A look back at: Pokemon Korosu

I must be on fire this summer, and more specifically, this July. While it took me a while to beat this compared to the much shorter Outlaw, that's cause I was cashing in the chips on the other RPGs I've been cooking, so at times I had those to play first. Anyways, I eyed Korosu when I first saw it, but because Outlaw had a lot of information that pertained to Korosu, that's why I had to play it first. And there's also Pokemon CAWPS, which also took place before Korosu, but had much less referential material, so I was okay with skipping it. My end team was Crobat, Ampharos, Magmar, Gallade, Lapras, and Golem. I did have a Shelgon and Heracross for certain points earlier in the story.

Pokemon Korosu is Pokemon meeting Kill Bill. And Bill does get killed, although he is a completely minor character and isn't even killed by your character. But the gist is you're a girl who will fight her way out of human trafficking thanks to a Gastly to help out. The preamble to the whole game was weird enough, yeah, the opponents only have Fighting or Normal attacks, so Gastly has no struggles, that is until Sergi destroys you. And then Lance, you know, the guy who murdered his own Elite Four members in Outlaw, decides to save and help our girl protagonist. Atoning for his sins, or perhaps he was under control of CJ from the previous game, this guy essentially sets up our girl to destroy any evil doers. Biker gangs, a new team called Team Ice, a reformed Team Magma, a Team Rocket in hiding, and some weird company named X Inc. (no relation to THAT X), these will all feel the vengeful nature of our soon-to-be femme fatale. But none so much as the Salone crime family on Six Island (now known as Fortune Island). This all is the first half of the storyline in Korosu, and you're a one-woman army to eventually take those Salone freaks out. All of them.

But then the rest of the plot is just, I guess just going after other corrupt dudes. I mentioned the X Inc. corporation, that ended up being AFTER destroying the Salones. And it's a little goofy, for one, X Inc. is just a remodeled Silph Co. that is on Seven Island (named Quest Island here). Second, the employees are just genuine people with no crime activity. And three, yeah, Xandus is a magician, he's technically a bad guy from CAWPS (the only real reference to that game for the record), but man his team was stupid ridiculous for the point you battle him, yes, he's got some legendaries). And then the last half of the plot returns to Kanto. I love how you start in the Seviis and make a name for yourself, then return to Kanto. But when everything's open-ended, aside from getting the eight badges, you'll easily lose yourself. And it's not like the citizens got better since Outlaw, because the titular Outlaw decided to become an absolute ruler, what he hated the most. The place still has scum and villainy, and then there's the 64-person Pokemon tournament that felt like padding. Easy padding, no battling five elite trainers back-to-back cause you can rest between rounds. And for those who played and struggled with Outlaw, this nonsense about him not losing a battle, or even having his iconic Sandslash faint? Nonsense, I say! And after you dispose of the Outlaw, there's no postgame, well there is the one-time chance to get a Deoxys, but the rest of the game doesn't even recognize your girl protagonist as the leader. Basically speaking, the plot falls after you defeat the Salone crime family, with only one of those so-called "Sons of Salone" actually trying to avenge his kin. We don't even see the real results of the post-Outlaw demise, just our assassin girl killing anyone who tries to kill her. 

Again, no walkthrough from me because someone has already beaten me to it. The same one who made a walkthrough for Outlaw for that matter. Maybe someday I will get back to walkthrough writing for Pokemon ROM hacks again. 

A look back at: Front Mission

 

Fantasyanime and RPGClassics are two of the sites that I credit for showcasing loads of classic RPGs that I just had to check out. Of the two, Fantasyanime is a lot smaller (and lost its download links like years ago) but it has shrines dedicated to lots of games that I just had to play. And honestly, I think out of their catalog, there's only like 8 or so left, including this game's spinoff sequel. As for RPGClassics, their walkthrough did guide me in how to get through this particular Square game that initially didn't make it out of Japan until a Nintendo DS remake occurred. And it even spawned a whole franchise of sorts. So yay, Front Mission. This was a long time coming.

