After Pressing Start: Dragon Quest IV Chapters of the Chosen

Blurgh! Before I forget, I wrote two things this week! I know, right? Busy, busy, busy.

A typical complaint with the Dragon Quest games is that they're all the same. This is a surface level observation. Yes, in terms of genre trappings, Dragon Quest IV is intensely familiar to the ones before it, but it's in the broader details where the differences pop up. Each game is a reaction to the previous one.

Before Dragon Quest IV, Dragon Quest III introduced flexible, player-defined companion characters. Much like the original Final Fantasy, you built your team from the beginning from whatever class you wanted. You could have a full party of mages if you wanted. All dem' options!

So, Dragon Quest IV took player-defined companions from Dragon Quest III and applied personalities and aspirations to them. You were now playing your companions, and it was their stories that were important.

Dragon Quest V would also go on to do its own thing, but that's a tale for another day....

Golf and Godhood

I'm really happy with this piece. I don't think you'll find a critical view on Hot Shots Golf anywhere else on the web.

If you've never liked golf, or don't understand how it could ever be enjoyable, Hot Shots Golf does an admirable job of making you think the opposite. The bright and cheerful presentation gives the experience a wonderfully relaxing and holiday-like feel. And you can play dress up! It's all very silly and lighthearted.

Unfortunately, it can also be incredibly difficult and unfair. A simple mistake in the later levels can cost you the match as you fall behind par. And with a game that's so dependent on sliding bars, varying power levels, and time-based button presses it's very easy to slip up and be punished severely. Hot Shots Golf has yet to meld the charming aesthetic with an equally fair and balanced play experience.

But hey! It's one of the best golf games around and well worth your time.

Gamespite Journal 11

Hey friends,

I'm in a book alongside a collection of fantastic articles! Gamespite Journal 11 is about giving games a second chance. It's about returning to the games we hated long ago and digging underneath the scorn to see if our opinion has changed, or whether there was a brilliant idea nestled underneath a layer of mediocrity.

If you can't afford/don't want to buy a copy, all content will eventually find its way on the site itself and you can read my articles then.

If you do want to buy a copy, the coupon code NEWRMN20 gives you 20% off any orders up to $150 until the end of the month.

Serving the douche: When usability trumps character

Despite what this article might suggest, I really enjoyed Prince of Persia (2008). Admittedly, it was more flash than substance and could charitably be described as an extremely automated game, but giving yourself over to the rhythmic button presses and silky smooth animation was a worthwhile effort. I like to call these types of games "relax em' ups" as the gameplay is mellow enough to get you into a relaxing groove.

And for my older followers, everything I wrote in this piece contradicts all the nice things I said about Elika before. Opinions, man! What's the deal with them?

The Zoology of Dragon Quest

So, I wrote this thing at nightmaremode....

It started off as a poorly thought out statement trying to talk about the unexplainable reasons we like specific games, but gained shape when I settled on a couple of key monsters and extrapolated on why I liked them. From there it was simply a case of Youtube-hopping through various animal documentaries and faint memories of Biology class.

I had a lot of fun writing this and I'd love to hear your thoughts on it!