Star Wars Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike -- Final Opinion.

I've forced myself through the rest of this exceedingly shitty game. I do not like this game one bit. I don't like the shitty AI. I don't like the cheap tacked on for challenge mission structure. I don't like the silly Expanded Universe feel to Star Wars. Picking up bombs with the Snowspeeder's tow-cable and flying with a dangling bomb and having to fly it into an AT-AT. What the fuck is that? I don't like the hideously unfinished barely there nature of the on foot stuff. I don't like how glitchy the game is. On the aforementioned level with the bombs you have to tow and ram into AT-ATs, I was able to consistently fly below the ground. That's right down into the ground. Also in that level the bombs would suddenly decide not to work seemingly at their whim. Ram one into an AT-AT and down it goes. Pick up another and ram it into another AT-AT, and nothing. I'll get another one. Nothing. Another one. Nothing.  I don't like the load times. Play for a couple minutes, in game cutscene. Play for twenty seconds, in game cutscene. Start, stop. Start, stop.  This series has officially gone to hell in my opinion. The only redeeming factor for this title is it contains the original arcade games for Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi. For nostalgic reasons alone I would suggest you find this game for $9, use the code to unlock the arcade games, and never go near the main game itself. It's that bad. I'm giving it a 5.0. I've found something to replace Animal Crossing as the worst game on the Gamecube. I truly never thought that would ever happen.

Star Wars Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike - Initial Opinion.

I have decided to play Star Wars Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike. My initial impression is that everything wrong with the series is still being carried over. The control isn't as tight as it should be. The enemy and team member AI is scatterbrained at best, retarded at worst. The creators are still tacking on events to missions to make them seem spontaneous but they're just coming off as cheap. There are new on foot missions, which come off as shockingly bad, based on the first one anyway. Highly unfinished feeling. Imprecise movement and aiming. Sloppy feeling. The game doesn't feel anywhere as graphically impressive as Rogue Leader. We'll see if the initial bad taste changes as I go through the game.

Ys 3: Wanderers from Ys -- Final Opinion.

I have gone ahead and finished Ys 3: Wanderers from Ys for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. I happened to be at max level before even attempting to complete the second dungeon of Illburn Ruins. I found a rather extreme experience exploit. Each game in the series has them, but this one borders on extreme. I was at max level within thirty minutes. Strangely the game remained a challenge for the most part throughout. I noticed a few more translation differences. In the Genesis version the Varestine Castle is correctly named, while in the SNES version it's called Ballactine Castle. The Genesis version refers to the land as Felgana while the SNES refers to it correctly as Felghana. It's strange how they go back and forth in and out of being correct. Ys 3 uses the ring system. Timed rings that you equipped and are awarded their attribute until you deplete the power of the ring. Mainly for boss battles. So you have 255 units of power for all the rings. In town you can restore the rings. They count down much faster than by the second, so you only have thirty seconds or so to make use of them. There are five. Power, Defense, Time, Healing, and Protection. The bosses therefore have strategies that will require you to be using certain rings. It's a fun system for the game, but one they haven't used since. As far as the story goes, it's great in that you get some back story on the events of Adol's best friend Dogi. And the main evil of Ys 3, Galbalan, is further fleshed out in Ys 6. Ys is one large story. All the parts telling the whole. Ys 3 isn't a side story. You need it to see the whole picture. It's a well told, fast, and most importantly fun little adventure. I'm going to give it a 7.5.  

Next up should be some more PSO as we've been taking a little break from it. Having played it for a month and a half and hundreds of hours worth, we needed it a bit. I should be starting another game in the next few days beyond that. We'll see what's next.

Ys III: Wanderers from Ys -- Initial Impression.

