Now I’ve sorted out my password problems (the WordPress equivalent of getting locked out of your house and having to wait until next door get home and can give you the spare set of keys) I can have a look at the goals I’d set myself previously and see how I’m getting on…
Mission Statement
“Keep interacting and blogging about games, but do it more often and better.”
Goals
1 – Complete an RPG – I’ve completely neglected this genre over the years…time to put that right!
2 – Start on the list of games that inspired Retro Redress – sure, there are lots of games that I need to complete…but there are some that I have to complete. Games that are legendary all time greats that I’ve never played. Games that are considered the best of all time that I’ve ignored. I consider these games an elite class of game and I need to beat them on my adventures to truly say I made the most of this blog.
3 – Start some sports game careers – I’m obsessed with sports game career modes, a la ‘Be A Legend’ on Pro Evolution Soccer. It’s my dream to beat a few of these and it might satisfy my sports game cravings too! Obviously, these will take some time, but if you want some thing, you will need to work at it…no matter how long it takes.
4 – Finally finish Breath Of The Wild – Because I’ve had it for since launch and I’m like 10 hours in…
In regards to the mission statement, I think I’m doing well. I’ve started redesigning the blog and working on more content. I want to look at more music, wrestling and films as well as writing more recollections and general writing (such as a weekly Top Five column), hopefully you’ll be able to see these soon! Gaming is still my focus though – I’m hoping to write more about games, both for Art of Redress and The Well-Red Mage, hopefully some other places too.
To the goals…1) is on the backburner for the moment, but I plan to have a look at it once I have completed GTA III and Breath Of The Wild. I’ve chosen Shining Force…if the RPG experts out there think that’s a bad choice for an RPG novice, please let me know!
2) is that damn GTA III – I’ll be getting back to that this month. I’ll bring you up to speed in the next few days…
3) has begun with my Pro Evolution Soccer 2016 Be A Legend campaign…it might take a long time to complete this goal, but if I can make some good progress in 2018, then hopefully I can complete this goal in the next two years or so..
4) is on my radar – I’m determined to beat Breath Of The Wild this year. Once I complete GTA III, then that’s my next big challenge.
So that’s the goals update…I’d love to have beaten GTA III by the next update, but I’m not holding my breath…
Art of Redress 
Shining Force isn’t a terrible choice as it’s pretty easy to get into, but it’s worth noting that it’s not a “conventional” RPG — rather, it’s a strategy RPG. That basically means that rather than lots of short, quick, random battles, you have fewer, longer battles that unfold somewhat like a board game — move your units around on a grid, make use of special abilities that might affect areas and suchlike. It’s one of the simpler, more straightforward examples of the subgenre (see Final Fantasy Tactics, Ogre Battle and Disgaea for the more complex end of things) but it still has a few more considerations at play than a straight vanilla RPG.
Not saying ditch Shining Force by any means as it’s a great game (play the GBA version if you get the chance), but if you want some good examples of accessible “traditional” RPGs from around the same era, you might also want to check out Phantasy Star IV on Genesis/Mega Drive or Final Fantasy IV (aka II) and Final Fantasy VI (aka III) on SNES or GBA. And I have looooots of recommendations from later consoles if you want something a bit more recent 🙂
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Ah, thanks Pete! I wanted something more ‘standard’ to be honest as I’m an absolute rookie with RPGs. Do I need to beat Phantasy Star 2 and 3 in order to play 4?
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No, not at all. Phantasy Star 2 is confusing due to its maps, so I wouldn’t jump in with that one, and Phantasy Star 3 is widely regarded as hot garbage — though I haven’t played it myself so can’t comment with authority. PSIV is well-regarded as a masterpiece though.
There are some narrative links here and there between the games but nothing you need to know — most big RPG series from Japan tend to be standalone stories that maybe share thematic or mechanical elements along the way. Final Fantasy is a good example — none of those have direct connections to one another, except the ones specifically marked as sequels such as X-2, XIII-2 and the like.
If you have a DS the Dragon Quest games might also be worth a look too. Several of those are remakes of the NES originals with nicer graphics and sound, so they’re mechanically quite simple to understand and get to grips with. Again, Dragon Quest doesn’t have direct links between installments so you can jump in anywhere.
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Thanks for the insight Pete – I’ve not got a DS so I might go with Phantasy Star IV. I’ve got all the Sega Genesis classics on Steam so it makes sense to try one of them!
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You gotta finish BOTW! 🙂
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I will! Gonna be a big job though…need to beat GTA III first ☹️
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It is a big job… I shouldn’t even talk, it took myself quite a while, lol.
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Yeah, it’ll probably take me even longer…I remember being very lost…
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Getting lost in that game is fun though.
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I’m bad at getting lost though – I get frustrated and give up on the game. I need a map or some big arrows on screen…
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Ah I know what you mean. Do you use game guides?