Mecha combat meets Fire Emblem-like tactical turn-based strategy RPG gaming. Player phases and enemy phases, grid-based movement, different weapon styles for melee, short-range, and long-range, finite shoulder-mounted missiles for sniping, experience for actions you take, it's certainly all here. Though no permadeath, oddly enough, even though it would make sense with the modern war-like setting and mechs blowing up. A huge chunk of this game was spent on spending money on upgrading mechas, I mean wanzers of course. Gotta have a durable body, arms, and legs, arm the wanzers with weapons that work well with multiple bullets or better hit percentages, but at the same time keeping the weight at most 100, so even if you have the money you might not have the weight. I do like that you can customize not just the parts and weapons, but also the name and paint job too. Grinding for levels and skills boils down to using the units that need the grinding, and the colosseum option exists in towns for individual grinding a la the Fire Emblem arenas (without permadeath of course)

Storywise Front Mission proves to just be a linear game, which is fine by me. You just progress across the island, sometimes not being able to backtrack, and each town has upgrades that the others don't. Most missions, as in all but like one or two, have your main objective be to just destroy all enemy wanzers. There's thankfully only a small couple of escort missions, and even then, if the escortee doesn't survive the game still continues fine with just a small penalty. The idea of fighting a war, a war that was caused by your main character, but also the horrendous problem of mad science in using human brains for wanzer computers reared into the plot. A lot of old games delved into that mad science, it's certainly a trope that has shown face many times. As a reminder, I didn't play the DS remake, meaning I'm missing out of the USN storyline which was added there, but I really don't care that much at the moment. It was a fun game and I'm going to try the others soon enough. 

A look back at: Treasures of the Savage Frontier

Again, sorry for not creating the post on Gateway to the Savage Frontier earlier. I am done with Treasures of the Savage Frontier now. And it is "more of the same but with marginal differences with talking about", surely. Yay, weather effects, okay? Not my favorite gimmick, but the in-battle reinforcements on the other hand are more intriguing. Plus, your choices in the game matter for certain, due to some sort of political intrigue. And you get plenty of interesting allies, such as Jabarkas/Siulajia as well as Kriiador, the ones I mentioned here are those that are in your team most of the time, and either Jabarkas or Siulajia even have romance options, probably a first for the Gold Box games.

So about that political intrigue? Oh yeah, your group are the Heroes of Ascore from the previous game. Your group also get a simple escort mission courtesy of the seer Amanitas, who you can also telepathically communicate with. The intrigue? You ONCE AGAIN are tricked, a nice feast in the honor of being heroes turns into yet another instance of evildoers drugging your food. Seems like a good strategy for the enemy to use, nobody would suspect it. Okay, this time it's more of an imprisonment, but also a bunch of framing the heroes as true enemies of the hopeful Lord's Alliance, so now you gotta clear your name as well as the names of other, innocent locations. Because the enemies of the game, combining Zhentarim, Kraken, or Hosttower enemies from the previous game, are going to be doing false flags, wearing colors of the supposed allies, and you uncover this plot with crystals to decipher some coded messages. And when things get brought together, that helps everyone.

Though honestly I do think the plot somewhat falls apart after that. The finale involves climbing an icy mountain area, freeing the town from the black-robed enemies, several kinds of ice monsters, and while it is hard and all, it just culminates in a dragon to defeat. All for the treasures. In other words, it goes from being somewhat politically intriguing to "okay you guys are allies and true heroes, go beat a dragon and get treasure". At least that's what it feels like. Anyways, while there's more Gold Box games to check out, I'm gonna take a break from this series for a little bit. 

A look back at: Gateway to the Savage Frontier

 

Did I, somehow forget to talk about this? Oops, looks like I did. I'm going through both of the two Savage Frontier Gold Box games in other words, and believe it or not, I played this one through weeks ago and I'm almost done with the second one. And yeah, I went back to the Gold Box games again. There's just something about the grid-based tactical RPG format of the DND games here that I really just enjoy for some reason.

