ProjectSora's Comments

MonsterVine : Modern Warfare 2 Prestige Edition Has Night Goggles

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 04:24:40 +0000

Omg guyz, I always wanted to buy a game that came with night vision goggles. This is a dream come true! Gotta play MW2 with that shit on. Gives you an edge along with turtle beach sound haxxx!

MonsterVine : Final Fantasy XIV May Not Be Exclusive

Fri, 5 Jun 2009 20:11:09 +0000

For more additional information adding on to the above poster, Square-Enix's press conference was primarily about FFXIV. http://e3.g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/696020/Live-... Biggest criticism for FFXI was the fact that it didn't cater enough to the casual crowd, as the game required large investments of time from players in order to level up (by post 60, you would need to dedicate many hours to gain only a few levels). The other big problem was there was very little you could do on your own by the later levels. Leveling solo was only possible by less than a handful of job classes (with appropriate subjob combinations) but even then, these strategies were make-shift and no where near optimized by SE. "A: Another very important concept that takes a different direction from FFXI, for FFXIV we want to make it so the player can choose to play solo, in a party, 40 minutes, all-day... there will be content for ALL of those play styles and systems for all of those play styles." The ability to be able to choose between playing in parties or playing solo and still be equally productive is certainly a correction SE is making from XIV's predecessor.

MonsterVine : Sonic Unleashed Review

Tue, 26 May 2009 05:09:23 +0000

Easy pass for me. Sonic and I have gone separate ways for years.

Video Game News & Reviews - Kombo.com : Joystiq Shows Off Resident

Wed, 14 Jan 2009 21:59:00 +0000

Casing looks pretty much the same as the Gears LE (and probably many others), just with relevant artwork on it. Regardless, the JP LE just rapes the crap out of this one. XD

Video Game News & Reviews - Kombo.com : End of an Era: The Fall of the JRPG

Sat, 27 Dec 2008 08:44:36 +0000

Probably one of the only sensible editorials I've seen written about JRPGs. I think it's still premature to brand this the "Fall of the JRPG" considering just how many years have gone by since 'next-gen' arrived, and I'd sooner like to attribute this shift in preference to WRPGs to the idea that WRPG popularity has only now begun to blossom, and these Western developers inevitably understand what the Western audience wants. Similar to what you've said in your article, any role-playing game back in the day could really only be found in JRPGs; there was no substitute. So people pretty much just took what they got and many loved it because it was unique and couldn't be found anywhere else. But once WRPGs started thriving in this generation, there were now all these other games that also offered this role-playing experience--but this time developed by people who are, and understand the Western mind. Consequently, it doesn't surprise me that suddenly the Western audience finds themselves identifying with these games and enjoying them more. Still, JRPGs continue to do well on their native soil and are well-received (Infinite Undiscovery and Last Remnant both spiking 360 sales in Japan, a console that is usually so undesired over there), so I usually like to look at this more as the preferences and tastes of the Western world changing, rather than the overall 'Fall of the JRPG', since this decline is happening primarily in North America. Overall, I thought this was a well-thought out article and it does bring up a lot of good points.

MonsterVine : The Night Before Christmas

Thu, 25 Dec 2008 09:35:02 +0000

So yesterday was the Eve, and I spent it at my Uncle's place for the annual Christmas family party. Not a lot of gaming, just a lot of chatting, drinking, etc in the living room. Little kids were playing Guitar Hero and stuff in the basement, but I have little interest playing with them. As for Christmas Day, one of two choices (or possibly both) might happen. It'll definitely be spent indoors, and perhaps I'll get my game on with World At War Nazi Zombies, or I might finally tackle Gears 2 coop campaign if my friend got it for Christmas like he said he might.

MonsterVine : PlayStation Store Update - The Last 2008 Update (Dec. 23rd)

Wed, 24 Dec 2008 11:19:58 +0000

I actually bought the MGS4 costumes and Level Kit today. Didn't play a lot of it yet, but the costumes are really well-made. More 3rd party developers could probably benefit from something like this.

