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For Well-Adjusted Nintendo Fans

Latest posts with tag: "rpg"
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  • Sorry Princess, but I'm a little time-constrained when it comes to today's rescue schedule

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    Video games are a commitment. I'm almost hesitant to sit down with a console game these days because to make any real progress—to travel from one save point to another—might take longer than the fifteen or so minutes I have available.

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    This is one of the reasons I've grown to appreciate my handhelds. For those not aware, most handhelds these days have a pause feature that essentially creates a temporary save that you can return to at anytime. When you do return, there's usually some type of friendly resume icon waiting patiently for you on the main screen.
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  • We've come a long way, baby

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    The JRPG, formerly known more broadly as the console RPG, is a genre suffering from stagnation—or so I've been told. It's a statement often bandied about, but how true is it, really? I recently started what promises to be a bit of an RPG binge with Xenoblade Chronicles, and now find myself deep into a replay of Breath of Fire III. When it comes to game mechanics, these two RPGs could not play more differently.

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    When thinking back to what else I've played recently, at one extreme you have the very conservative Tales series, and on the other you have the likes of Final Fantasy XIII, which tossed out numerous genre conventions in favor of a streamlined experience. Striking out on their own directions, you have the aforementioned Xenoblade and The Last Story, another RPG I'm hotly anticipating, which releases in August. There are a lot of differences in the details, but the big three that most impact my own experiences, and likely the experiences of many players, are how these games each handle monster encounters, character growth, and death.
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