What game does one play after completing Ys 4: Mask of the Sun, why Ys 3: Wanderers from Ys, of course. It's only logical. Okay, so not really. But in checking around for an English patch to the missing link in my Ys experience, Ys 5, I decided I wanted more Ys. I played the Genesis version of Ys 3 originally. This time I'm playing the Super Nintendo version of the game. I've already explained how Ys 3 was side scrolling with jumping and sword swinging in a previous entry, so I don't need to cover that again. I'll just comment on what grabbed my attention in the initial playing of this version. The translation differences. Different teams for different versions with different publishers resulting in different translations. Ys 3 is a great old school example of how translations can differ. The subtle choices the translator has to make are clearly on display here. The basic story is the same. Dogi and Adol have been wandering from Ys for a couple years when they hear rumors of strange times in Dogi's hometown. They head that way. In the Genesis version they happen upon a man being attacked by a wildcat. They save him. Turns out to be a friend of Dogi's from childhood. He starts them in on what's going on in Dogi's home town, which is called Selena in the Genesis version. In the SNES version, the team didn't include Dogi's friend and has Adol and Dogi being attacked directly by the wildcat. They head into Redmont as it's called in the SNES version. The same events take place in both versions. On the way to checking in to the inn, Dogi crashes into an old friend named Ellena. She says the normal pleasantries and rushes off about her business. In the Genesis version Dogi comments about how it's been so long since they've talked and how strange it is she had to rush off. No such commentary from Dogi in the SNES version. You check in to the inn, and Adol sets about exploring the town. You'll end up buying your first sword, shield, and armor. You'll get to the town square and see a crowd. You'll be told how in the SNES version, the village elder is trapped in the local mine. While in the Genesis version it's the town mayor who has been trapped in the mine.  Being Adol, you'll agree to rush off to the mines to rescue the mayor / elder. I have been to the mines, rescued who I set out to rescue, fought the first boss, returned to town, advanced the story, and have made my way to the second dungeon of Illburn Ruins. That's where I'm currently saved. I will be entering the ruins the next time I play to be searching for the missing person I'm there to find.

Ys IV: Mask of the Sun -- Final Opinion.

I have completed Ys IV: Mask of the Sun at just under eight and a half hours. Short but sweet. The best part of the game is the story being told. It goes into the history of the Black Pearl and the ancient race of winged people. It's a great story. It's the basis for the story of Ys 6.  It's pretty much classic Ys, just a tad easy. The final areas and dungeons proved to be just as easy as those covered in the initial impressions of the game. The final two bosses however swung the other way to the point of being really damn hard. They got tricky with them and made you work for it. Come for the story, breeze through the gameplay, fight for it at the end, and go home satisfied. I'm giving Ys IV: Mask of the Sun an eight.

Ys IV: Mask of the Sun -- Initial Impression.

I have started playing Ys IV: The Mask of the Sun. It's the ROM version of course. Newly translated and patched in English. This is the game for the Super Famicom created by Tonkin House for Falcom. Ys 4 begins with Adol back in Esteria after returning from the events in Felghana and Ys 3. Adol is standing on the docks when a bottle washes up with a note inside asking for help in the land of Celceta. That's all it takes and Adol is off on his journey to Promarock, from which one can reach Celceta.  In Promarock he learns of the Romun Empire and its meddling in local affairs.  He starts unraveling the mystery. He learns of the three treasures, the stone eyes. He sets about collecting them. As he goes he gets more of the complete picture. The story being told is great. It goes towards more of the history of Ys than anything else. It's very connected to themes further explored in Ys 6. Along the way Adol ends up returning to Esteria and the towns of Minea, Zepic, and Lance. Towns from Ys 1 and Ys 2. He runs into just about every major surviving character from those games.  It gives a very complete update on their lives sort of feeling. Judging by my lifebar, I'm about two-thirds through the game at just under five hours of play. This is going to be short and sweet. The play mechanics are classic Ys. Still running into enemies to attack. No sword swinging. The SNES allowed for them to have a magic button, and an item button. That's really all you get. A button for item, magic, confirmation, and back. You use select to access the menu. Start would actually pause the game.  Simple and effective. The graphics are mid SNES life span. Better than the RPGs of the launch years, and short of those of the final years. SNES level effects are used from time to time. Rain on the fields, stuff like that. The trees aren't animated. The backgrounds are all static.  None of the little details seen at the end of the system's life. It's all very straightforward. Musically, it's standard SNES stuff. Nothing special about it. The composition features some cool arrangements of previous themes mixed with new tracks. The new tracks are just sort of there. When you want Ys 4 music, you'll be thinking of the PCE version's redbook audio anyway. The game seems rather easy. The easiest of the games I've played thus far.  Even with the experience limitation system in the game, you just level too easily. The bosses still present somewhat of a mild challenge, but they're the only thing that does. The puzzle element is also rather simplified in that everything is automatic. You don't have to use whatever you find as the game does it for you. No more wandering around trying to use the pickax on the dozens of columns on the outside of Darm Tower trying to find the correct one. Now the game will just do it when you walk by close enough. The dungeon design is also the easiest out of the games I've played.  It's all very much one path. Where there is a split, the one way takes you to a treasure, and the other way is the way out or the correct progression for the story. There aren't tons of dead ends and wandering about lost as all hell. I need to play Ys 4: The Dawn of Ys on the PCE to compare how they handled those aspects of the game. I have a feeling the Super Famicom version of the game was softened up by comparison.