MonsterVine : MonsterVine's 2008 Sony Awards: Project Sora's Top 5

Tue, 23 Dec 2008 20:09:36 +0000

Something did seem off about the HUDs, but I was incredibly late on my submission (deadline was 22nd, not 23rd as it's been posted on). Lol, I'll put a new image up as soon as possible. XD

MonsterVine : God of War 3 World Premiere Trailer at Spike TV's VGA 2008

Wed, 17 Dec 2008 05:00:43 +0000

You should get it now! Don't wait!

MonsterVine : 2008 VGA Best Indy Games Free For Download!

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 19:45:55 +0000

Well this blows, the only one I want (and can buy) is PixelJunk Eden, but I bought it already months ago.

MonsterVine : Killzone 2 Screenshots For Your Enjoyment

Fri, 12 Dec 2008 05:13:55 +0000

Hey now, there's a pistol in one of them... at least I think that's a pistol.

MonsterVine : Pimp My MonsterVine

Sat, 6 Dec 2008 18:24:13 +0000

There's a certain charm with having small HDTVs. I really need to get myself one of those in the future.

MonsterVine : The N3 Newswire for December 3

Thu, 4 Dec 2008 04:13:11 +0000

Dragon Quest IX is being developed by Level 5. Square-Enix is just the publisher.

MonsterVine : The Western Mechanic: What actually needs fixing. (Rebuttal to IGN article on Square Enix)

Wed, 3 Dec 2008 03:14:08 +0000

No doubt, I've already considered your points as valid, but I suppose it bothered me when you kept insisting that what you were saying were also what Erik and Hilary were trying to insinuate, which I think is untrue. As for the Japanese market, if we are to consider Square-Enix specifically, since it is the developer that has been called into question, then it's untrue to say the Japanese market is in decline when just about every single title developed by Square-Enix has produced sales that have been relatively consistent since X. It's true that both IU (although not developed by SE) and LR haven't sold as well as previous SE titles like FFXII and FFX, but the figures are convoluted by the fact that the 360 is not a popular console choice of the population. Also good to note is that virtually all SE titles have done significantly better in Japan than in North America. This is astounding when you consider that America alone more than doubles the population of Japan. And because sales have remained consistent for SE since they debuted X on the PS2, no doubt this does not make this 'need' for change as drastic as many here in the West claim JRPGs need. Again, I'm not saying JRPGs don't need to improve, because they do, but if we're discussing the Japanese market when it comes to JRPGs, I hardly recognize a decline. I won't deny my article is aggressive, but I don't think that 'defines' the notion that I felt JRPG didn't need to change. Not once in my entire article did I say "JRPGs don't need fixing", nor once did I explicitly say "JRPGs are better than WRPGs". Rather, I used words like 'irrelevant' or 'untrue' in the context of the points they said. I am very welcome to people criticizing the JRPG genre, but use points that make sense. You sir, have done such a thing when you referenced COD4's campaign as an example. They did not. As well, I don't see how my article has done disservice to my argument--which was to dismiss the points of justification brought forth by Erik and Hilary--simply by being 'aggressive'. I feel that I certainly did dismiss their points, and I don't think me being any 'kinder' about it wouldn't have changed any of the facts I brought forth. And I thank you for taking the 'premise' of the IGN article and formulating a far better rounded argument that supports why JRPGs need to change.

MonsterVine : Xbox 360: The Month Ahead - December '08

Tue, 2 Dec 2008 09:25:44 +0000

My friend's actually been playing the old ones on PS2 in preparation I imagine. Truly, I haven't really gotten into the franchise; not sure why. But the one due this December definitely looks promising.

