First and foremost I want to say that there is very little in RPGs I love more than Atlus! They make ONE HELL OF A RPG. Ever since Persona 2 I've been hip deep in their titles and loving them. Not so much for their art style(although it can be very good), but for their innovation on an old platform like the PS2 or a hard design for platform like the PSP.
While their games aren't God of War size innovators they certainly do some good things in the RPG genre that really bares some looking into. However, all this said; I have to say I'm having some issues with their latest titles. And I know how loved these franchises are so I will certainly be happy to carve up a few Western RPGs while I'm at it.
First off, let's take Devil Summoner 2. I will dispense with the long subtitle as it is just Devil Summoner 2 to me. The game has an incredibly wonderful Real Time fighting system and I certainly love the little negotiations with the demons. Having two demons out at once and having them be able to debate with the demon your trying to negotiate with is brilliant. Every part of the combat system seems to be a well honed machine that a clock maker would be proud of.
The problem lies in the story mode of the game. Where you are supposed to take on cases for the detective agency and doing so thereby protecting the Capital. The cases weave themselves through the city and into what is called, "The Dark Realm." Which is a nightmare version of the real world that has demons in it. These demons are the ones you must befriend and eventually summon.
This is all wonderful. Except that the convoluted story and the way that the cases must be gone about are more tedious than they are fun. These days even on the PS2, there has to be some kind of hook. Something that will keep the person playing for hours on end rather than getting frustrated and stopping.
This was of course the case with Persona 3. Probably the best RPG on any platform of 2007. The incredibly innovative combat system which involved a traditional turn based system but allowed you to RUSH your opponents at key times or when possible throughout the battle. The game on the whole was a little grindy but considering you had the fun of a dungeon crawler, a dating sim, and a really good story on top of all that. It certainly made up for any shortcomings. Also the Persona FES edition that allowed the player to have even more fun with an extended ending and some new Personas made the original even better.
The game also had the signature Evokers, which were guns that when you shot them at your head your character would call your Persona. It was an incredibly daring thing to do. Phillip Miner has an incredible article over at Escapist about the psychological and social premises surrounding this interesting mechanic. This made the game unique in SO MANY WAYS that there hasn't been ANYTHING to top it since.
What's wrong with Persona 4? The game takes place in a small town where at just about every turn they say,
"Nothing ever really happens here."
Which is fine, but even after the murders begin occurring perpetrated by a mysterious figure; nothing really does happen. You again are the main character but rather than living on campus with a bunch of other students as you did in Persona 3 you live with your uncle Dojima who is a Detective on the Police force. The humor runs from silly to ridiculous and the story sometimes seems a little too insane for it's own good. There are plenty of instances where your little niece Nanako is left alone all day and she looks to be about five years old. Which is odd enough, but your probably around 16 and you come and go as you please as if you were about 18.
There certainly were big holes in the story of Persona 3, but it was more Buffy the Vampire Slayer where Persona 4 is more like Twilight or something equally unbalanced with reality. This is just a small thing but the overall story is pretty light. Who is killing all these people using the mysterious TV world. After about 15-25 hours, you don't really even care. It's more about getting this new character or that new character to join your party and getting hard to achieve social links.
All of these things were peripherally present in Persona 3 but they seem to take center stage in Persona 4; where the story just can't hold up for the long haul. Also instead of using an Evoker you just snap your fingers which also dials down the style of the game quite a bit.
There are so many good things about the Persona games in general Fusing Personas, Social Linking, the normally diverse and interesting dungeons. All of these things are certainly present in Persona 4 and even somewhat improved in small degrees from Persona 3. The problem is that there is VERY LITTLE reason why we are doing all this to begin with. The story tries to deepen in parts but seems to refuse to go all the way.
There are western RPGs that seem a little too committed to their side quests and not committed enough to the main story like Elder Scrolls: Oblivion for instance. The main story is pretty much a beginning and an end but no middle. This is all fine, except that aren't we playing this game for the story, not the experience of killing things for experience points.
Then we have Fable 2, which just like Fable the first; seems to end just as it gets going. Also, never really getting to the excellent boss battle. It's more like a boss cutscene. Which is a real disappointment.
So Fable 2 isn't long enough and Elder Scrolls Oblivion is too long for the story's own good. At least if you don't just play one story mission after another in perfect succession.
Certainly on the most basic level comparing Persona and Devil Summoner to Elder Scrolls Oblivion and Fable 2 is kind of like comparing the original Doom to Halo 3 . But the thing that they ALL are supposed to have in common are the basic mechanics of a Role Playing Game Genre title. Which is why they are comparable. No matter how much power and technology you give someone if they can't tell a good story they won't be able to pull off a descent RPG. Or at least, they shouldn't be able to.
Certainly Persona 3 and Mass Effect are examples of some excellent RPGs in the fast few years and certainly the Shivering Isles which was an Elder Scrolls Oblivion expansion was probably the best story Bethesda has ever told.
Perhaps at this point your wondering what all this carrying on about RPGs is about. It's about the fact that in this day and age with the current technology being what it is; not being willing to innovate whether your on the PS2, PS3, XBOX 360, or the PSP. Is most likely a death sentence if you do it for too long and too often.
There are of course, people who like this sort of thing. But then I think they are in the game for the story and as the story in these games seems to be what is going first; I'm sure these folks that love playing PS2 games will find soon enough that these games have changed just enough to be mechanical frameworks.
I certainly have grown to love Japanese RPGs and in the short time they have been around I love Western RPGs but if they continue down their current path, they will both die due to their core audiences total apathy toward them.
I guess there is all ways...
Which may be just another Final Fantasy, but it MAY actually have a good story. Final Fantasy 12 did at least...
1 comment:
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