PS2 -- All the Way There & PSO Update

The end credits have rolled on Phantasy Star 2 yet again. Still one of my favorite endings, if not the most favorite. So original and bold. It would even be that by today's standard. But fifteen years ago it was almost too bold, too daring. But then the game was full of firsts and was unlike anything anyone had seen. I'd lay them all out here of course, but Magus is currently still playing through it, and he's one of the few people who actually might read this.

As for PSO, SEGA has heard some of the community criticism and moved up the updates so that along with the scheduled Mop-up Operations for E1, we have the second half of E4. They've also given us access to the E4 content from the main teleporter in Pioneer 2, so that we don't have to do it from the Principal's Quests. I've managed to play through 9-5 and 9-6 with Magus. They have you still pursuing those who you're after, and following them underground. More caves you ask? Well, yes, but these are unlike anything seen in the game heretofore. They're underground in swirling sand infested caverns filled with new creatures altered by D-cells. The new dark creatures look great. They also move great. You'll still see the Satellite Lizard, Yowie, Sand Rappy, Zu, and the Boota variants, but they've been joined by the Merissa A, Goron, Pyro Goron, Goron Detonator, and the Girtablulu. The Goron are the new Dimenian. They have photon blades in their hands and they're like bandersnatch in that their arms are elastic. So their attack range is great. I'm not in E4 as a Hunter, I'm a Force, I'm staying away from them anyway, but it must be a riot for those having to melee with the Goron. The Pyro Goron just means a different tech attribute to me. The Goron Detonater on the other hand, that's something all together different. The thing is huge, with a massive attack range. It has much more hit points and power to reflect its size. One interesting thing all Goron do is teleport. It's rather great, in a chaotic way,  to have four or five of them constantly trying to warp in behind you. The Merissa A is like a super slime. It essentially stays erect and doesn't pool itself into a moving puddle. It hops around and has a freezing tech attack. It also has a striking attack, and will attempt to belly flop onto you. There is a rare form of the Merissa A which we haven't seen yet called the Merissa AA. The Girtablulu can only be described as a D-cell infested scorpion about the size of a tank, with an eye where the stinger would be. It's immune to every tech but Grants.  Its claws work as shields and it seems to have a bunch of tech attacks. It also can move your character around, keeping you from attacking it. It's easily the hardest non formal boss creature in the game. Also worth noting are the locations themselves. Far more dangerous than the rest of the game. You've got sand that's burning hot that damages you. Full rooms of it so you have to take damage as you go. Creatures and plants spewing clouds of poison and megid. Crumbling rooms with parts of the ceiling falling on you. They've even upped the puzzle aspect. The one in 9-6 actually took us a great while to solve. All with E4's ramped up creature spawn rate. Makes it all rather fun if you ask me.

Phantasy Star 2 -- Almost There.

I have been to the dungeons of Guaron and Naval and have removed them of the four remaining items I've been sent to find. I have taken the eight items back to the person who sent me looking for them. I have picked up the final ninth item. That's it. All that's left for me are the final battles in the final dungeon of the game. I have reached this point faster than I have ever done so in the past. Given that this is my fifth or sixth time through the game, that should be expected. I am level twenty-seven with Rolf at this point. I will need to gain eight levels for Rolf, bringing him up to level thirty-five. Once that's done, I can go to town and stock up on the needed supplies.  Make the trip back, and finally get to the bottom of just who is trying to destroy Algo. The credits should be rolling on PS2 in a day or two.