MonsterVine : The Western Mechanic: What actually needs fixing. (Rebuttal to IGN article on Square Enix)

Tue, 2 Dec 2008 04:06:46 +0000

You state yourself as a Hideo Kojima fan, but are you aware that MGS4 has been sourly mocked by the very same people who hate linear story-telling? "MGS4 is not a video game" is the common phrase I've been hearing about the game. Sure, I understand your correction of non-linear, but I still believe the intricacy of the storytelling suffered as a result. When I compare the cinematic presentation of MGS4 in comparison to Mass Effect's, this toll becomes obvious. But I'll agree that judgment of how well a story is told remains to be an opinion, so I'll leave it at that. Onto your next point, Halo 3 and Gears of War 2 are not console RPGs. They are categorized as First/Third Person Shooters, so I'm leaving those titles out of the argument since we are debating the genre of RPGs. "Winning or loosing Japan isn’t really something companies care about and that exemplifies how the market has changed." I don't understand why you are focusing on companies 'losing' Japan, when the process is the complete opposite. JRPGs are first made in Japan, then localized to NA and Europe. These 'companies' can't lose Japan if Japan is the core audience they've been pleasing for over 20 years. If that is your understanding, then I'll kindly tell you that you are mistaken. On the contrary, I feel like you give Erik and Hilary far too much credit. Your stand-point is a valid one, but I fail to see the same level of accurate criticism in the points brought forward by Erik and Hilary. Rather, the points they might have been trying to make may be valid, but they have used the wrong examples to justify it. The fact that I agree that JRPGs need to change is proof enough that I'm not dismissing the argument. Rather, I'm dismissing the points of justification brought forth by Erik and Hilary, because many of them were completely flawed and are quite frankly, untrue. In particular, "Learn to Use the Unreal Engine" (and I hope you can agree) is completely irrelevant in fixing the JRPG design--not to mention their completely untrue fact that IU used the UR3 engine. Their claim of CGs ruling the RPG world in the past is completely untrue as well. I actually agree with evolving the RPG elements, but the points they've used to explain why or how they should improve it had little foundation. Naming an NPC "Jim the Barber" hardly brings more meaning to him being there, and their criticism of uninspiring city designs, "[having] towns you walk around in, with dozens of people you speak with for no reason. There are poorly conceived fetch quests and uninspired city designs" could easily be said about WRPGs by someone else and be just as 'valid'. I won't repeat the last two points since they're in the article above. Conclusively, this is not a dismissal of an argument, rather it is a criticism of the method used to debate it. JRPGs need fixing, that much is true. But the points brought forth by Erik and Hilary to justify it have been based on either completely untrue facts (IU using the UR3 engine; CG ruling the RPG world 'back in the day'), irrelevant facts (Learning to use the Unreal Engine does not = good JRPG; mercenaries in LR were not stronger than the main 6 heroes because they were meant to assist you, not steal the spotlight), or points that could easily be said about the very titles they were praising ("uninspiring city design, towns you walk in, people you talk to for no reason"). I feel it is important that if you're going to criticize something, use not only correct information, but use factually relevant information. Showing that Erik and Hilary failed to do any of this was the purpose of the article I wrote.

MonsterVine : The Western Mechanic: What actually needs fixing. (Rebuttal to IGN article on Square Enix)

Sun, 30 Nov 2008 12:45:52 +0000

The difference here between the Mercenary #4 and Goku is that Mercenary #4 is not supposed to be a main character. Think about how the recruit system works in Last Remnant. You merely talk to a Guard, and you choose a bunch of characters from a list. There is no back story about them, not about their lineages, origins, etc. The mercenaries in The Last Remnant are supposed to be nothing more but 'assistants' in your battles, to complete your unions and add collectively to your overall party damage. Unlike Goku, who not only has a detailed back story, but he's also the main character of the entire series. So it matters little that Goku was a commoner while Vegeta was a Prince, when the series to begin with was always going to be about Goku. Should you be given the option? Sure, why not, it would've been nice, but the fact that Erik and Hilary found fault in there not being such an option is minuscule. Lastly, you misunderstand the terms East and West. West refers to 'Western culture' which pertains to primarily anglo-american ethnicities. This includes North America and Europe. "Eastern culture" refers to primarily the countries of Asia.

