We don't always like being nonplussed

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Mother (earthbound 0) Flailthrough - Day 9 (In which the reviewer is a professional!)

You know, the thing that constantly strikes me as odd about this game? Besides the game itself, I mean. When you start up the game, for the first 3 to 5 minutes, you won't run into any encounters. Or at least that's what it seems like to me. I've started counting in my head the amount of time I spend wandering around monster-infested areas, and I've noticed that the longer I wander, the encounter rate goes up exponentially. I don't know if this is an aspect of the programming or not, but it's kind of annoying.

You know what else is annoying?

I dub thee the 'Funk.'Ferret skunks. These little bastards are everywhere.

Friday, January 21, 2011

Ultra Review Roundtable!

Hagen Dragmire of Video Game Masters Club has assembled a panel of game reviewers from different sites to tackle one game a month. The inaugural installment of Ultra Review Roundtable is Chip & Dale Rescue Rangers for NES, with a panel of reviewers including Eric Bailey of Nintendo Legend fame. I really like how this turned out and I'm looking forward to the next one. Check it out!

Romancing Saga 2, Part 2: We Have Always Lived In The Castle

So Leon and company are in a dungeon and just kicked the thoraxes of a pair of Bees that came up on them. Let's see what other trouble we can get into.



I find that the Y button allows you to dash, but limits your field of vision to this small circle. So a nice, careful saunter it is! Interesting mechanic, though.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Romancing Saga 2: Always bet on Shirtless Giant.

Okay, so Torneko is done. For my next trick I'm moving on to something more tricky, namely Romancing Saga 2!
 

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Pokemon Black: Bianca!?

Tomorrow begins a new Flailthrough! In the meantime, we've got some light Pokemon Black and White news. We got the new issue of Nintendo Power yesterday, which revealed some US character names. Professor Araragi (or Bladdernut, if you prefer) is now Professor Juniper and Belle- she of the ass that can be seen from space -is now Bianca. I'm not sure why they bothered changing Belle's name, especially when Cheren is still Cheren. There's also an assortment of Pokemon with heretofore unheard US names, but I'm sure Bulbapedia's got a handle on that by now.

Torneko: Epilogue

And now for my Final Thought.

Through determination and plain old stubbornness, Torneko managed to power through the Mystery Dungeon and find the Box of Happiness. Though his hardships were many, his wife was always there to... I dunno. Hand him a big loaf of bread and demand money. (Odd that of all the businesses she opened, not one of them was a bakery.) And yet, Lance Town now thrives, and the king is happy, and presumably so is Nene, and everyone has acknowledged Torneko's hard work thanks to the soothing power of a magical music box.

And now, should I have the time and inclination, I can go back and play Torneko: The Last Hope for PSX and pick up where I just left off. Some day. Eventually. Maybe.

I think that, in hindsight, this was a really bad game to do for Flailthroughs. Progress is very slow- slower than your average RPG, and setbacks mean a long time without anything new to report. I spent nearly as much time on this as That Guy did Pokemon Black. But this is my first full feature, so I'm learning. And I really do enjoy Mystery Dungeon games- Shiren the Wanderer's pretty cheap for DS (in English!) these days, and I recommend it wholeheartedly.

Next up will be something a touch more traditional, and something from a series even I hardly know anything about. This was my warm up: I know Mystery Dungeons, I know Dragon Quest. Tomorrow we begin something else entirely. Until then: take care of yourselves, and each other. And tell your spouse they can kill their own Goddamn Slimes from now on.

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Torneko, One More Final: Not Frustrated Enough Yet?

As I suspected, the game goes on. But my good gear, since I didn't have time to stick it in the vault, is gone. Bah.


Looks like what Team Mondo was building was a palace for the king! Or possibly my wife. Or maybe both- they were both after the box, so they may have been plotting against me.


Yup, looks like a mausoleum to me.

Monday, January 17, 2011

Torneko, Final Chapter!

The next run doesn't do it- not enough Bread. And have I mentioned that when you trip over a rock and drop a Sanctuary Scroll, it activates it and you can't pick it back up? It does. It's really annoying!

Next trip, I get my hands on the (Something) again. Then I fall down to 28 in a room with an Octet, two Archdemons, two Mystery Dolls, and a DRAGON. I fight valiantly - and smartly enough to put the (Something) down first in case I had to bail - but. I had to bail. NEXT.

Sunday, January 16, 2011

And now, I take on a challenge.

There was a slight hitch with today's post of Mother, and that hitch, to put it bluntly, is Jeff. I am thrilled to have a new party member at this point in the game, because it is getting harder and harder to move along entirely by myself. On top of that fact, he should allow me to beat the enemies I do encounter with much greater ease...

This is however not the case, as Jeff, my good and loyal insane explosive nut, happens to be level 1. After spending the night and most of the morning leveling, I have managed to raise him to level 10... this is still ten levels behind our hero, and he is getting killed in two or less hits by most monsters that I encounter.

So, it is now that I ask you, the readers, a question that will allow me a bit of time till next week when he will be ready to go.

What game do you wish me to play next?

Now, at Flailthroughs we pride ourselves in the fact that we only play games that we own a copy of. Not that we stand against the concept of roms, we just think that it's a little extra touch that makes the playthrough that much more interesting for you, because we cannot use many aspects of an emulator that would make our posts a simpler task. Or at least that would be my opinion on the matter.

I have here a list of some of the games that we could do next, and have decided that we will allow you to decide what it is that you read.

Presented in groups of three, they are,

Chrono Trigger: a game which I have not played since I was around 15, and remember almost nothing about.

Final Fantasy IV: another game which I have not played since I was around 15, and remember a fair amount of... However you may remember that the FFIV we had in the US was the "Easy Type," because they didn't think that Americans would like a hard game.

Final Fantasy V: a game which I have never played, and know nothing about. Could be interesting if you ask me, but then again I'm here for your opinion.


Seiken Densetsu 2: also known as Secret of Mana, a game which I have no memory of ever playing, but am assured that I have.

Dragon Quest V: which I have never played, but am told is quite good. I've never played much of the Dragon Quest series, so I actually have no idea what it could be about, or how the system works.

Dragon Quest VI: ditto, but this game is to be released in the US on Valentine's day, and could prove useful or hilarious with how much I get wrong.


Down the World: a game which I purchased because the auction description mentioned battling clowns at the bottom of a Ferris Wheel... This is as good a reason as any, if you ask me. Also, the main character is named Mervil.

Elfaria 1: which I have done no research on at all, but it is worth noting that it was created by Hudson Soft... yes, it is an RPG as far as I know.

Elfaria 2: the sequel to the first game, and I know just as little about this as the first, except that it is a sequel.




These are your choices, my friends, so pick which one you would like to see me flail my way through next.

Come on! Make me suffer for your entertainment!