nikkuchan
ShinRa Guard
I’ve been making a list, so, being bored, I decided to post it here. I’ve been playing games since I was a wee pup with the NES. As far as rpgs are concerned, I was raised on games like Dragon Quest (formerly Warrior) Phantasy Star and the original Final Fantasy. These games were hard, strategic, punishing, and anything but linear. Beginning with (at least I think) Final Fantasy IV (II as we knew it back then), rpgs started focusing more on story rather than actually playing the game, and slowly but surely, rpgs got easier and easier and more and more linear. It’s not that I’m complaining, the change is fine (because the games are fun), but I sometimes masochistically long for an rpg to give me hell. Anyway, I started making general comparisons between the rpgs of old (and the oldschool ones of now) and new:
Old: You got 100 hp, you’re buff
New: You got 1000 hp, you better heal.
Old: Putting enemies to sleep is a useful (and sometimes necessary) life-saving tactic.
New: Sleep is only useful against a small handful of enemies that are harmless anyway.
Old: Reviving a dead party member costs nearly all your money. Maybe one character has a resurrection spell, but it costs all their magic points and has a %25 chance to work.
New: Death is merely a status affliction that can be cured by anybody because you have an abundance of revival items.
Old: Your party could very possibly be wiped out in a random encounter.
New: 90% of random encounters can be won with just the “fight” command.
Old: By the time you get to a dungeon boss, you have probably exhausted most of your inventory of potions and have half your magic points left. One or more of your characters may also be dead.
New: There a save and recovery point right before the boss, but you probably don’t need it because the boss is not very powerful.
Old: Stopping at every town to gather money and get the best available equipment is essential if you want any chance to survive.
New: You can safely assume that you will always have enough money for all the best equipment whenever you reach a new area, but you’ll probably find better stuff in dungeons, so don’t waste your money.
Old: Getting poisoned is a big deal; you’ll be dead very soon if you don’t have any antidotes left.
New: Poison may cure itself after battle, but even if it doesn’t, you got 4000 hp and 99 antidotes.
Old: If you don’t have a map, you’ll be wandering around for a loooooong time.
New: The path may branch one or twice, but they always lead to dead ends, many times with treasure.
Old: Talk to people and interpret clues to figure out what to do next. Your next destination may be on the other side of the world.
New: If you are not automatically taken there, your next destination will be mentioned many times, and may appear as highlighted text in the dialogue.
Old: Any item with an ominous or evil sounding name is cursed. If you wear it, you will become incredibly weak and will need to pay a hefty fee to have it removed.
New: There are no cursed items, and the more evil sounding an item is the better.
Old: Your hero is stoic, brave, righteous, and often times mute.
New: Your hero often times suffers from at least one serious mental or social disorder, if not both.
Old: The villain is either a god-like vessel of destruction or a megalomaniacal wizard.
New: The villain is either a god-like vessel of destruction or a megalomaniacal wizard who also has many of the same traits as the hero and may have a personally relationship with him/her.
Old: Each party member has their own limited inventory space.
New: Your party has a community inventory that is nearly bottomless.
Old: Each character differs vastly and their roles are strictly defined.
New: The difference in characters is often times almost entirely aesthetic, as they are all able to learn almost every spell and ability available.
Old: You got 100 hp, you’re buff
New: You got 1000 hp, you better heal.
Old: Putting enemies to sleep is a useful (and sometimes necessary) life-saving tactic.
New: Sleep is only useful against a small handful of enemies that are harmless anyway.
Old: Reviving a dead party member costs nearly all your money. Maybe one character has a resurrection spell, but it costs all their magic points and has a %25 chance to work.
New: Death is merely a status affliction that can be cured by anybody because you have an abundance of revival items.
Old: Your party could very possibly be wiped out in a random encounter.
New: 90% of random encounters can be won with just the “fight” command.
Old: By the time you get to a dungeon boss, you have probably exhausted most of your inventory of potions and have half your magic points left. One or more of your characters may also be dead.
New: There a save and recovery point right before the boss, but you probably don’t need it because the boss is not very powerful.
Old: Stopping at every town to gather money and get the best available equipment is essential if you want any chance to survive.
New: You can safely assume that you will always have enough money for all the best equipment whenever you reach a new area, but you’ll probably find better stuff in dungeons, so don’t waste your money.
Old: Getting poisoned is a big deal; you’ll be dead very soon if you don’t have any antidotes left.
New: Poison may cure itself after battle, but even if it doesn’t, you got 4000 hp and 99 antidotes.
Old: If you don’t have a map, you’ll be wandering around for a loooooong time.
New: The path may branch one or twice, but they always lead to dead ends, many times with treasure.
Old: Talk to people and interpret clues to figure out what to do next. Your next destination may be on the other side of the world.
New: If you are not automatically taken there, your next destination will be mentioned many times, and may appear as highlighted text in the dialogue.
Old: Any item with an ominous or evil sounding name is cursed. If you wear it, you will become incredibly weak and will need to pay a hefty fee to have it removed.
New: There are no cursed items, and the more evil sounding an item is the better.
Old: Your hero is stoic, brave, righteous, and often times mute.
New: Your hero often times suffers from at least one serious mental or social disorder, if not both.
Old: The villain is either a god-like vessel of destruction or a megalomaniacal wizard.
New: The villain is either a god-like vessel of destruction or a megalomaniacal wizard who also has many of the same traits as the hero and may have a personally relationship with him/her.
Old: Each party member has their own limited inventory space.
New: Your party has a community inventory that is nearly bottomless.
Old: Each character differs vastly and their roles are strictly defined.
New: The difference in characters is often times almost entirely aesthetic, as they are all able to learn almost every spell and ability available.
