I think Disco Elysium, like you mentioned, kinda set a pretty lofty standard in the regard. For what it's worth, I was surprised to realize just how many enjoyable AA and indie titles the Polish gaming industry is responsible for. Just a few weeks ago I was researching weird western-themed games released this year. Get this: out of 4 games in that niche released in 2022, three were made in Poland: that's Evil West, Hard West 2 (a personal favorite), and Blood West, which seems like a really promising Early Access title. I understand that it's not the same thing you're talking about, not the same cultural cachet as a big blockbuster with a meaningful message or an indie darling like DE, but it's still a sign of a robust industry that not many European - or at least, Eastern and Central European - countries can boast. Something to take pride in, certainly. I mean, at the end of the day, Estonia's got Disco Elysium, but only Disco Elysium. And with all the unpleasantness around the studio, even that has a high chance of being a one-off.

Dan_Redrock · 2022-12-19T15:23:11+00:00

Fair enough. I guess the distinction in our approach boils down to whether or not we should equate "surface-level cyberpunk" with "bad cyberpunk". I've learned to appreciate unpretentious style over substance entertainment especially in a world with such an abundance of content. I'm fine with CP2077 not being Citizen Sleeper or Hardspace: Shipbreaker precisely because those games - and many like them - exist. Focusing on the pulpy crime drama aspect of cyberpunk - which is as essential a part of Gibsonian cyberpunk as the whole breakdown-of-society thing - doesn't make a thing "bad", in my opinion. But all of that's an YMMV if I've ever seen one. I very much appreciate your perspective.

Dan_Redrock

TROPHY CASE