Analysis of a Game Genre:
RPG:
An RPG game, at least for me, is all about the story. These games are developed with the intention of, story and characters first, game-play second then everything else. The term role playing game, again at leas for me, implies that you become the character, you should get (and want to get) fully involved with this character on an emotional. A game developed like this has huge reply vale and they generally hold their retail value too (take Persona 3: FES for example, it's a 2008 ps2 game that's still to this day worth around £20-£30). These types of games have a lot of player freedom so you can choose how you spend your time and what you say and do in certain situations. The sheer amount of things on offer to do is catastrophic in comparison to any other genre.
One other thing that is essential to any RPG game is it's soundtrack. I mean since the story is bound to be epic and huge you don't want to be stuck listening to a repetitive boring soundtrack otherwise it'd drive you insane! Obviously a game would be incomplete without any core game-play, an RPG (Or in my case JRPG(Japanese Role Playing Games)) should have a strategy based turn based combat system. The reason I prefer turn based as apposed to free moving combat (E.G. Dark Souls) is mostly because I believe it takes more skill and talent in order to become good at it and find an effective strategy. By this I mean that, when you are given a free moving combat you can more easily workout effective strategies by simply doing a dodge then a hi rinse repeat. Where as in a RPG you need to know all the enemies and what they do, grind so that you are at an appropriate level for that point in the game and train your team to similar level, not to mention the amount of understanding you need to have of the items and skills and weapons at your disposal.
Three titles that I have decided to choose for this genre are, Persona 3: FES, Catherine and Pokemon (Gen 1).
I'll start of by introducing Pokemon (Gen 1). Pokemon is an RPG where the entire game revolves around you living in this fantasy world where there are these creatures called Pokemon. Each of these creatures has it's own special type along with unique moves and abilities that is only able to be used by Pokemon of that type. The story is about you wanting to become the Pokemon master so you have to travel all around the region capturing many different types of Pokemon to fill up Prof.Oaks Pokedex (A device that collects the data of every Pokemon). To become the best you have to beat every Pokemon trainer and Gym leaders (A professional Pokemon trainer) and then, the elite 4 (An advanced group of 5 (Just because) best of the best Pokemon trainers)! It has common codes and conventions typical of the RPG genre. For Example: The game features a turn based combat system and has a very story driven motive. It also features an item system which every RPG has, the fighting and sometimes just even exploring uses the item system to a full extent (just as any RPG should).
Three titles that I have decided to choose for this genre are, Persona 3: FES, Catherine and Pokemon (Gen 1).
Pokemon:
I'll start of by introducing Pokemon (Gen 1). Pokemon is an RPG where the entire game revolves around you living in this fantasy world where there are these creatures called Pokemon. Each of these creatures has it's own special type along with unique moves and abilities that is only able to be used by Pokemon of that type. The story is about you wanting to become the Pokemon master so you have to travel all around the region capturing many different types of Pokemon to fill up Prof.Oaks Pokedex (A device that collects the data of every Pokemon). To become the best you have to beat every Pokemon trainer and Gym leaders (A professional Pokemon trainer) and then, the elite 4 (An advanced group of 5 (Just because) best of the best Pokemon trainers)! It has common codes and conventions typical of the RPG genre. For Example: The game features a turn based combat system and has a very story driven motive. It also features an item system which every RPG has, the fighting and sometimes just even exploring uses the item system to a full extent (just as any RPG should).
The entire game-play is you on your journey exploring jungles to towns and cities all the way down to boats and graves. Creepypasta aside the overall story for Pokemon is really good, you must defeat team rocket and stop their master plan of using Pokemon for their own gain, to get lots of money and become super rich. The layout is a simple you have 4 options:
Fight, choose what move you would like to use to attack (or not) the other Pokemon.
PkMn, this opens a list of all your Pokemon you have in your party (a collection of six Pokemon you carry around with you).
Item, you open your bag and select an item you wish to use (items steam from Pokeballs to potions and buffs).
Run, fle from the battle (you can't run from a trainer battle).
Here is a review of Pokemon Red (Gen 1):
http://uk.ign.com/games/pokemon-red-version/gb-9846
Here is a review of Pokemon Red (Gen 1):
http://uk.ign.com/games/pokemon-red-version/gb-9846
Catherine:
This game strays slightly from the typical RPG due to it also being a part of the puzzle genre. But, it does stay true to JRPG style and it's use of story telling and characters. Unlike Pokemon it has a huge devotion towards character development, you really do get to love the characters within this game. It makes you feel as if you are Vincent (the MC) and you end up spending way too much time playing just so you can help him to his goal and find out what happens next in the story.
As far as game-play goes in this game, you alternate between escaping nightmares by climbing block towers (It's more fun and challenging than it sounds) and gathering information and helping out others who are also plagued by these nightmares trying to save them by giving them a motive to go on. You can also practice and hone your skills on a simulation game inside the bar for the nightmares you will face (a game inside a game... GAME-CEPTION!), plus you receive random messages throughout the time you spend in the bar from people and depending on how you answer (as well as questions inside the nightmares) depends on what ending you get due to your sanity meter. Once you enter the bathroom, you will see a glimpse of the up coming boss battle and hear a mysterious voice calling to you about the nightmare you are going to face that night.
As far as game-play goes in this game, you alternate between escaping nightmares by climbing block towers (It's more fun and challenging than it sounds) and gathering information and helping out others who are also plagued by these nightmares trying to save them by giving them a motive to go on. You can also practice and hone your skills on a simulation game inside the bar for the nightmares you will face (a game inside a game... GAME-CEPTION!), plus you receive random messages throughout the time you spend in the bar from people and depending on how you answer (as well as questions inside the nightmares) depends on what ending you get due to your sanity meter. Once you enter the bathroom, you will see a glimpse of the up coming boss battle and hear a mysterious voice calling to you about the nightmare you are going to face that night.
Persona 3:FES
Persona 3:FES is the perfect combination of what an RPG, more specifically, a JRPG. It has a perfect mixture of story and characters and an epic, turn based, battle system. It has a perfect 50/50 balance between story and character development as well as story!
The game plays like a stereotypical JRPG with the turn based combat. However, this particular system is very fast paced, but has a lot of content to wrap your head around before you master the battles. You will also find a sound track which is what you'd expect from a JRPG. A catchy, but not annoying, theme with various other tracks that come in in certain situations and story points.
Here is some game-play footage from Persona 3:FES: **May contain spoilers**
The game plays like a stereotypical JRPG with the turn based combat. However, this particular system is very fast paced, but has a lot of content to wrap your head around before you master the battles. You will also find a sound track which is what you'd expect from a JRPG. A catchy, but not annoying, theme with various other tracks that come in in certain situations and story points.
Here is some game-play footage from Persona 3:FES: **May contain spoilers**
No comments:
Post a Comment