Show Posts
This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.
Pages: [1]
1
Chrono / Gameplay Casual Discussion / Thanks for Crimson Echoes.
« on: April 07, 2015, 03:55:27 am »
Hoping I'm putting this in the right forum subcategory. Sorry if you have to move it.
I know I'm a wee bit late to Crimson Echoes. Ya'll put this little miracle together years ago, and by then I had long stopped playing video games, even though I'd periodically collect some stray piece of CT memorabilia and remember what the game meant to me as a teen. I've been so far removed from my gamer youth for so long, that even when CC came out, I wasn't terribly thrilled with it. At the time, I thought it was burdened by cliches that in hindsight I should have ignored. And nowadays, the most gaming I do is when it's time to let my niece win at Wii Sports Resort.
This spring break, that urge came to play this game at the suggestion of an internet rando on OKCupid. I had finally had some spare cash to collect some of the outrageously priced Chrono Trigger memorabilia and it sparked the urge to rediscover the universe. I decided to devote spring break to Crimson Echoes. I figured I'd be amused and then lose interest and find other ways to spend my vacation time.
It's been three days and I've only left my laptop for food and bathroom breaks.
All of the original sprites and music being used in tandem with beautiful new locations and artful use characters, new and old, make it feel like some secret "part two" that could very well have been hidden on the original SNES cart. And while that's to be expected, what wasn't was the creative story that was told, using parallel realities and creating challenging new situations. I mean, really, some of this is totally clever. The part with the team being split in time and each fighting their way through the same dungeon throughout the ages feels like an opportunity that Square missed out on.
The best thing so far is the battle strategies. Playing through CT could usually be done by brute force and heals, but in CE I'm finding myself using spells like Provoke, Hypno, and Protect more than I ever did in the original games. Not only that, but they end up being essential strategy for certain monster encounters, which really allows maligned battle characters (like Marle) to shine in ways the original wouldn't allow them to.
And the changes to spells are magnificent, but not overpowering, because the monster encounters are tuned to be just the right amount of challenging, sometimes even moreso than bosses. The opportunities to use AOE spells are much more plentiful, without actively nerfing the content. In the original, Napalm and Max Cyclone were kind of wasted for me. Now, Frog's Venom Mist is far superior to Water 1, and it actually fits the character, you know? He's a frog. Why wouldn't he be poisonous? Duh. I use that all the time, but even with the added poison status, the high enemy HPs still make it a process to win fights. Interesting battles are so essential, because so often in RPGs, slogging through easy random encounters is like grinding levels and drops and it becoms tedious. In CE, it is really really easy to die if you don't pay attention, which is so wonderfully engaging.
The biggest thing for me is this sensation of needing to play this game. Like watching a really engrossing TV show or reading a really compelling book, any time I try to put the laptop away I get that sense of anxiety that pulls me back to the story. I feel like I'm sixteen again, with all the time in the world to spend on the only thing I want to spend it on: Chrono Trigger. I'm not a sucker for geek nostalgia like most people my age, but this is a really special thing that brings up a lot of feelings and memories, and I get the sense that it's going to inspire the same creativity in me that the original did when I was a little weirdo writing terribly weird Chrono Trigger fanfiction and obsessively drawing Magus all over my notebooks.
So I'm writing this post just to say thanks for that. This was clearly an incredible undertaking frought with legal peril but the results are well appreciated. If SquareEnix had any sense, they'd adopt this game into the universe, add what they need to make it fit their worldview, and sell it out for $10 a pop on the Wii Store so you all could get your due for what you put in. Clearly they don't have a lick of sense.
I know I'm a wee bit late to Crimson Echoes. Ya'll put this little miracle together years ago, and by then I had long stopped playing video games, even though I'd periodically collect some stray piece of CT memorabilia and remember what the game meant to me as a teen. I've been so far removed from my gamer youth for so long, that even when CC came out, I wasn't terribly thrilled with it. At the time, I thought it was burdened by cliches that in hindsight I should have ignored. And nowadays, the most gaming I do is when it's time to let my niece win at Wii Sports Resort.
This spring break, that urge came to play this game at the suggestion of an internet rando on OKCupid. I had finally had some spare cash to collect some of the outrageously priced Chrono Trigger memorabilia and it sparked the urge to rediscover the universe. I decided to devote spring break to Crimson Echoes. I figured I'd be amused and then lose interest and find other ways to spend my vacation time.
It's been three days and I've only left my laptop for food and bathroom breaks.
All of the original sprites and music being used in tandem with beautiful new locations and artful use characters, new and old, make it feel like some secret "part two" that could very well have been hidden on the original SNES cart. And while that's to be expected, what wasn't was the creative story that was told, using parallel realities and creating challenging new situations. I mean, really, some of this is totally clever. The part with the team being split in time and each fighting their way through the same dungeon throughout the ages feels like an opportunity that Square missed out on.
The best thing so far is the battle strategies. Playing through CT could usually be done by brute force and heals, but in CE I'm finding myself using spells like Provoke, Hypno, and Protect more than I ever did in the original games. Not only that, but they end up being essential strategy for certain monster encounters, which really allows maligned battle characters (like Marle) to shine in ways the original wouldn't allow them to.
