Ahhhh…..Breath of Fire. 5 games spanning various generations of consoles. 5 Ryus. 5 Ninas. If I had a gun to my head and someone forced me to pick my favorite, it would have to be episode 4. Why? Because it has the most gorgeous sprites of almost any PSone game. And the story was really cool. But I have played and enjoyed them all. The battle system in episode 5 was so much fun! I am going to go play it immediately! You should to! After you finish checking out the whole series of course.
If this is the last RPG you ever played, then it is the greatest video game of all time. It was made both of the creative teams behind Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest. The end result of their super special combo move is a wonderful tale spanning centuries and features some of the most memorable characters in video game history as well as some of the most beautiful graphics ever seen on the SNES. Recently re-released on the Nintendo DS, if you haven’t played it, but like rpgs, wait, what am I saying. OF COURSE you have played Chrono Trigger. Silly me. I forgot who we were for like half a second there. I am ok now.
Chrono:
Magus:
Here is the animated opening to the PSone re-release:
No, I am not referring to that Guy Ritchie film, what this is is one of Hideo Kojima’s early games, you know, the guy behind METAL GEAR SOLID. It’s called SNATCHER and appeared on many many systems, including a single American instance on the Sega-CD. It is more digital comic than rpg, and if you live in the states, then you know it is like the only game of it’s kind to ever be released here. that, and it’s freakin’ great.
It’s sequel POLICENAUTS was never released here, and I seem to remember it had something to do with the main character’s smoking habit. But Hideo Kojima was persistent wasn’t he, and eventually one of his smoking characters broke thru. Now nobody cares, just like they wouldn’t have cared then if they had released his other game. Oh well. Here is the opening to the Sega-CD version of SNATCHER. I get chills every time I watch this…
Lunar first appeared on the Sega-CD system, and was later remade on Sega Saturn & PSone. I have played, and adore both. This is a two-game series with so many characters, but I had to make Lucia, one of my favorites. Will there ever be true Lunar 3? A lot of time has passed since the first two, and although there have been side stories, the possibility of a part 3 seems unlikely. Too bad. Maybe they will remake them for Playstation 4!
Here is the opening to the Sega-CD version of Lunar 2 Eternal Blue:
And here is the PSone/Sega Saturn remake’s opening:
There were four of these old rpgs for the old nintendo back in the old days. The American instance was called Dragon Warrior. When the SNES came out, 5 and 6 stayed in Japan. Just as the PSone was dying, they released episode 7 here. I was happy. Then when the 8th installment came out, not only was it too released in America, they also went back to calling it Dragon Quest. I was even happier, because number 8 is amazing.
What is also amazing, is they are remaking 4, and the “missing” episodes 5 and 6 for the Nintendo DS. Now I am perhaps TOO happy. I really love this series. I remember hearing that in Japan, it is against the law to release Dragon Quest games on any day other than sunday, because kids would skip school to wait in tremendously long lines. Amazing.
I first saw Ys I & II for the Turbographx 16 the same night I was introduced to the movie Akira. Immediately I was blown away by the style of both. I became aware of the fact that, “oh…these games are not American, they are Japanese!” I saved up and bought a Turbographx and the CD-ROM attachment and fell in love for the first time. Sorry ex-girlfriends, but I figure enough time has past, so I should not be afraid of the truth. You probably don’t even remember me anyway.
Here is the legendary opening to Ys Book I & II for the legendary Turbographx-16. Well, they are legendary to me, anyway.