MonsterVine : The Western Mechanic: What actually needs fixing. (Rebuttal to IGN article on Square Enix)

Sun, 30 Nov 2008 12:39:53 +0000

Japanese having roots in philosophy does not justify that they would 'prefer' choosing their own alignment. Your correlation doesn't really have much basis when philosophy doesn't definitively mean free will/choice. Also, the cultural argument has to do with Individualism vs Collectivism, which is a major difference between the West and East in terms of what they value and how they interact with others. Again, I didn't go into that argument because it would require far too much discussion with something that takes a large tangent.

MonsterVine : The Western Mechanic: What actually needs fixing. (Rebuttal to IGN article on Square Enix)

Sun, 30 Nov 2008 03:58:43 +0000

While Erik and Hilary may not have intended for JRPGs to become WRPGs, it is certainly the point they were making after all was said and done, regardless if that was their intention. In fact, I actually believe they have no idea that that is what they're implying, because like you've seen with many of these other posters; they are completely oblivious to the Western bias they possess when they criticize JRPGs. You reference Mass Effect as having most of the things that JRPGs as of late seem to lack, but I have to disagree when Mass Effect in my opinion lacked the very thing that JRPGs were known for the most--that is delivery of the storyline. Yes, I'll admit that storytelling has not been up to par in the last few JRPGs that I played, but it's also true that Mass Effect--because of its several diverging paths--no one path is particularly compelling. This is because they had to sacrifice intricacy of presentation for flexibility of choice. Most of Mass Effect's 'cutscenes' were simple camera shifts from one character to another while they engaged in conversation. It's not quite as primitive as visual novel cutscenes like in Enchanting Arms, let's say, but it's not quite off the mark. While Mass Effect can say they voiced practically every scene in the game, to me it doesn't really change the fact that the script/dialogue suffered due to the flexibility the storyline required. No particular exchange was breathtaking, nor any single line of dialogue showing emotional appeal. But that's enough of that point since I only brought it up because it just highlighted the problem of linear vs sandbox storytelling. Also, where did I say that WRPGs raised the standard? I said there is nothing wrong with "thinking" that WRPGs are better than JRPG, since that is an opinion, just as how I still enjoy JRPGs way more than I do WRPGs. Thinking so is my right just as it is someone else's right to say they enjoy WRPGs more than JRPGs. What I did call into question was the notion that JRPGs can be improved by following a Western approach to story-telling, which I believe is the major flaw in Erik and Hilary's article. There is no question that that is practically what they were saying when telling Square-Enix to play Fallout 3, Fable 2 and Mass Effect, regardless if they were aware of that or not. As for your last point, this is where once again Western bias has shown. You say you want JRPGs in 2013 but at the rate they're going "they don't stand a chance". In case you were unaware, JRPGs have thrived in Japan just as much as they did 20 years ago when FF first started. Both Infinite Undiscovery and The Last Remnant have drastically raised 360 sales in Japan, meaning they still greatly enjoy them, even if it means buying a console that is completely unpopular over there. Increased 360 sales because of these two games means that Japanese people are willing to go as far as buying an entirely new console just to play JRPGs So when you say JRPGs don't stand a chance, you're really just talking about the North American market. Just because JRPGs aren't doing as well in North America, that does not mean Japan is going to stop making JRPGs. That's a bit of an arrogant statement considering JRPGs are not primarily made for North Americans. What you're saying '[doesn't] stand a chance' are the localizations, and *that* is a legitimate concern.

MonsterVine : The Vineyard - Update #1

Thu, 27 Nov 2008 00:50:58 +0000

Enjoy your Turkey you wild Americans. Try not to go too overboard while you're gone. ;p