It is a far cry from The Dark Queen of Krynn, which was easily the most advanced of the Gold Box games. So I have basically not much to say with regards to character creation, since you make your own party, and barely a thing to say about the gameplay, since it's the same thing as the other games. But it is surprisingly an open-ended adventure for once. It's got quite a few sidequests off the main path, but the adventure's culmination means finding a pyramid where the titular Savage Frontier is. Oh, by the way, a common theme this game and a number of other DND games in the series seem to have, you have a band of heroes, they feast after they become heroes, and something bad happens to the heroes, and it's usually drugging their food and drink, making them pass out, and stealing their stuff. This actually happens in the beginning. Pirates, Krakens (both the actual monster and a band of thugs who are named Krakens), Hosttower wizards, and the Zhentil Keep Zhentarim are the main enemies to meet all throughout the game, and there's also a number of guest star party members. One of which actually betrays you as you try to leave a certain tower. The most notable party member is Krevish, who has another type of plot twist but sticks with you most of the game. It's a game that certainly tries to have more intrigue to it than Pool of Radiance, and it was worth a go just because it is technically better, but not by much, just kind of more of the same thing. Again, sorry for not putting this post up sooner, but it does mean the Treasures of the Savage Frontier lookback will come rather soon since I'm almost done with that game.

A look back at: Pokemon Outlaw

Well, what do you know, another ROM hack done in a month. I guess if there's anything I truly enjoyed about Pokemon Outlaw, is that it doesn't offer too much. That's what usually keeps me playing several ROM hacks, due to lots of diversity in Pokemon and locations in general. Pokemon Outlaw doesn't have that diversity. It makes you go through Kanto like normal, but there are less Pokemon to encounter and you also don't get to go through Viridian Forest or Mt. Moon, they're just not in the game. Same with Pokemon Tower. And no Sevii Islands or postgame quests either, no Cerulean Cave, and...wait, no legendaries either? What? NO FISHING? This game really does limit your options. You can only play as a homeless male character too, and the total amount of Pokemon you can own is 143, counting the ones from outside Gen-1 that you can actually get for that matter.

For all it's worth, the biggest benefits Outlaw does give you are the ability to run indoors and you can use Pokemon outside of Gen-1. Three of my end team are Kanto mons: Alakazam, Magneton (no Magnezone here, it's Gen-3), and Nidoqueen, while three more were Johto: Crobat, Bellossom, and Feraligatr, the latter being a freebie received early on. You start out as a poor homeless kid who somehow saves Oak from a coworker accusing him of harassment, then you go around being...how should I say this, Neutral Evil, perhaps? Maybe Chaotic Evil, but you never really do stuff that's actually evil like killing others. Basically the game mocks your character for being homeless, you don't do any drugs or killing despite the NPCs talking about doing those things, you go to weird locations like a Pewter City nightclub or the "Party Mansion". The slums are extra places where you can find items and battle destitute trainers, and I guess some of that is cool and extra? Even some people you can battle in their houses cause you barged in and all.

Those are definitely parts worth talking about for your neutral/chaotic evil protagonist. The NPC dialogue is the other highlight, dare I say it. Almost every NPC has dialogue that can definitely be written off as "edgy teenager vibes", and I already had some examples mentioned earlier. It's not like the named people are any better. Brock is some sort of pervert? Okay? Misty and Sabrina are always referred to as hot? Blaine's a nerd? Fuji's a pedophile? Oh, and you technically have two rivals, Leaf, who becomes a random love interest, and the named one who is just trying to actually kill you. And Team Rocket are more ambiguous than ever, as they are supposed to be evil, but Silph Co. actually LIKES them and the actual cops in this game who fight them (and you) are just corrupt. Yeah, that's a plot point. Everyone sucks, except Leaf I guess. Oh, and May is somehow Viridian's gym leader, and then Lance is the "Elite One", having rid the other Elite Four members (but you still have to fight this death ninja clan of three before Lance, and also another dude as the "champion") fight.

No walkthrough from me, someone has beat me to it! Though that walkthrough actually doesn't have a whole lot, it was more like "these are the Pokemon to get, try to get them all!" Considering how this game doesn't have much else? I took it in fine. 

A look back at: Planescape: Torment

 

Well this one was an interesting game. I knew I was going to experience it at least once, and I'm glad I did, even if I received it rather lukewarmly. It's nowhere near the best of games, but its probably the most interesting D&D game that is standalone or part of a lesser-known D&D plotline. No Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, or Icewind Dale, Planescape: Torment is about seeking mortality, as your Nameless One has immortality and would rather figure things out with lots and lots of dialogue compared to just bumrush battling.

