MTG Salvation

Sorry, Psych. I'm not the biggest reader today. Well, I'll change that "belated" to a "soon-to-be."

I'm going to pop in and say hi. It seems like I do that every once in a while, although since I'm a regular and one of the 'house originals it should really be more than that. However, given the current state of MTGS I don't really feel like hanging out here much lately. I know it's a pity; my banter and geniality are probably sorely missed. and if they aren't, well...sod off?

Happy belated birthday, Psychoburner. Sorry I didn't make it more timely =)

Now I'm going to go chuckle in a corner about the latest Final Fantasy 13 news and how its fanbase's reaction mirrors the general incoherency of a certain subforum-which-shall-not-be-named. God but I'm witty.

Yes, Seiken Densetsu 2 is Secret of Mana. I'd much prefer to see SD3 ported to a system in the US because it's a vastly superior game, but I'll take what I can get.

Frankly, Square shafted us during the SNES age because all their best RPGs were Japan-only. Granted the genre was still very young here, but I'd still love to see an English release for Treasure of the Rudra or Treasure Hunter G.

Geez Selvaxri, did Dragon Quest VIII kill your family or something? You seem to hold gaming grudges for an inordinantly long time. Some people happen to adore the game. The way you keep insisting on renaming the game and making a joke about it seems really Carlos Mencia to me. I doubt anyone finds it funny anymore, or really did in the first place. Just let other people like what they like and don't be all OMG NERD RAGE about it. Grain of salt indeed.

It's really hard or me to narrow my favorite RPGs down to five because I just play so damn many of them, but I'll try.

5. Shadow Hearts: Covenant. On the mechanical side it has really solid gameplay, an engrossing battle system, a superb sountrack, and a lot of innovation. On the not-so-mechanical side it has a seriously entertaining story that has a lot of emotional impact and a cast of characters that will weedle their way into your heart whether you like it or not. Yuri Hyuga is the correct way to portray an anti-hero.

4. Tales of the Abyss. The total package of what Wolf Team is all about. Hugely dynamic battles, a challenge that continues all game through without letting up, memorable characters and locations, a superb soundtrack...geez, I made myself want to play it.

3. Breath of Fire V: Dragon Quarter. I hated this game at first, but then I actually played it. BoF5 does so many things differently that it alienates a lot of people, but it does so many things right that a lot more people can't help but love it. I think the storyline is really emotional and well-executed (especially by Capcom's standards), the gameplay is fresh and very reminiscant of another classic, Vagrant Story, the music is epic, and there's an atmosphere and a fidelity to the "feel" of the game that you don't get in a lot of other mass-marketed RPGs.

2. Xenogears/Xenosaga. I have to mention all the games because they're not complete otherwise. In terms of storyline and pure mind-screw factor you just can't get any better. Sure, Tetsuya Takahashi dropped the ball a couple of times, but despite those fumbles Xenogears and Xenosaga episode 3 really make up for it and deliver some quality.

1. Shin Megami Tensei 3: Nocturne. I'd love to mention the Megaten series as a whole, but that'd take too long. Nocturne is dark and brooding, sometimes disturbing, always edgy and engaging. It's a perfect blend of old school quality with new school cinematic gaming that's really exciting and shows just what Atlus is capable of. And it's just really, REALLY fun to play.

Those are, to me, the most recent examples of RPG goodness. A lot of other series should get honorable mention though, especially Dragon Quest, Grandia, Lunar, any other Tales game, Wild ARMs, and SaGa.

So...has the Chrono Trigger discussion died down in here yet? Is it safe for me to come in here again without having to get all HULK SMASH about how Chrono Trigger will get a port but not Seiken Densetsu 2?

Actually, I'm thinking it'd be a good idea for me to put this on the back-burner for now and join another game somewhere down the line. I really want to play a 4e game on MTGS but between running/playing our own here and converting Complex to 4e I probably won't have the time or attention to devote to it. So for now I think I'm gonna bow out.

Quote from Omna15

Hi guys! Just popped in to update you guys on the status of my gameplay in Radiata Stories.. I have now been 'fired' from the Rose Cochon Brigade and am now a member of Theater Vancoor... I've just been informed that I can recruit people to my Friends List (haha) so that I can build a party of them.. Right now my only "friend" is Clive Not sure what else to do now besides trek around the city and talk to people

That's what ya gotta do for now, heh. Some people are much easier to recruit than others, mostly because everyone has their own schedule in Radiata and you have to learn both that and what they expect of you before you can recruit them. From what I can remember, the easiest people to get in the beginning are Fiona, Paul, and a couple of others.

@Eladrin: I've always pronounced it "E-lah-drin" or "Eh-lah-drin."

Ah dammit, my bad. This is more like it


She still looks good to me. With that in mind, are we allowed to reallocate points to any small degree?

Well, haven't heard anything from KK for a couple of days so I'm just going to roll my stats and get everything else down. KK, if you see anything you have an issue with feel free to let me know and I'll be happy to change it.


I can deinitely work with that, although from the looks of it she could have inflated stats. I can nerf a couple, though.

EDIT: After racial modifiers this is her stat base:


Her character sheet is totally finished save her biography (GOD I love how fast you can create a 4e character), so I'll post it once that's done.

