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Thursday 21 February, 2008
Entry #2--
Gameplay:
I really tend to get annoyed with games with that "random guy saves beautiful princess" storyline, but... I may make an exception for this game... because, at least it seems like Marle isn't completely helpless. She seems more a victim of circumstance than of "weak female-ness."(Also I thought her eyes were blue in the beginning? Somehow they magically changed when they went back in time? Or I'm crazy.)
Anyway, I am getting more and more drawn into the storyline. I like the characters in this game (Frog is so cool...), and it's becoming clear why it is so beloved. It's not a *super* cliche storyline, and it require research to tell if the parts that are cliche were that way when it was actually created, or if other games have just copied a lot from this.
Also, my love for the battle system only grows with each battle I fight. I can't understand why this battle system didn't get copied to death by other RPGs... Instead they tend to opt for the "you're in a line, enemies are in a line" approach... and... I don't understand why... It isn't until recently that games are really breaking out of that, and... yeah...
Design:
The music for this game is really well done (a lot of it I recognized because it was recycled in Chrono Cross, which perhaps enhanced my experience?). It suits the whole mood quite well, and is rather beautiful.
I love a lot of the subtleties that went into making this game, such as if you are "dashing" and run into somewhere you cannot move, and your character just stands there shaking his head. I thought that was a really nice touch.
The graphics really aren't bad, either. Especially for an older game. Everything is clear and well-defined and looks really nice. But older graphics have never really bothered me, as long as you can tell what is going on, so...
I think the pacing of the game (so far, at least) has been pretty good, too. Nothing so far has been extremely dragged out or too fast; the story seems to be progressing at an even, steady rate. Everything has also been laid out really well so that it is mostly clear as to what you need to do next. Perhaps some would find this too limiting, but I think that they did a superb job of it in Chrono Trigger.
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