Letter of Apology: Dynasty Warriors

To save effort I'm going to used the localized naming conventions for the series so this mostly disregards the first game which is a fighter. I jumped into the Dynasty Warriors series with the third entry. I had no idea what to expect but you gotta try things out right? When I started up the game I was greeted to some characters who I hate no hope of pronouncing their names properly. (Neither did the English voice actors for that matter.) I thought that this Zhao Yun guy was pretty cool looking (Turns out it was the only character I ever used besides Xiahou Dun at the time.) and proceeded into the game.

After some awful voice acting I was itching for a fight. I had no idea how I was supposed to win against such odds but sure, I'll wing it. It was after my first few encounters that I realized that I was more than a little bit overpowered. Zhao Yun was wailing on the enemy and in retrospect it was almost like playing a third person shmup. Other than the fact that I won't die in a single hit or several for that matter. In fact, other than a select few generals, there was no challenge to be seen.

This was only one small part of the problem though. Lack of challenge is one thing but I was quickly realizing the limitations of my attack options. Hammering the square button before finishing off with triangle got old quickly for me then. I felt like I was playing a game about rising the kill counter more than anything else. It was dull and boring, I quickly gave up after a couple of playthroughs. Other than playing the two Drakengard games, I mostly stayed away from hack & slash games ever since.

Well that all changed when I played Dynasty Warriors 6 (Better represented in Dynasty Warriors 7 however.) I finally started to realize what these games were all about. Dynasty Warriors is very much a game about base capture and field control. That may not exactly sound astonishing on paper but I can assure you that it adds a surprising amount of tactical depth to a game where you expect there to be none. Still don't believe me? You want to know one of the more popular game genre's around these days? The MOBA or Multiplayer Online Battle Area. Those games are about squashing minions while slowly pushing forward to gain influence on the map. Hindered only by the other player characters on the map. Dynasty Warriors is more or less the same formula but singleplayer. (or co-op if you're going to be pedantic about it.)

I'm not a massive fan of MOBA games because to my experience I’ve found the people to be quite rude and I don't want to sink as much time into a game like a MOBA demands. Like my Final Fantasy VI apology, this is all a little bit pointless but I wanted to write this because I now think that Dynasty Warriors is a great franchise and it's lead me into not only playing tons more hack & slash games like Sengoku Basara but it also get me greatly interested in the source material Romance of the Three Kingdoms. (Which I recommend you read if you ever get the chance or time.)

My Top Five Games That Need To Be Remade

Panzer Dragoon Saga.

I never usually do lists but I was thinking about games that I really would love to play again but the means or availability of the game do not permit me to experience them. I should explain that I don't think any of the games on this list are flawed and require a remake to justify their existence but I think that while thinking about the possibility of them being ported, might as well talk about the possibility of remakes.

I should also note that these are not an order of my favorite games but in terms of availability against the need for a remake of sorts. There are far more I wanted to add to this list than I could fit in any reasonable way. Games like Panzer Dragoon Saga I would have added but if I start on the Saturn, the list would be more or less a complete list of Sega Saturn games...Sorry.

5.Parasite Eve HD Remake

Easily one of the most exciting action RPGs on the Playstation

Parasite Eve was originally a game not too dissimilar to Vagrant Story, but with a modern setting and more action based gameplay. I feel Parasite Eve was ultimately the superior game. The game is actually a sequel to the Japanese novel by the same name. Aya Brea is a cop for the NYPD and soon finds herself surrounded by people bursting into flames while other creatures into monsters. The mitochondria inside their bodies are evolving and this also gives Aya powers.

Parasite Eve is such an interesting idea with a captivating story that I'm surprised they failed so much with the two sequels that were released.

4.Super Metroid HD Remake

We tried having Samus talk...Can we please go back to 2D now?

The problem with a Super Metroid remake is that there is basically nothing that needs to be changed. I mainly put this on the list so new fans can appreciate what I feel is the peak of the series and hopefully drag Nintendo back into making 2D Metroid games once again.

3.Rival Schools 1 & 2 HD Collection

If you had a Dreamcast you were spoilt for fighting games.

I would love to see a revival of the Rival Schools series. Fast paced, tag team gameplay with colourful and imaginative characters. This is something I can actually see Capcom doing some day. HD lick of paint, with netplay and some balancing and you can pretty much release the games just like that.

2.Shin Megami Tensei 1 & 2 Collection

Religious symbolism makes Shin Megami Tensei a task to localize.

I am a huge fan of the Shin Megami Tensei series but as of yet, the two major games in the series have not reached outside Japan. This upsets me as the dark story of the first two games were something rare to see on the Super Nintendo. Just Balance the difficulty a little bit and add an auto mapping feature and you'd be good to go.

1.Mother Complete Collection

Colourful games...I remember those.

My top spot is something that could never possibly happen but it's something I would very much like to see. Mother on the NES never saw the light of day outside Japan but those in America got to play Mother 2 on the Super Nintendo. Localized as Earthbound, it was a wacky game that broke many RPG conventions. It was set in a reasonably modern time and instead of fighting dragons and slimes you would fight bees and dogs. In place of a sword and shield, you would have a baseball bat and yo-yo. Against your foes you would not throw a magical fireball at your enemy but use your psychic powers against them.

Add Mother 3 to the mix and you'd have the ultimate collection if you're looking for a non conventional RPG. Nintendo could never release these games without some heavy editing as it plays music similar to licensed songs and various other copyright issues. So far there are not even any plans to release Earthbound on the Nintendo Virtual Console, So the likelihood of playing these games by normal means is next to impossible I am afraid to say.