Durr, I didn't see the T for telepath thing either. I'm a bad psionics fan >_<;;

That said, Wizards did say that Bard would be making it into the PHB2. If T = Telepath and W = Wilder, then I'm going for R = Rager? Maybe, since that's the hallmark Barbarian ability. I was thinking Totemist or Totem Warrior for a while, hoping they'd take the Fighter path and give the class different flavor dependant on their choice of totem animal. That alone made the new Barbarian the one PHB2 class I was most looking forward to.

Although...what about Psychic Warrior? *Lower lip quivers*

Quote from Alacar Leoricar

Don't forget, Myst Collection is out for the DS (all 3 Myst games, methinks)

Oh wow, blast from the past. Myst was one of the first games I got for my Sega CD back in the day.

Quote from Tanthalas

I definitely need to start picking up more DS games again - the only ones which can actually be played regardless of region. Given that most of the major games companies tend to see Europe as a poor stepchild who gets the scraps left over at the end (I'm looking in your direction here, Nintendo), the DS's versatility is a huge, huge point in its favour.

Plus, if I'm going travelling, it'd be handy to have decent RPG or two to hand :).

I've never understood why Europe is treated that way regarding game releases. Although from what I've been hearing a lot of the most powerful game companies are looking to change that policy. Atlus in particular, much to my own joy =)

Quote from Amadi

Druid is a safe bet. (Safe Bet. If it isn't druid, it's duskblade and i'm sending assasins to WotC office.)
R_______ (NO idea here. Seriously.)
Bard or Barbarian? (Only either :(. My bet is on barbarian, honestly.)
W_______ (Warmage? Striker Wizard instead of Striker Wizard we have in phb 1!! Yay!)
Illusionist. (Heard rumors that support this, and i wish it to be true.)
T_______? (Could be Transmuter, or Truenamer.)
Sorcerer (Safe bet.)
Swordsage. (I heard rumor that PHB2 would have either Bard or Swordsage which is gish-like. This supports it - Swordsage and Barbarian here, Bard in some other supplement.)

It's a possibility that Barbadian might be going under a new name. The T in there could just be Totemist. Or R could even stand for Rager, who knows.

One of those S's will stand for Shadowcaster for sure. As for Sorcerer, I'm not sure. It could just as easily be an elemental power source as an arcane one, but either way the PHB2 is for primal, shadow and psychic so the Sorcerer might not be in there at all. Same for Illusionist, unless it's psychic.

Quote from Omna15

Oh and also, where is this Town of Night? Where I am now, or after it?? cuz i know there were some places in Earth Valley that were only open at night (The pub for one)..

The town of Night is inside Radiata itself. It's on the right side of the city, where everything's only open at night. It's where msot of the thieves and dastards in Radiata hang out.

EDIT: I loved DQ8 (need to play it again, stupid losing memory card), so I'm excited about the new DQ games on the DS! Oh, and if I liked DQ8, and Radiata Stories does that mean I'd like Valkyrie Profile?

I dunno what you'd think of Valkyrie Profile, to be honest. It's a wonderful series but definitely not for everyone. All I can say si give it a try and see what you think.

Yeah, we have quite a few reasons to get a 360 now. Star Ocean 4, Tales of Vesperia, Lost Odyssey, Infinite Undiscovery, Eternal Sonata...my god but I'm drooling.

The DS has some good stuff coming out, though. Etrian Odyssey 2 and the missing Dragon Quests, just to name a few. I don't know if the Disgaea pport for the DS will be any good but anyone into that sort of thing might like it.

Quote from arimnaes

What is this "Radiata Stories" of which you speak?

Radiata Stories is an RPG for the Playstation 2 by Tri-Ace, the same people behind the Star Ocean and Valkyrie Profile series. It's a mostly light-hearted game that focuses on a boy named Jack Russel (yes, named after the dog because he's such a puppy) who sets out to become a knight of Radiata and becomes embroiled in a much larger conflict. One of the most entertaining things about the game is the ability to recruit almost 75 separate characters to fight alongside you, each of which has their own distinct strengths, weaknesses and combat style. Not to mention you can kick anything and anyone in the whole game to illicit a reaction. Very fun.

/Game reviewer

Quote from Omna15

Awesome! What about a sword thing, since I only have the Trainee's Sword right now.. I saw one really expensive sword in Earth Valley- I'm assuming there will be more available as time goes on... and which shop/town sells that device?? I actually bought the Eagles Crest thing, helps me pick up ability skills for the sword or whatever.. I only have four points though, and most of the really good ones are like three, leaving only room for one extra Left Slash (that one looks more powerful than Right Slash- what do you think?)

well, which attacks you equip really depends on your combat style more than anything. Jack isn't really a fast character per se, but if you equip a lot of fast attacks he can get better.

I'd say it's about time to buy a new sword, hehe. The shop in the Town of Night sector of Radiata has the best equipment you can buy, but it's only open at night so head there after sundown. That's where you'll find the best swords and armor. Like I said, the training device isn't a necessity by any means but if you ever do have fifteen thousand gold to spare go ahead and grab one =)

Quote from Amadi

Infact, they haven't even shipped the preorders out yet. (At least they hadn't yesterday.) due to some error. They got like, tons of cancelled orders because of it. There was a topic 'bout it in wizards boards.

Ugh, that sucks. We actually got our box set early, so I guess we lucked out. Then again, we didn't go through a big ol' chain store and went with our favorite local gaming store like we always do, so that might have something to do with our lack of trouble getting the books.