Gamepro is crazy

[Artimus Gigan]

They printed an article saying that videogames are going to die out and explode in a massive industry crash if they don't change the cuirrent videogame genre set-up. They put their blame on every single game that has made it big for causing the bad copycats to emerge.

However they later in the issue gave praise to many of these games that they blamed and suggested that people should buy these games


Also they think final fantasy 7 is the game inwhich all you do is watch the characters move around because there are so many cinematic scenes and therefore caused the main downfall of Videogames. I mean I personally think that really isn't just to put blame on it when the other games they blame are only a few years old(if that, i.e. Half Life 2), the game is 9 years old and certainly Final Fantasy 8 has way more CGI cinematic scenes.


So yeah they contradict...

[Chad Bonin]

They might be good games, but they have definitive flaws. I especially agree with the "Games Aren't Movies" line of thought. Yeah, it's nice to know why I'm busting heads in San Andreas... but that's what I WANT to do, bust heads.

And if another RPG deals with the fate of the world...

[Artimus Gigan]

And if another RPG deals with the fate of the world...
Every single RPG series ever made has done that

[Chad Bonin]

Skies Of Arcadia, Azure Dreams, Megaman Legends, Final Fantasy Tactics (original and Advance), Pokémon, Ogre Battle/Tactics Ogre...

[Chosen Raven]

Also they think final fantasy 7 is the game inwhich all you do is watch the characters move around because there are so many cinematic scenes and therefore caused the main downfall of Videogames. I mean I personally think that really isn't just to put blame on it when the other games they blame are only a few years old(if that, i.e. Half Life 2), the game is 9 years old and certainly Final Fantasy 8 has way more CGI cinematic scenes.


So yeah they contradict...

Well, I don't know if FF8 has more CGI cinematic scenes in it or not(I always assumed they were about equal), but FF8 does allow you to actually participate in the game more than FF7 did. I can see where GamePro is coming from in this regard, but if they're also saying these games are awesome and you should buy them, then yeah, they're definitely contradicting themselves.

[Simpler Simon]

Also they think final fantasy 7 is the game inwhich all you do is watch the characters move around because there are so many cinematic scenes and therefore caused the main downfall of Videogames. I

Depends on if you want to re-label video games as "interactive media," which would then free the medium to tell more cinema based stories without worrying that its not putting out enough shooting, racing, jumping, etc. Killer 7 was great even though it was more story-driven than gameplay-driven. Haven't played FFVII much (my bad), so maybe its the same.

[Juu-kuchi]

Skies Of Arcadia That's debatable.

[Conekiller]

That's what you get for reading Gamepro....

[Artimus Gigan]

Skies Of Arcadia, Azure Dreams, Megaman Legends, Final Fantasy Tactics (original and Advance), Pokémon, Ogre Battle/Tactics Ogre...
Skies of Arcadia was battle against big evil empire who wanted world domination

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance was to restore the known world

Ogre battle was pretty much empire vs empire IIRC

So if it's not the world it's just the homeland

[Scirel]

Skies of Arcadia was battle against big evil empire who wanted world domination

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance was to restore the known world

Ogre battle was pretty much empire vs empire IIRC

So if it's not the world it's just the homeland

Also in Pokemon you stop team rocket from taking over the world in the first 2 series, then you stop a catastrophe in R/S/E.

Unless the RPG is called Harvest Moon, you can pretty much be assured that you`re going to end up saving the world from evil. It's a staple of the Genre, and always has been.

Also GP is bieng both overreactive and hypocritical. Unless those types of games they blame stop selling as much as they used to, gaming will go on.

[Artimus Gigan]

Also in Pokemon you stop team rocket from taking over the world in the first 2 series, then you stop a catastrophe in R/S/E.

Unless the RPG is called Harvest Moon, you can pretty much be assured that you`re going to end up saving the world from evil. It's a staple of the Genre, and always has been.

Also GP is bieng both overreactive and hypocritical. Unless those types of games they blame stop selling as much as they used to, gaming will go on.
I'm calling you out on Harvest Moon,

Every installation had you save the farm from ruin...YOU HAD TO SAVE THE FARM NO MATTER WHAT THE COST

and you got laid in the process by one of the eligable females of the neighboring village, except in the girl version which went the other way around.

