I believe you're aware of my history with DnD (every campaign I join disintegrates after at most three sessions) but even in that limited time I've run into issues with party coherence. I started with "shit what reason can I contrive for my dirtbag rogue to even show up to this fight," overcompensated, and ended up at "if my extremely serious and dedicated-to-this-mission fighter guy doesn't stop being the but of literally all jokes, do I need to have him resign in a huff so I can roll up someone who can actually party with these dumbasses?" Maybe I am the problem? Maybe these issues would be ironed out if I could actually have a party continue beyond the getting to know you phase? who knows.
As far as video games - I give FFVI a solid B. The party splitting that happens in the first half is neat and gives you opportunities to try out everyone's different gimmicks and shows off some fun party interactions, and then in the second half you're Getting The Band Back Together and I love that shit. The major markdown is, like... what the fuck is Setzer's angle? We need an airship guy, Celes strong-arms him into being the airship guy (twice!), that's dope, but he has nothing to do with anyone OTHER than Celes and there's a bit where she leaves the party but he's still around? Even without a dismissive blonde telling him what to do? What's that about? (This is a callout post for Setzer Gabbiani)
I'd grade Tales of Symphonia pretty high, because everyone has clear personal reasons for wanting to Stick It To the Man and also Lloyd and Colette are big dorks who somehow turn everyone they meet into close personal friends within 30 minutes. A-, only because some of these friendships are not as well developed as others.
I never beat Tales of Vesperia but I played some of it co-op with friends and I remember being impressed with the organic way party members rotated in and out through the early game, like, our goals happen to be in the same direction so let's go together for a bit! And now I'm off to do something else so bye for now! Thought that was neat. Should play that game for real one of these days.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2019-03-21 05:59 pm (UTC)As far as video games - I give FFVI a solid B. The party splitting that happens in the first half is neat and gives you opportunities to try out everyone's different gimmicks and shows off some fun party interactions, and then in the second half you're Getting The Band Back Together and I love that shit. The major markdown is, like... what the fuck is Setzer's angle? We need an airship guy, Celes strong-arms him into being the airship guy (twice!), that's dope, but he has nothing to do with anyone OTHER than Celes and there's a bit where she leaves the party but he's still around? Even without a dismissive blonde telling him what to do? What's that about? (This is a callout post for Setzer Gabbiani)
I'd grade Tales of Symphonia pretty high, because everyone has clear personal reasons for wanting to Stick It To the Man and also Lloyd and Colette are big dorks who somehow turn everyone they meet into close personal friends within 30 minutes. A-, only because some of these friendships are not as well developed as others.
I never beat Tales of Vesperia but I played some of it co-op with friends and I remember being impressed with the organic way party members rotated in and out through the early game, like, our goals happen to be in the same direction so let's go together for a bit! And now I'm off to do something else so bye for now! Thought that was neat. Should play that game for real one of these days.