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Yes – I like GameFAQS and the wikias. I would rather use a guide than not finish a game – better to get help than miss out on a good game!
Did you use guides to beat BOTW? I find myself getting lost without a game map and some FAQS…
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Ah, okay. I use those sites too but I also like collecting the actual game guides. I know what you mean, I definitely don’t see it as “cheating.”
No, I didn’t use any guides. I think I looked up one, maybe two, shrines – one my sister and I were dumb and couldn’t figure out the puzzle and the other we just couldn’t find on the map.
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You did better than me, I hammered the FAQs and maps for my 10 hours thus far. It’s not helped much 😀
I never got into game guides, probably because I thought they were expensive plus the same info is on the internet. I might need the Breath Of The Wild though….
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I also had my sister though. She was playing and I backseat game, lol.
They are expensive. Though I collect them because they’re pretty. 🙂
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It’s a good reason to collect things! Unfortunately I haven’t the money or space for guides, so it’s the internet for me.
A sibling or friend is a good gaming partner…all I have is two cats, one of which thinks it can type on my laptop. Spent two minutes earlier trying to locate the cursor only to realise the cat has it’s paw on the mouse tracker, pinning the cursor to the outer reaches of the screen….
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I don’t have money or space either. I usually ask for them for a birthday gift or something. 😂
My cat does the same thing, so I totally hear you on that one.
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Ah, good to hear it’s not just my cats!
I’m getting too old for birthday presents, usually just get credit for PSN or Virtual Console. No actual presents once you get past thirty!
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Ah, yeah. You certainly get less the older you get.
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I’m dreading it – I’ll be buying my own cards in 10 years!
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Beating Breath of the Wild is a goal I can get behind. Having completed it, I can say it’s worth the time investment.
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Thanks – BOTW looked a great game from the previews and I’ve always wanted to get really into it and beat it as people rave about it! How much time did you invest in BOTW?
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To be honest, I could not tell you how much time it took for me to complete it. I want to say around fifty hours, though.
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That sounds like a decent amount of time – did you play through all the sidequests? I was just wanting to play through the story, I’ve played about ten hours and I’m completely lost….
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I didn’t complete all the sidequests – just the ones that yielded the best rewards. I did get all 120 Spirit Orbs, however.
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Sounds like you put some serious time in! I’ve set myself the goal of at least finishing the story, I’m not too fussed about the extras. Once I finish GTA III, I’m going to look into getting back into BOTW…
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Shining Force, now there’s a game I haven’t heard of in a while. It’s pretty darn good. If you want an RPG, Elder Scrolls is one of the best if not the best. If you want a FPS with RPG elements and a wonderful sense of humour, then go for Borderlands.
For JRPGs, I could be here all day but Dark Chronicle (a PS2 game) is available on PS4. It isn’t turn based and it has city building elements. There’s Valkyria Chronicles if you prefer the more strategic kind. Of course there’s Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest as well.
I would recommend one of my favourites, Lost Odyssey but it’s a VERY big game, 4 discs big. Only on the Xbox 360 as well.
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Good shouts sir! I haven’t got a 360 and Elder Scrolls/Oblivion/Morrorwind leaves me cold….Dark Chronicle sounds fun though, city building? How does that work?
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In Dark Chronicle towns and villages have been destroyed and thanks to the tools at your disposal you can build them back to their former glory.
You get the parts and resources to the village by collecting “Geostones” in the dungeons. You can the build the town in nearly anyway you like. There are some requirements you need to meet for story purposes.
By restoring the town, you restore the area in the future. So you get to see what the village looks during the present day and the future.
You also have to recruit people to join you so you can place them in the towns that you come across on your adventure.
Dark Chronicle is one of my favourite games of all time and I’d sell one of my legs to get a sequel to it. (It’s nearly been 15 years).
If you like that then you might like Rogue Galaxy which is also on PS4 and made by the same devs. It’s a JRPG but you are a Space Pirate.
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You had me at ‘Space Pirate’ 🙂
Both sound good – I’ve added them both to the ‘mental list of games I need to play before arthritis kicks in’ I keep in my head. It’s a long list, but hopefully I’ll get through it all one day.
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I bought Breath of the Wild a few weeks ago, but haven’t played it yet. I’ve decided to finish Super Mario Odyssey first before I dive into that one 🙂
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You’ll probably still finish it before me! Nah, BOTW is a great game, you just need to get into it. How far into Odyssey are you?
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Haha! I just arrived at the Metro Kingdom. I was playing it a lot and then got distracted by other games, so I haven’t played in a couple months. It’s on the top of my to-do list though!
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It’s a few down on my gaming ‘to-do’ list….got GTA III and a Well Red Mage review or two or complete before then!
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