Topic: Episode 232: The Opinion Leader

[greybrick]

This week's episode is full of classic-style games, and with Nathan's help, we take one more, lengthy look at Ogre Battle 64.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/rfn/25427

Jon was tied up at work this week, so Nathan stepped in to share his experience with Ogre Battle 64. First, however, we handled New Business with a suite of games, many hearkening back to yesteryear. Jonny is up first with Alundra, the beloved PSone game. Do the widespread comparisons to Zelda really hold up? Then, Greg takes his turn with Professor Layton's latest, and he also shows affection for Capcom's most obscure 8-bit Mega Man game. Nathan has impressions of the brand-new English version of Dragon Quest VI on DS (hear more on the latest NWR Newscast), and he checks out another timely remake, Tactics Ogre for PSP (the quasi-antecedent of our RetroActive game). James enters the building with a look back at Viewtiful Joe: Double Trouble, one of Capcom's earliest DS action titles.

After a quick break, we return to conclude RetroActive #16. Despite the game's density and slow pace, Ogre Battle 64 has proved to be a popular choice among the RFN crew. Nathan enjoyed it last year, when the game first hit Virtual Console, and it looks like he might start over to make another run at the quest. James completed the game (for the fourth time) in the course of this feature, yet he still found new things to appreciate. Greg and Jonny had plenty of trepidation at the outset, but both found respect and maybe even a bit of adoration for the complex, satisfying strategy gameplay.

Finally, we squeezed in a few emails that were bumped last week. Nathan had to duck out, but the three regulars took on your letters about killer apps, England-specific gaming tips, and the potential revival of virtual reality.

[AV]

Johnny I'll be willing to give you some money if you need it? I used to be unemployed for a few months .


oh yeah please never talk about ogre battle 64 again i'm interested in the game but i think i got my fill with this podcast.

[Crimm]

I can't wait to play March of the Black Queen and talk about it for hours and hours.

[Jonnyboy117]

A.V., thanks very much but I will be okay for a few more weeks until the interviews start rolling in. I haven't even gotten to The Ramen Diet Phase yet.


If OB64 ever comes up again, it would only be for a quick New Business update or perhaps a particularly interesting listener email about the game. We are definitely done with the hour-long segments on it. ;-)

[adadad]

Alundra! Great choice, since I played and completed this game a few months ago I've always wanted to hear the RFN crew talk about it. I hope you like it Jonny, it definitely seems right up your street, in my opinion it's up there with Okami as far as Zelda clones go! Plus it's hard as nails, something I haven't said about an actual Zelda game in a long while...hmm. The story is pretty good too, and I love the dream sequences.

[happyastoria]

Jeez, the Oger Battle 64 talk was way too nerdy for me, lol.

Jonny, I'm in the same boat. I'm currently looking for a job, but it doesn't help that I'm a full-time student.

[Killer_Man_Jaro]

If you're living in England, my only brick-and-mortar suggestion for games, now that GAME stores are less abundant, is HMV (assuming there's one near you). Their selection is usually alright. I live in Nottingham for the time being as well, and yeah, there's not much to choose from aside from supermarkets, which have such pathetic offerings that it's not really worth bothering. That's why I almost always order online - Amazon, Play and Zavvi are all good sites for that.

[adadad]

Alundra! Great choice, since I played and completed this game a few months ago I've always wanted to hear the RFN crew talk about it. I hope you like it Jonny, it definitely seems right up your street, in my opinion it's up there with Okami as far as Zelda clones go! Plus it's hard as nails, something I haven't said about an actual Zelda game in a long while...hmm. The story is pretty good too, and I love the dream sequences.

Now having actually listened to the podcast I have a few comments: for one, the jumping is OK for the most part, but jumping is leveraged a lot in the game, and there are some frustrating moments (one memorable sequence in particular a decent way into the game involves jumping between two moving logs as they float down waterfalls, and one slip sends you back a ways). Thankfully that section is a one off and frustrating moments involving jumping were fairly rare for me, but you do need to get a very good handle on jumping as it is very demanding at times. Also I agree with what you said about the puzzles having a different slant than Zelda. But that doesn't mean that there aren't a ton of Zelda-like puzzles. The puzzles constitute probably both the best and the worst aspect of the game in my opinion. They're so challenging and there are so many in every dungeon that it can feel overwhelming sometimes. Progression can be extremely slow when the dungeons throw challenging, time consuming puzzles at you in every single room. And I don't consider myself a masochist either, I will go to GameFAQs when something is too tough, but somehow Alundra's puzzles almost always walked the fine line for me between do-able and impossible that made me want to complete them on my own without help.

