tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-268660459652553228.post3703255617080507387..comments2024-02-26T20:52:27.680-08:00Comments on Thinking Inside the Box: General RPG Lists: Greatest Time Travel RPGsThe RPGeniushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02752937839502693108noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-268660459652553228.post-49161763165829189122018-08-10T05:18:58.092-07:002018-08-10T05:18:58.092-07:00I dunno, but they need to fucking quit it already....I dunno, but they need to fucking quit it already. I'll grant you that they at least put effort into RH's remake (even if the new ending is a horrendous and complete misunderstanding of the game's purpose and theme), but they seriously need to cool it with remaking games that aren't even 10 years old yet. This was 1 of the first major steps in SquareEnix's journey toward being the punchline of the RPG genre.The RPGeniushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02752937839502693108noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-268660459652553228.post-40259879241501385732018-08-10T03:42:13.665-07:002018-08-10T03:42:13.665-07:00
Thansk, haha. And oh, certainly. Gameplay balanci...<br />Thansk, haha. And oh, certainly. Gameplay balancing and changes aside, it did introduce some good stuff, including some of the histories explored during Nemesia´s quest. I just wish that the ending wasn´t changed, since it completely alters its meaning.<br /><br />I just hope the Catherine remake won´t be handled poorly. Strange Journey´s remake has some questionable parts too, but they´re not quite as egregious as Radiant Historia´s.<br /><br /><br />...speaking of, what´s with all these Atlus remakes in recent times? Next thing we know an SMT1 remake is going to be announced.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01173245499884395504noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-268660459652553228.post-59331166647898957832018-08-09T21:19:29.575-07:002018-08-09T21:19:29.575-07:00I'm glad this rant pleased you, and Happy Bela...I'm glad this rant pleased you, and Happy Belated Birthday! I agree, RH is a great RPG with a very good and interesting villain, and a truly great ending. I do think that there are some virtues to the remake's added content, but in terms of just the ending, the original is the only way to go.The RPGeniushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02752937839502693108noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-268660459652553228.post-29006429554042845802018-08-09T15:43:50.165-07:002018-08-09T15:43:50.165-07:00(Continuation of my first comment)
But, back to m...(Continuation of my first comment)<br /><br />But, back to my point of the game´s final obstacle being overcome in a wonderful way, it is Stocke´s unbending willingness to sacrifice himself that causes Heiss to take one final action. He sacrifices himself in Stocke´s stead. Not necessarily for the sake of the world itself, nay, but simply because he´d rather give up his own soul than watch his beloved nephew die. Heiss never really becomes a hero, and largely holds onto the same viewpoints until the very end, but in a stroke of irony the very same mindset that endangered the world now saves it, what caused him to be selfish becomes a cause for selflessness. It is thus that he fulfils his own role, and it is thus that Stocke is rewarded and granted another chance at life. But unlike the many instances of heroic sacrifices being undone, this doesn´t feel cheap. There is no cop-out that randomly saves him, a sacrifice is still made in the end, and all of this serves to further reinforce Radiant Historia´s message. Self-sacrifice is a bit extreme and perhaps not quite apt to think of when putting the tale into a realistic perspective, but ultimately it serves to encourage altruism. To encourage finding something to care about, something to work towards. It doesn´t have to be empathy for the entire human race, like Stocke showed at the end. Much more often, something like the simple love of an uncle for his nephew can be enough to make a positive difference. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01173245499884395504noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-268660459652553228.post-54851981663715172242018-08-09T15:43:15.428-07:002018-08-09T15:43:15.428-07:00Well well. I´ve been catching up on your blog a bi...Well well. I´ve been catching up on your blog a bit, and see here, I find this to be the newest post. You know, this is kind of a small present to me, since you decided to post a rant about time travel on the day of my birthday, AND gave the no.1 title to Radiant Historia, coincidentally my own choice for the category.<br /><br />But, time travel aside, I also really love Radiant Historia´s final themes and villain.(Note that all of the following applies to the ds version. The 3ds remake messed up. Hard)<br /><br />Heiss is unlike most villains. He´s the one who cares about Stocke the most, more than any other character in the game, and most of his actions are supposed to either protect Stocke, make him realize the truth of what it takes to shield the world from the desertification, or empower him as wielder of the white chronicle. He´d much rather let the world be destroyed within ten years than allow himself or his nephew to die for it now. This is entirely selfish, but hardly incomprehensible. Why care about the fate of the world if your own life is to be forfeit either way after all? Why not choose the path that allows you to live longer (perhaps even to a natural end, considering the power of the chronicles to travel back in time)? You with your expertise in RPGs might know some other instances of this, but I at least can´t think of any other game where the main obstacle is somebody else´s trying to save the main character -on top of themselves-. It sounds silly, but absolutely makes sense in context. And the way this is overcome is fantastic as well. <br /><br />After beating Heiss and the black chronicle, Stocke grows into his role as a sacrifice, deciding that, even if unfair, it is a role worth fulfilling if it means giving the world another chance to properly heal. Unlike previous sacrifices, Stocke has worked towards finding a permanent solution for this planet-wide catastrophe, but that´s just it. He isn´t an all-powerful hero, so all he could do was that. Make one small step, and hope that others will follow. It is arguably depressing that the desertification hasn´t truly stopped by the end of the game, but it works for the story in the sense that Radiant Historia isn´t about one hero saving everything and everyone, it´s about humanity as a whole slowly making amends for past events, and Stocke´s decision to entrust the fate of the world to those left behind. Rather than your average rpg tale, it reinforces the idea that everyone has a role to fulfil, and that it is only via the efforts of every human to do their part that the world can change at all. Which may sound like a boring platitude, but with how this is interwoven with the story and side quests of the game, and considering Stocke´s coming to understand just how important his role is, and just what it can achieve, it gains a much more genuine quality, and indeed feels like a compelling message. <br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01173245499884395504noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-268660459652553228.post-67084738452856702092018-08-08T14:02:48.580-07:002018-08-08T14:02:48.580-07:00Chrono Trigger and Radiant Historia both do it wel...Chrono Trigger and Radiant Historia both do it well, but I would give the edge to Chrono Trigger. Radiant Historia has some great moments, but it can make seeing all the outcomes feel like a chore; there were many times I made choices just to fill up a list of nodes so I could obtain the best ending, not because I really cared about seeing what the other option would be. I just think Chrono Trigger makes the process a lot more fun, since its time travel contains a stronger element of surprise and mystery. You encounter a portal, like the one after the Tyrano Lair, and you don't know where it will take you (and pretty much no one can imagine that it will lead to the Kingdom of Zeal). It's this element that I find lacking in Radiant Historia, although I was really impressed when it turned out there was someone else manipulating history. I am curious about how the addition of a third timeline in the remake affects Radiant Historia, but I know I'm not going to buy the game again.<br /><br />Also, as far as divergent timelines go, I was more impressed by the visual novel/puzzle-solving game Virtue's Last Reward than I was by Radiant Historia. I played the visual novel prior to the RPG, which may have affected my impression of the latter. But, of course, something like Virtue's Last Reward in no way qualifies for a list like this, considering it is definitely not an RPG.<br /><br />At the top of my list of worst time-travel RPGs would be Final Fantasy XIII-2. I actually don't mind the game that much and prefer it to its abysmal predecessor, but its use of time travel is horrendous and mostly pointless and ill-conceived. Adam E.https://www.blogger.com/profile/15301656119538410691noreply@blogger.com