Balthier and Trembling
by Zen
Posted on Wednesday, March 16, 2016Once upon a time there was a man who as a child had heard the beautiful story about the gods' chosen hero, who was reborn in the power of his destiny to write his chapter of an eternal history. When the child became older he regarded the same story with a newfound wariness, for life had informed and keenly honed the pious simplicity of the child. In time such tales, told as they are again and again, were noteworthy more for their human omissions than their divine testaments. In time he would deliver his answer.
The knight's path is arduous but firm, watching over his charge with no concern for his self. Even a brother's hate and a kingdom's disgrace can be no burden to him as he shields his queen from any harm or interference. Vulnerable and weak, a desperate regent is not, alone, enough to stand against the tide of history, and a pawn for others' designs she shall ever be.
On the surface it is a story we have seen too much of: the hero's journey, the chosen one leading a righteous rebellion against an evil and powerful empire. These tales mostly play out the same, but this time the tired resolution is overcome. This time, the whole picture is considered and a world of individuals cries out against it. FFXII simultaneously honors and undermines a legacy of storytelling and thematic expression that is said to encompass human history. It is an unprecedented and brave step forward for fantasy of all kinds, a therapeutic salve for the trauma of the hero's journey.
Ten years ago today this game blasted all expectations, misgivings, and cynicism out of the water. Ten years ago today Yasumi Matsuno not only revolutionized the Final Fantasy series, but upended a legacy of lazy storytelling and miserable ideology whose origins are ancient beyond belief.
Go play Final Fantasy XII, and if you have the means to play the International Zodiac Job System version then definitely do that. It is my favorite game, by my favorite writer of games, and its quality will surprise the doubtful and the faithful alike.
You heard it here first.
by Zen
Posted on Saturday, May 31, 2008
Keep fighting, make the future brighter.
by alzabo
Posted on Monday, May 5, 2008I recently read that the game was not being developed internally at Capcom as I'd been lead to believe and that it had been farmed out to Dimps, the shovelware and anime game company made up of ex-SNK employees who've brought us such memorable titles as Inuyasha: A feudal Fairy Tale, Digimon Battle Spirit 2 and the failed Atomiswave/PS2 vs. Fighter The Rumble Fish.
Great.
While I will reserve judgment until I've had some hands-on time I must admit that I am no longer anticipating Street Fighter IV. The game still has potential to be great, but I am curious as to why Capcom would farm out such an important nostalgic title to Dimps. Maybe it doesn't make financial sense to put your good staff on a niche genre title like Street Fighter.
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Oh Nintendo,
by K1
Posted on Thursday, April 17, 2008
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Dudes Who I Want To Pay But Can't
by Tupperwarez
Posted on Tuesday, March 11, 2008What, you'd rather read ten fucking paragraphs of "Yeah, what he said."? Here's your list.
Neil Manke
Some of you might have heard of They Hunger, a zombie outbreak themed single player mod for Half-Life 1. They Hunger was essentially a series of episodes, before the industry latched onto the term. It was very polished work that rightfully earned Neil and his collaborators positive press. Well, it turns out Neil has a game studio, Black Widow Games. And they are perilously close to releasing They Hunger: Lost Souls, which will be a purchasable, stand alone game based on the Source engine. The trouble is, they've been 'almost done' since last year. I hope this thing isn't stuck in QA limbo, because I'm really interested in checking out the final result.
Konjak
This guy isn't just a great artist. He also makes games that are both fun to play and look at, like Chalk and Noitu Love. Also, Noitu Love 2 is coming out soon, and it's looking really rad. He has worked on commercial games before I believe, doing sprite work for Contra 4 and such. But the fact remains that his work is definitely worth your time and money.
Nifflas
This is the guy that gave us mellow, exploration-themed platformers like Knytt and Within a Deep Forest. I find these games relaxing and laid back, and Knytt has the added bonus of odd looking critters and people(?) going about their business in the foreground and background. I'm a sucker for that kind of thing. It's like having an aquarium, but without the mysterious green scum that kills all your fish and makes you cry. Oh, that's right, he has a Donate link on his homepage. Does this still count? Oh who cares, I still think I should give him money in an official capacity, like a retail/online purchase of some kind.