[Chris Wood]

They printed an article saying that videogames are going to die out and explode in a massive industry crash if they don't change the cuirrent videogame genre set-up. They put their blame on every single game that has made it big for causing the bad copycats to emerge.

Well, that is exactly what happened in the early 1980s, and history does repeat.

However the rate of technological advancement in video games is much faster now and the competition more intense so the industry is less likely to stagnate like it did back then.

[Kuja's Light]

That's rediculous on their part..The only video game megazine I could really trust I think is Electronics Gaming Monthly. EGM does good work..

FFX was the first true "interactive movie" feeling FF anyway...Sure it could be argued FFVIII is sorta like that, and despite me not having played it all yet, I doubt it's quite as close as FFX is.


FFVII barely had FMV's and such. It was much more about doing the party's thing and kicking butt and all.

[Pretentious]

Also they think final fantasy 7 is the game inwhich all you do is watch the characters move around because there are so many cinematic scenes and therefore caused the main downfall of Videogames.

If there's any reason FF7 caused the downfall of video games (and RPGs in particular), it's because it made other companies realize you could get away with having a hackneyed, outright confusing at points, plot and a cast of underdeveloped, and mostly uninteresting characters presented in a way that gives the illusion of depth and complexity.

[Invader_Spooch]

If there's any reason FF7 caused the downfall of video games (and RPGs in particular), it's because it made other companies realize you could get away with having a hackneyed, outright confusing at points, plot and a cast of underdeveloped, and mostly uninteresting characters presented in a way that gives the illusion of depth and complexity.

Wow. I didn't realize someone could post something that I disagree with on every possible level.

This statement could be said about just about every Final Fantasy after VII, but to claim that the story and characters were anything but fully fleshed out is just plain denial.

[Chosen Raven]

Personally, I think Pretentious is right on the money. I'd also add bad character design to FF7's faults(course, that's true for all the FFs after 7....except 9).

As for the craziness of game mags, yeah, they pretty much all suck in one way or another. I get Game Informer, but only because it's practically free(in fact, my local Gamstop paid me 50 cents to renew my subscription). I wonder if GI ever considers why they're the most popular game magazine out there. It sure ain't because of quality.

[Noukon]

I'm calling you out on Harvest Moon,

Every installation had you save the farm from ruin...YOU HAD TO SAVE THE FARM NO MATTER WHAT THE COST

and you got laid in the process by one of the eligable females of the neighboring village, except in the girl version which went the other way around.

By that logic, you can't criticize game stories. The archetypal "hero story" is to save something, be it a person, a place, a world, etc. "Save the world" is a cliche in RPGs, to be sure, but in any video game where the player is meant to play the role of a hero, the story pretty much has to follow an archetype.

"Save the farm" is not a cliche.

[Scirel]

Personally, I think Pretentious is right on the money. I'd also add bad character design to FF7's faults(course, that's true for all the FFs after 7....except 9).

As for the craziness of game mags, yeah, they pretty much all suck in one way or another. I get Game Informer, but only because it's practically free(in fact, my local Gamstop paid me 50 cents to renew my subscription). I wonder if GI ever considers why they're the most popular game magazine out there. It sure ain't because of quality.

I kinda feel the opposite on the first paragraph, anyway. I couldn`t stand playing through FF9 because of the charachter designs and it also veered me away from the older ones until recently. FF7's plot never confused me, either, except for the open ending.

[Invader_Spooch]

I kinda feel the opposite on the first paragraph, anyway. I couldn`t stand playing through FF9 because of the charachter designs and it also veered me away from the older ones until recently. FF7's plot never confused me, either, except for the open ending.

Ditto.

Amano is a pretty bad character designer, from a functionality standpoint, coupled with the fact that they never look anything like the ingame models (he gave BATMAN CURVES!! he can rot for all I care).

[Artimus Gigan]

Meh I've played and beaten them all, while the earlier ones are simplistic and not as refined, it's not like they are superior to the later installments. None of the games in the main line of the series(including X-2) are allout bad horrible unplayable games. It's just that each one is different from the previous installments in alot of ways. You just enjoy them for their differences..


even 8's battle system can be overly simplified and streamlined so you can barrel thru the game in a short ammount of time. You don't really need to use magic with the junction system, just strong physical attacks and summons.

But the Airship Armada vs White Dragon Army scene in 9 is cool....