Allow Me To Explain... ----Kambei

It seems that Madgrad and I are at odds when it comes to comparing the Shining Force and Final Fantasy series. Even though he stated that he was going to say why I'm a b*itch, he didn't provide any evidence to prove me wrong. The following is his the excerpt from his column in regards to my statements:

"And this is to Kambei: What the f*** where you thinking? Saying that Shining Force beat Vandal Hearts and FF Tactics? Okay, I'll give you VH. But nothin has touched FF Tactics. And then you said that FF7 was no where near as good as SF 1, 2, or 3? HELLO? Am I the only one who disagrees? The final insult was when you said that the DC could be the ultimate RPG system, even without Square? Lemme guess: You've preordered a DC and are trying to cost justify your decision? You can tell us, we won't laugh."

Now lets look at the evidence. I will use the orignal Shining Force, made in the early 90's on the Sega Genesis, as a showcase for my opinion in this matter. Now lets compare Shining Force to Madgrad's Final Fantasy Tactics. To make sure my points are accurate, I played both of these games for a period of time before writing this(yes I own and have finished both). First you have to ask yourself: What makes a great RPG? Now I know that all of you would say it is obvious that the most important elements in an RPG are the story and characters. Who wants to play a 40-50 hour game as characters no one cares about? Now let's look at Shining Force and Final Fantasy Tactics. The original SF on genesis sports a cast of 30 playable characters all with different looks, character classes, and personalities. What about FFT? Well, it sports two main characters to control, and nearly every other character on the battlefield is relegated to the "Archer 3" or "Mage 4" roles. How are you supposed to care about those characters? Besides, SF still has a better combat system and better graphics to boot. I mean do you really care about how many agility points "Archer 8" has? Also, one of the greatest attractions of the RPG is exploring the vast countryside and discovering secret areas and characters. Shining Force has combined the strategy/battle and exploratory elements better than any other RPG. Even in Vandal Hearts, there are no cities to explore, simply menus to scroll through...

But please don't label me as a Square or Final Fantasy hater. I love Square and the Final Fantasy series as much as the next gamer, but I honestly expect more from them. After over a year of anticipation, Final Fantasy 7 was one of the most disappointing titles for me in a while. Square's PSX "masterpiece" showcased one of the worst casts EVER in an RPG. Cloud-need I say more? Barret-Stereotypical black guy. Aeris-female magic user. Cait Sith-umm..he just sucked. The only characters that seemed even remotely 3 dimensional(i'm talkin emotionally here) were Vincent, Sephiroth, and Sid. Don't get me wrong. FF7 is a great RPG, but it is absolute dog Sh*t when compared to past Square efforts such as FF3, Chrono Trigger, or Secret of Mana. I want the Square of the SNES days back. Just take a moment to compare for yourself the FF3 cast and the FF7 cast. Draw your own conclusions. I will eventually buy FF8 and Legend of Mana and the Chrono Trigger sequel, but my expectations are sadly not as high as they used to be.

One more thing: I said the Dreamcast could be the next system for RPG's, even without Square. And I will stand by that statement seeing as it was not intended to be factual or some time of prediction either. Besides, maybe Square will start developing for Dreamcast. A few years ago, it was unfathomable that Square would produce games for anyone other than Nintendo...

And here's one more reason why FF7 was severely disappointing. If you can actually read through the whole process, imagine how much time it takes to actually do all that. Besides, how in the f**k are you supposed to figure that out without some type of strategy guide? Maybe if catching and breeding chocobos in FF7 was actually fun, you might take the time to experiment, but there is virtually no chance of breeding a gold chocobo on your own...

Maybe you should back up your arguments eh Madgrad? ;)

I've had my say. What do you guys think?

-Kambei

P.S. I haven't yet preordered a Dreamcast, but I think I probably will if the demand keeps growing as much as it seems to be. Also, The Mummy was so bad that it may taint my Star Wars experience even though I will see them about 5 days apart...