But Jonny, you're absolutely right about the graphics, the game does look great, and some of the soundtrack is really cool too. Some of the enviroments near the end of the game look especially great and for that reason alone I think the game is well worth seeing through all the way. Also, as you mentioned too, the story is definitely darker than Zelda, and it continues to get darker as the game progresses.

[KDR_11k]

How advanced are the item puzzles in Zelda actually? Especially in 3D Zelda it has devolved into using each item with the matching points on the wall (shoot eyes with the bow, hit diamonds with the boomerang, grab grapplepoints with the hookshot, etc).

[Jonnyboy117]

No one has commented on it yet, but I slipped up a literary reference in the VR discussion toward the very end of this episode. I said "Necromancer" but meant to say "Neuromancer". Other examples include Caprica, Johnny Mnemonic, Minority Report, Snow Crash, etc. The concept is ubiquitous in science-fiction.

[Retro Deckades]

James, you have me very curious about all of the Capcom DS titles that you own. I'm sure I can guess a few of them, but would you care to share what you have?

[Kytim89]

No one has commented on it yet, but I slipped up a literary reference in the VR discussion toward the very end of this episode. I said "Necromancer" but meant to say "Neuromancer". Other examples include Caprica, Johnny Mnemonic, Minority Report, Snow Crash, etc. The concept is ubiquitous in science-fiction.

Would Lawnmower Man be in that list?

[TJ Spyke]

That was the first example they brought up on the podcast, actually.

Finished listening to the podcast this morning, loved it.

[KDR_11k]

I believe they demoed some giant hamsterball thing at E3 or something that was used to let you run around in virtual reality. People reported that they didn't like it.

[KisakiProject]

I'll have to check out Alundra.  I've bought like 1/2 of the import PSone titles as they are all shmups and magical drop.  Victor Ireland is the man.  I hope they bring over Moon.
 
Also thanks Johnny for trolling me listener question from last week at the end of the show Gave me a chuckle. I'll have to dig out my GBA SP and play the Zelda on that today in memory of the original.  Lets hope for a Zelda anniversery collection that doesn't suck.

[Scatt-Man]

The walking mechanics of Alundra reminded me a lot of Wild Arms, a retro-ish RPG for the PS1. Overall though, I'd have to say Alunda gave off more of an Illusion of Time/Gaia or Soul Blazer feel. Zelda didn't once pop into my head whilst playing it as a young teenager, but watching a quick Youtewb clip of that awesome dungeon with the TALK TO THESE COLOURED GHOST TOMB THINGS IN ORDER puzzle that I remember being oh-so-fond of, I can see how people could make the connection. It still reminds me of Wild Arms though. :-3

I don't think I ever finished the game, as I never used to like wrapping my head around brain teasers in games growing up, instead opting to go the 'try every combination furiously until one of 'em pops' route, as usually it ended up quicker in the majority of RPGs. This one, however, made me wee a little bit. No doubt now that I'm a little more patient, I'd probably trundle through it and actually think about it all, but it probably won't be much fun for me. I'm more into the mindless grinding with purdy numbers showing how strong I am in RPGs over the story and puzzles. No tactical RPGs for me thanks, Jamezo! ...Actually, I just find they're usually too punishing, but I digress!

Oh! I remember spending qute a bit of time trying to gain enough money to buy those elite items (with an elite pricetag) in a shop only to find out that the maximum amount of money you can carry puts you just one coin short of being able to buy the items. THE SHOP WAS A LIE!

tl;dr? Terranigma for the SNES is way better than Illusion of Time. Nyeh!

[Crimm]

So my counts were well off, I must have been counting some games as Capcom that are not, still it's a fullish list.

• Ghost Trick
• Mega Man Zero Collection
• Mega Man ZX
• Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
• Ace Attorney: Justice for All
• Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulation
• Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney
• Miles Edgeworth: Ace Attorney Investigations
• Viewtiful Joe Double Trouble

Considering they've only released 15 DS games in the US...that's pretty alarming.

I don't have Battle Network 5, the three Star Force titles, Okamiden, or Resident Evil Deadly Silence.

[Kytim89]

The VR discussion got me to thinking that perhaps Nintendo should bring back the Power Glove for their next console, but do t right this time. Turn it into a variant of the Wii 2 motion controller where the motion gestures of the arm are not recorded, but the motion of the hand and fingers. The way I see this working is using the motion of the hand to ring a door bell, pick fruit or open a door in the game.