Cactus
This guy. This guy is a machine. He cranks out all these bizarre little games with alarming frequency. Please, go poke around his site and give one of the many little doodads he has made a try. Cactus himself admits that they are more like experiments dressed up as games. And like most experiments, not all of them are successful. Still, his enthusiasm for trying new and strange things is certainly noteworthy. I would be really interested to see what he would turn out were he paid for his time.
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Revenge of "Developers I want to give money to"
by alzabo
Posted on Saturday, March 8, 2008What I’m trying to say is, “up yours kid.”
#4 - Fasa (Shadowrun for SNES, Genesis, SegaCD & Xbox360/PC): 
Before the Xbox 360 launched, one of the titles that was announced but not shown was Shadowrun. I am absolutely in love with the previous three games for three separate reasons. The promise of a new Shadowrun was quite exciting, the after the three previous games had all taken very different approaches to creating their games and I believed that Microsoft Game Studios would do this as well. Their different approach was to throw away all the interesting story elements of the Shadowrun universe and create a FPS. A FPS with magical trees, teleportation and gameplay that was absolutely forgettable. I’d like to give a developer money for a new Shadowrun RPG, but after the horrible sales of the FPS, I think developers believe the Shadowrun License has AIDS.
#3 – Vivarium (Seaman, Odama): 
“Yoot” Saito was both the key designer and "face" of Seaman, most people who owned a Dreamcast or at least have a passing interest in games recognize his face and maybe even attempted to have a “conversation” with him. His unforgettable Dreamcast title Seaman is one of the creepiest and most interesting video game I’ve ever witnessed. He also was the creative force behind the innovative Gamecube pinball title, Odama. Both games share the innovative idea of changing the way players interact with games; forcing the player to speak into a microphone to control the game just as often as they use a controller. I’d love to play more games by Yoot Saito that have innovative strange controls like this, but Seaman 2 was not released in the US and the DS’s microphone is almost never used for the sort of detailed open ended interactions that players can experience in a Yoot Saito game.
#2 - The Behemoth (Alien Hominid, Castle Crashers):
Alien Hominid was an excellent first title that started out as a flash game and made the jump to consoles, the game play is very similar to SNK’s Metal Slug series and is not only fun to play but quite difficult. Their second title is the 4 player action platformer / RPG Castle Crashers has been endlessly delayed. I’m practically salivating at the idea of playing a “new” guardian heroes style game with my friends. I’d be willing to pay way more than 800 Rape Bucks (a.k.a. Microsoft points) for this title. Too bad it seems to be stuck in development hell.
Attention, all Supple Think Contributing Authors!
by K1
Posted on Monday, October 8, 2007
i.e. all you people on the right sidebar.This is an open declaration of warning to all authors (including me): Post content to Supple Think within the next week or be subject to the Super-Mega-Supple-Quote-A-Thon, which incidentally, starts next week.
And don't worry, I've got dirt on all of you :V
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Nintendo’s New Holiday
by alzabo
Posted on Saturday, September 15, 2007Until now I had no real reason to talk about the Nintendo’s Virtual Console service for the Wii, but their recent announcements for the European and Australian VC have forced my hand. This month is the “Hanabi Festival.”
The Hanabi Festival is a chance for Nintendo to release a smattering of games that previously had not been available to EU and AU customers through normal channels. The games offered initally are Super Mario Bros. 2 (Famicom), Mario’s Super Picross (Super Famicom), with other unreleased games like the incredible N64 title Sin & Punishment becoming available for download at later this month. 
While I applaud Nintendo’s decision to release some Japan only titles in the west, I must admit that I’m kind of upset with the way in which they’re releasing them. Nintendo is brazen enough to ask for an extra $1 for the games offered during the “Hanabi Festival.” Oh, and games like Mario 2 will only be offered during the festival. Yeah, not only do you have to pony up more for the game, you have to buy it before the end of September (I guess that’s one way to insure strong VC sales).
In addition to the insult of having to pay more for these games, Nintendo is even cutting back on localization for these special limited time VC releases. Mario’s Super Picross doesn’t even have a
English title screen. I guess that’s what Nintendo meant when they called it a “Hanabi Festival,” Hanabi must be some 27+ stroke kanji that roughly translates to: “pay extra for a game that isn’t localized.” I guess this is all just a test by Nintendo to see just how deeply they can stick their thumb in our eye before we collectively close our wallets.