tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-268660459652553228.post5178502817658873421..comments2024-02-26T20:52:27.680-08:00Comments on Thinking Inside the Box: Startropics 1's PasswordThe RPGeniushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02752937839502693108noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-268660459652553228.post-39914596339777827352018-08-12T10:42:28.452-07:002018-08-12T10:42:28.452-07:00Indeed, this seems more like a creative approach t...Indeed, this seems more like a creative approach to copy protection than game puzzles. And of course, at the time this game came out, here in Russia we had only pirated Chinese copies of NES games, so no fancy boxes or included stuff. Silicon Darwinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13468904778094751143noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-268660459652553228.post-19374531850948827462014-06-24T19:18:18.590-07:002014-06-24T19:18:18.590-07:00Ooooooh, ouch. Never thought of that. I guess th...Ooooooh, ouch. Never thought of that. I guess that must have been kind of rough. This could actually be the very first step the game industry ever took to penalize renting over purchasing, now that I think about it.The RPGeniushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02752937839502693108noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-268660459652553228.post-71618598146769236572014-06-24T19:06:39.352-07:002014-06-24T19:06:39.352-07:00Sorry to bring back an old topic, but I completely...Sorry to bring back an old topic, but I completely disagree about that letter thing being a great idea: back in the days when we were kids, we didn't have any money to buy games, thus we rented them. What do you think happened when we rented Startropics and got stuck at the password entry ? No, there was no Internet at the time. So much anger I had felt when it happened!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-268660459652553228.post-87754927846976766242012-02-27T16:03:41.521-08:002012-02-27T16:03:41.521-08:00I'm not familiar with Metroid Prime 3, but I d...I'm not familiar with Metroid Prime 3, but I don't see it getting more than a 7 or 8. Also, A Link to the Past gets a 9. I don't count the story that high, and nearly every game has a story now. I was considering adding interaction and influence with the world somewhere, but so few games do this that I didn't bother adding it (it's definitely in the final reviews though).<br /><br />I guess we're interpreting each point a little differently though. In case you're interested, the points in each category for Zelda 3 are 1,1,1,2,2,2. Metroid Prime 3 I won't bother since I don't know how accurate it is. Maybe I'm just using my judgment to fit aspects or reject of each point in the end, so this is mostly a form to make sure I consider everything.<br /><br />For the stores, I was trying to capture the dungeon crawl experience of going to get treasure, coming back to sell it, and buying better stuff. If this wasn't worth 2 points, then most rogue-likes wouldn't count as RPGs.Zenic Reveriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16441583549326102945noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-268660459652553228.post-9795758240468006652012-02-27T13:45:52.876-08:002012-02-27T13:45:52.876-08:00It's a good list, and flexible enough to be mo...It's a good list, and flexible enough to be more reasonable than most people's flailing attempts to constrain too diverse a genre into too strict a definition.<br /><br />I would set it up differently, myself, though. For starters, a lot of games that no one would consider RPGs have stores in them, so at most the shop should be 1 point, if it even is there to begin with. The first part of 4, Story, would get 2 points. And even still, it just seems to me like this list doesn't have enough variables taken into account, and takes into account other ones that aren't fair to count against many RPGs that don't have them. I mean, going by your point system, Metroid Prime 3 gets a 10, from what I can figure, so it actually counts as an RPG, though I don't know anyone who's called it such. But then, I got 11 for The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, which you imply was cut, so we're probably not interpreting your criteria in the same way. And how do hybrid games work out? Sakura Wars 5, a combination date simulator and RPG, only makes the minimal 10 if you count Stat Increases as a point even though it's not so much stat increasing as stat flexibility--you can increase stats by increasing your relationship with a character, but if you worsen the relationship afterward, the stats decrease again. I mean, sure, many RPGs allow for the possibility of stats being lowered, but those are usually very unusual circumstances (like giving up permanent HP to the Pillar of Skulls in Planescape: Torment in exchange for knowledge), rather than simply being an integral part of the gameplay. But does it get leniency since it's 2 separate game types merged in one?<br /><br />I still think the whole matter requires using judgment rather than concrete criteria, and that it's inevitably going to have some subjectivity to it, really.The RPGeniushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02752937839502693108noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-268660459652553228.post-45897853622084953262012-02-27T12:40:59.000-08:002012-02-27T12:40:59.000-08:00I've tried to do that myself, and would like y...I've tried to do that myself, and would like your insight, which is why I asked. I really don't know anyone else that considers StarTropics an RPG. Here's my blog post on it: http://allconsolerpgs.blogspot.com/2012/01/making-cut-part-1.html<br /><br />I tackle the problem by having a list of items to check off. Most are 1 point and a few of the more prominent ones are 2, with a total of 20. So far, going with this, and using a score of 10 as a qualifier, I think it's been mostly accurate. It does cut out all the Zelda games (except Zelda II) though, so as someone that includes those, I'm hoping you could take a look to see if I'm missing anything.Zenic Reveriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16441583549326102945noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-268660459652553228.post-91535713219669690172012-02-27T11:57:02.197-08:002012-02-27T11:57:02.197-08:00The question of what is and is not an RPG has gott...The question of what is and is not an RPG has gotten too convoluted in the last decade, I think, to really keep any concrete definition--if it really ever had one to begin with. I think that there are a lot of factors in what makes an RPG, like gameplay that derives from numerical stats and a plot-based progression, among other things, but also that an RPG doesn't necessarily have to have ALL of the qualities associated with RPGs to qualify as one. What it comes down to for me is whether it has enough RPG qualities that it can be reasonably counted as such--a judgment call. Because every time I've seen anyone try to hammer out a definitive set of rules for the genre, those rules will without fail disqualify a number of games that are more or less universally recognized to be RPGs.The RPGeniushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02752937839502693108noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-268660459652553228.post-79146729582787794902012-02-27T08:04:41.062-08:002012-02-27T08:04:41.062-08:00If this is an RPG, what counts as an RPG for you? ...If this is an RPG, what counts as an RPG for you? I'm guessing you also count the Zelda games in this genre. I'm really curious to know why though.Zenic Reveriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16441583549326102945noreply@blogger.com