And the changes to spells are magnificent, but not overpowering, because the monster encounters are tuned to be just the right amount of challenging, sometimes even moreso than bosses. The opportunities to use AOE spells are much more plentiful, without actively nerfing the content. In the original, Napalm and Max Cyclone were kind of wasted for me. Now, Frog's Venom Mist is far superior to Water 1, and it actually fits the character, you know? He's a frog. Why wouldn't he be poisonous? Duh. I use that all the time, but even with the added poison status, the high enemy HPs still make it a process to win fights. Interesting battles are so essential, because so often in RPGs, slogging through easy random encounters is like grinding levels and drops and it becoms tedious. In CE, it is really really easy to die if you don't pay attention, which is so wonderfully engaging.
The biggest thing for me is this sensation of needing to play this game. Like watching a really engrossing TV show or reading a really compelling book, any time I try to put the laptop away I get that sense of anxiety that pulls me back to the story. I feel like I'm sixteen again, with all the time in the world to spend on the only thing I want to spend it on: Chrono Trigger. I'm not a sucker for geek nostalgia like most people my age, but this is a really special thing that brings up a lot of feelings and memories, and I get the sense that it's going to inspire the same creativity in me that the original did when I was a little weirdo writing terribly weird Chrono Trigger fanfiction and obsessively drawing Magus all over my notebooks.
So I'm writing this post just to say thanks for that. This was clearly an incredible undertaking frought with legal peril but the results are well appreciated. If SquareEnix had any sense, they'd adopt this game into the universe, add what they need to make it fit their worldview, and sell it out for $10 a pop on the Wii Store so you all could get your due for what you put in. Clearly they don't have a lick of sense.
2
Chrono Compendium Discussion / Faulty Encyclopedia Entry
« on: April 17, 2008, 12:23:29 am »
The entry for the Chrono Trigger American Display Poster says "you must login to edit."
http://www.chronocompendium.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chrono_Trigger_American_Display_Poster&action=edit
Please fix?
http://www.chronocompendium.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chrono_Trigger_American_Display_Poster&action=edit
Please fix?
3
General Discussion / Just figured I'd say hi...
« on: January 21, 2008, 08:32:43 pm »
First off, it's a safe bet that I should explain my icon as it may freak people out. It's Tina Turner as the Acid Queen in Tommy, and I made it years ago for some other forum and barely used it. Right now, as I'm on limited time, I really have no desire to create a new one and this'll have to do for now. Unless someone wants to donate me an avatar of Hugh Laurie.
Anyway... I'm 24, I have a full time job, I am a full time grad student, and when I'm not broke I like to collect Chrono Trigger collectibles. I currently have almost no free time, ever, but I promise I'll make myself known on this forum when I can.
I know at one point I had an email conversation with one of the moderators here. I don't remember who it was, but I sent them a picture of a tattoo I got five years ago of Magus on my leg. He needs shading and fixing, but otherwise he's looking fab even at his age. If anyone wants a pic, I'll put it up.
I got into Chrono Trigger around 1998, it still stands as my favorite game ever, and back in the day I used to write fanfics and do fan art. I just looked at some of my old art tonight, and it's awful, but it does remind me of my youth. Several months ago I spent some time playing the game again and laughed and remembered how wonderful it was and how much it affected my life. The literary themes and characterizations brought me towards being a literature nerd, and is one of the driving forces behind me ever going to college in the first place. I also spent a lot of time in art classes drawing Magus and wrote some really bad fanfic that was once on IcyBrian's old site.
I had also met a lot of friends whom I've lost all contact with (sadly), and I'm curious to see who, if anyone, I reconnect with.
Anyway, enough talking like a curmudgeonly old woman. I'm just happy to find myself at this wonderfully expansive site, and it looks like I have a lot to catch up on in the CT realm.
Anyway... I'm 24, I have a full time job, I am a full time grad student, and when I'm not broke I like to collect Chrono Trigger collectibles. I currently have almost no free time, ever, but I promise I'll make myself known on this forum when I can.
I know at one point I had an email conversation with one of the moderators here. I don't remember who it was, but I sent them a picture of a tattoo I got five years ago of Magus on my leg. He needs shading and fixing, but otherwise he's looking fab even at his age. If anyone wants a pic, I'll put it up.
I got into Chrono Trigger around 1998, it still stands as my favorite game ever, and back in the day I used to write fanfics and do fan art. I just looked at some of my old art tonight, and it's awful, but it does remind me of my youth.
Several months ago I spent some time playing the game again and laughed and remembered how wonderful it was and how much it affected my life. The literary themes and characterizations brought me towards being a literature nerd, and is one of the driving forces behind me ever going to college in the first place. I also spent a lot of time in art classes drawing Magus and wrote some really bad fanfic that was once on IcyBrian's old site.I had also met a lot of friends whom I've lost all contact with (sadly), and I'm curious to see who, if anyone, I reconnect with.
Anyway, enough talking like a curmudgeonly old woman. I'm just happy to find myself at this wonderfully expansive site, and it looks like I have a lot to catch up on in the CT realm.
Pages: [1]