This is the first game I've played in a very long while where combat is usually put in the backseat. It's a bit of real-time strategy and commanding your characters to attack a target or several, and real-time battles could get hectic. Though it's important to do some grinding at some points, as well as skill point allotting. What this game is really going to do is make your character go through the dialogue, and lots of it. You'll be going around, asking denizens questions with multiple possibilities, some of which can change alignment. And for once, the game offers actual named party members, each with some sort of connection to the main character. And even the main villain of the game and a random love interest also have some connection. It's super strange. It's even strange that the main character can't even properly die.

The journey the Nameless One goes through is a confusing one indeed. Aside from the dialogue, there is the inner incarnations of himself that he should fuse himself with. This happens at the end, which also separates and KILLS the other party members. And the main villain is...the Nameless One's mortality? Where all of a sudden the Nameless One can coerce to joining, killing it altogether, or killing his own self in order to...rejoin a blood war going on. Yeah, the ending really did confuse me a bit. The philosophical nature of the game is certainly its highlight, as is the lack of combat, but it's a weird game any way. 

A look back at: Pokemon Emerald Legacy

There's no doubt that Pokemon Emerald is a legendary game, a version that is considered the true version of the Gen-3 Hoenn games, and one people will remember more than the other two. Sleeker interface, Pokemon animations, trainers call you, pincer double battles, more trainers, combining two enemy teams and a cooler legendary storyline, it was something to behold. But it just had so many flaws at the same time.

Due to my age, I loved Emerald as a kid, but looking back at it, some of the stuff I mentioned above I don't really like anymore. For those pincer double battles, I like to talk to the trainers individually, which helps better if they have more than three Pokemon (they wouldn't be able to send out full teams otherwise). I actually turn battle animations off because while novel for its time, they kind of got in the way. More trainers means more lines in walkthrough writing. And honestly, I despise the Match Call feature so much now. It's an unnecessary interruption, and the worst part is you can never turn the damn thing off. And that's just scratching the surface, because even some of Emerald's BEST stuff could be better.

I remember watching SmithPlays Pokemon's Youtube channel, where he went over the flaws of the early games, and worked to try and make them better. We see games such as Crystal Legacy form from the ashes of the flawed Johto games, and it only makes sense that Gen-3, and Emerald in particular, came next. I even saw his full playtesting stream, and it shows a lot of what I really enjoyed, so naturally, this ROM hack ended up on my wishlist at some point. And it delivered once I played it.

Emerald Legacy doesn't increase the difficulty that much, in fact not bothering to do so until post-game stuff. It's not meant to showcase lots of could-have-beens, but there are some. Now you get more Pokemon options pre-national dex, like Ponyta and Sneasel. Underwhelming Pokemon like Masquerain were made a lot more viable this time. Underwhelming or inaccurate moves got buffs to make them very much usable. And Pokemon with movesets that definitely deserved improvement got them. Characters like Courtney came back, and Matt and Archie got more battles with the player. Gym leader teams were done in a way to make them much more in line with their type specialties, with nice twists like Magical Leaf-using Plusle on Wattson's team or Breloom already being on Brawly's team. But all this while preserving the good parts of Emerald, thankfully there's lots of them.

I managed a good run of this game in under 20 hours, with a team of Blaziken (starter), Crobat, Magneton, Claydol, Ludicolo, and Glalie (obtained in an early in-game trade!), with Skarmory as an additional Fly user, Ninjask as a Cut user, and of the main team, Ludicolo was able to swap between HMs (no need for a Move Deleter, you can delete HMs easily). I of course tried to do some post-game stuff, but didn't bother with everything, since I'm not too interested in contests or Battle Frontier stuff like I used to, the only real reward for those are the legendaries as usual. But another nice touch is once you get Jirachi (Birch immediately asks you about this after the main run is over), you can get non-Hoenn dex mons out in the wild locations, and they even tried to make some sense of it. Clefairy in Meteor Falls, Caterpie and Weedle in Petalburg Woods, incredibly rare Lapras on one of the current routes, and so on. I think that's more than enough, but of the REAL improvements this game brought, the biggest one is no more annoying Match Call feature. The second biggest thing? Holding B while surfing makes you go ultra fast. There's a lot more, such as easier fishing, better utilization of the user interface, a few cut trees being permanently gone, and the Acro Bike upgrade that can even let you switch between Mach and Acro and jump up actual ledges. The team deserves praise for going after even minor things that needed attention and ensuring that the experience of playing Emerald again was much better than before.