Phantasy Star -- Progress Report.

I've cleared the Crevice on Dezo and found my way to where I needed to be. I've talked to who I needed to talk to. I've been dispatched to find eight items. I've cleared the dungeons of Menobe and Ikuto and found four of the eight items. Next time I'll be off to Guaron for two more of those eight items. Guaron is another returning location that has come a long way since Alis and company were there a thousand years ago. Not much left, it's getting down to it.

In PSO:BB, we're creeping along. Leveling. Found another E4 rare. Another armor, this one named Black Odoshi Domaru. It has one slot. When equipped it raises attack speed by 10%. When used in conjunction with a certain weapon, it raises attack speed by 30%. Sometime tomorrow the game will be updated with the Mop-up Operations. So we'll have a different way of running through Episode 1.

Phantasy Star -- Progress Report.

I believe I've gotten all the items I need from Dezo's spaceport Skure. I've managed to find my way to Zosa, Aukba, and Ryuon so I'll have easy access to them later on. I've found the Crevice and have been wandering around inside it looking for the proper exit that leads me to where I need to be.

As far as PSO goes, we're still plugging away. Playing Episode 4 for the most part. We have still only found the one Red Coat from a box, and numerous Photon Drops from enemies. No rare weapons or items from enemies. Pent has seen a couple Del Rappies. Arcee, Magus, and myself have seen numerous Pazuzu. We've seen the one Dorphon Eclair. All of them without their rare drops. Magus was able to get his long sought after Gigobooma's Claw. I found my long sought after Sting Tip in the very next run that night. That leaves two items I really need or want. I need an Invisible Guard from a Dark Gunner in normal Ruins. It has a drop rate of 1 / 7800 or something. Joy. I have much better odds with the Madam's Umbrella from the Delbiter in very hard Seabed.  It's something like 1 / 80.

Phantasy Star 2 -- Done with Mota.

I have completed the dams. The final dungeons on Mota. The Red Dam is relatively simple compared to the dungeons that have come before it. The Yellow Dam is also rather easy. The Blue Dam changes things up a bit with the trick applied to it. The Green Dam is rather straightforward and only two floors, but the freaking size of it makes it one of the more difficult dungeons in the game. It has nearly fifty ways up and down between the two floors. The game takes a major turn of events in the story, shaking things up a bit. I've arrived in Skure, the spaceport on Dezo. It's not quite how one would remember it from the original game. A lot has changed in the thousand years since you've been there with Alis and company.

Phantasy Star 2 -- Progress Report.

I have completed the hidden side-quest in Phantasy Star 2 that earns you the most valuable item in the game. I have gone on and completed the dugeons of Uzo and Climatrol. I have aqcuired all the weapons and armor for my active party from the last two towns on Mota. Next time I play I'll be going about getting ready to enter the four dams.

Phantasy Star II -- Progress Report

I have moved along in Phantasy Star II. I have located Piata, which is the sixth and final town on the planet Mota. I have also picked up the eighth and final companion. I have completed the dungeon of Roron. Next up for me to advance the game would be to head for the dungeon on Uzo Island. I won't be doing that, of course, as having met the above conditions, one of the major secrets in the game is now available to be completed. I will set about doing that next time I play. It's a rather brutal secret. There are no clues in the game. Nobody suggests or gives you a hint that you should do what need be done in any way, shape, or form. In my original play-through, I didn't discover it until I was two-thirds through the game. I knew a couple people who never discovered it. I can't even imagine the difficulty they faced as the secret makes the game considerably easier. I will leave Magus wondering the what, and how, at this point. I'm sure he'd want it that way. Speaking of Magus, he had to start over. That's rather brutal. The hardest part of Phantasy Star 2 is getting started in my opinion. Once you're beyond the Biosystems Labs and you start to feel strong, the game starts to really fly and there is no going back. Which is pretty much the same way it was in the original Phantasy Star. The biggest challenge is in surviving the brutal starting conditions. Once you're past that magic point, and the game gets harder, and harder still, you have the bring it on mentality, and nothing will stop you from seeing the end.