Joystiq http://www.joystiq.com Joystiq http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/http://www.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif Joystiq http://www.joystiq.com en-us Copyright 2013 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[The delightful smoothness of classic Japanese role-playing games]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2012/04/12/the-delightful-smoothness-of-classic-japanese-role-playing-games/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/04/12/the-delightful-smoothness-of-classic-japanese-role-playing-games/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/04/12/the-delightful-smoothness-of-classic-japanese-role-playing-games/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , ,

This week, Rowan Kaiser and Kat Bailey have switched roles -- with Rowan taking lead in this week's column focusing on the wonderful world of Japanese role-playing games.
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I was only defeated once in Suikoden. Even that was an accident - I thought it was a fight I was supposed to lose. Calling the game "easy" is something of an understatement. With a little bit of planning, you can win virtually every fight in the game, including the final boss battle on auto-pilot using the "Free Will" option in the combat menu. Yet, despite this easiness, Suikoden is one of my favorite Japanese role-playing games. "Easy" isn't the right term for it exactly. Instead, Suikoden is smooth.

"Smoothness" isn't a common criteria used to judge games. If anything, it's the opposite. Getting the difficulty level just right, so that the game seems like a challenge but is completable with practice, seems like it's an ideal. Or, you can use Sid Meier's model of games as "interesting choices" - but if the game isn't challenging, those choices don't seem to matter, right? I think acceptance theories like those are part of the reason that Japanese role-playing games are considered less important than they used to be.

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JoystiqThe delightful smoothness of classic Japanese role-playing games originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 12 Apr 2012 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>chrono-triggerfinal-fantasygolden-sunjrpgradiant-historiarowan-kaisersuikodenThu, 12 Apr 2012 20:00:00 EST<![CDATA[New shipment of Radiant Historia en route]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2012/02/11/new-shipment-of-radiant-historia-en-route/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/02/11/new-shipment-of-radiant-historia-en-route/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/02/11/new-shipment-of-radiant-historia-en-route/#comments It's funny how good news for JRPG fans is also often bad news for eBay moguls. Radiant Historia, a DS-exclusive time-travel JPRG from Atlus (which routinely auctions for $60 plus) is being reprinted and redistributed in North America, although this reprint will not include the soundtrack bundled with the original run.

Pre-orders are starting to pop up at various retailers, and Atlus is urging interested parties to take advantage of the opportunity before the new batch hits store shelves in late March. Considering that Atlus has not released specifics regarding how limited of a reprint this is, if limited at all, we recommend erring on the side of caution (and a $35.00 price tag) rather than taking your chances on an uncertain, seller-feedback-oriented future.

JoystiqNew shipment of Radiant Historia en route originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 11 Feb 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Atlusdsnintendoradiant-historiareprintshipmentSat, 11 Feb 2012 16:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Atlus bringing DS RPG Radiant Historia to North America in Feb.]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2010/11/22/radiant-historia-coming-in-february/http://www.joystiq.com/2010/11/22/radiant-historia-coming-in-february/http://www.joystiq.com/2010/11/22/radiant-historia-coming-in-february/#commentsRadiant Historia, an original DS role-playing game from Atlus, came out in Japan at the beginning of this month. Atlus USA has revealed that the usually agonizing wait for localization will be shorter than expected, as it plans to release Radiant Historia in North America this February.

In Radiant Historia, "Special Intelligence Agent Stocke" uses a magical book to travel backwards and forwards through time to alter history for the better. So, it's like a fantasy Quantum Leap! Mechanically, Historia uses a grid-based battle system that allows you to move enemies around on the field to help set up combos.

It's not an Atlus DS release without "Spoils," and according to the publisher this one will include a soundtrack CD featuring piano arrangements of Yoko Shimomura's compositions from the game.

Continue reading Atlus bringing DS RPG Radiant Historia to North America in Feb.

JoystiqAtlus bringing DS RPG Radiant Historia to North America in Feb. originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 22 Nov 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>atlusdsnintendoq1-2011radiant-historiarelease-dateMon, 22 Nov 2010 13:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Atlus bringing Radiant Historia to DS in Japan]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2010/07/28/atlus-bringing-radiant-historia-to-ds-in-japan/http://www.joystiq.com/2010/07/28/atlus-bringing-radiant-historia-to-ds-in-japan/http://www.joystiq.com/2010/07/28/atlus-bringing-radiant-historia-to-ds-in-japan/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Call it the new Xenosaga. Just as the Xenogears team left Square to create games in a suspiciously similar world for Namco, some of the tri-Ace staffers who made Radiata Stories are working on ... Radiant Historia for DS, over at Atlus. Along with original staff like artist Hiroshi Konishi, Atlus's own developers are also involved, including director Mitsuru Hirata, a veteran of the Shin Megami Tensei series.

With only a Famitsu leak to go on, all we know about the game itself is that it involves time travel in some manner. If you want to find out more by playing the game, you'll have to time travel to November 4. And learn Japanese, we guess.

JoystiqAtlus bringing Radiant Historia to DS in Japan originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 28 Jul 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>AtlusdsnintendoRadiant-HistoriaRadiata-StoriesRPGtri-AceWed, 28 Jul 2010 11:00:00 EST