arch_8ngel

Exactly -- where is people's imagination nowadays?

I'm not really a fan of the NES version, either, I agree.

Not having a pre-named cast of player characters is NOT the same as lacking a story. The vast majority of the best console and CRPGs do NOT have prenamed player-characters.

I was barely able to finish FFX, for how much I disliked the underwater rugby minigame, and for how grating some of the characters were, so it was my last FF game. (I skipped FF8 entirely, though -- owned it, but only ever played through the first disc -- completely dislikable cast, and a setting that the basically the opposite of anything I would want from a game called "Final Fantasy")

Yeah, I knew Fire Emblem had a release that was probably a little earlier than Shining Force. Both development spurs (Gold Box and Famicom Wars) would have been parallel attempts to mechanize tabletop gaming. Though the Gold Box games are quite a bit better than any of the console attempts at that style of combat, IMO. (with the exception of FFT -- though even there, the combat isn't on the scale some of the epic battles in the Gold Box games, and the party management can get fairly tedious once you have access to the advanced classes like Calculators)

Yeah, with Shining Force, I was just trying to think of the earliest console-based tactical RPG that I could. The Gold Box games from SSI were doing it before that -- though they include a major dungeon crawling element, where FFT is almost purely combat focused with a big slice of party management.

I've always wanted to like Tactics Ogre, but I feel like they took the same design cues as FF Tactics and somehow sucked all of the fun out of it. (and wouldn't those games generally harken back to Shining Force?)

The vast majority of "simulations" in the world do not account for "damage", except for having some kind of overriding "crash flag" when you exceed certain g-limits from hard contact. Damage tracking is absolutely not a requirement for a driving simulation (or any vehicle-based simulation) Stuff like their power-train modeling and ground/tire contact modeling is way more important. EDIT: for its era, Gran Turismo 2 is a better and more accurate driving simulation than MS Flight Simulator is a flight simulation.

The Gran Turismo are "driving simulations" as opposed to the general category of racing games that lean more into "arcade racers" (i.e. Need for Speed series, or the types of games that grew out of Rad Racer like Test Drive). It is every bit as compelling of a driving simulator as Microsoft Flight Simulator is a as a flight simulator. Forza series wouldn't have been out by then, and the "good" NASCAR and F1 driving simulators were PC-only back then (and probably still are). But they're definitely "sims". Even the Mechwarrior series earns that genre distinction. (not sure if Mechwarrior 2 made it to PS1, though)

SORRY!

Have you played Oceanhorn? Crystalis done in that style could work.

Yeah, with all sorts of vaccines, booster compliance is a challenge. That is why I think they should have some kind of a stimulus payment tied to getting the booster shot and completing the full course of vaccine to encourage compliance. (and employers should require it with a couple of on-site vaccination days with a mobile clinic)

Why would you not plan to get it?

Don't really care about either of your PS1 platformer examples -- APE ESCAPE is probably the best 3D platformer of that era.

It is completely legal for employers to require you to have specific vaccinations as a condition of employment. Though I think a more effective tactic is to authorize a stimulus payment specifically tied to getting your vaccine AND the booster shot. (booster shot compliance can generally be pretty poor)

Cryogenically stored things don't ship too well by USPS

Yeah, anyone who is high enough in priority to get the vaccine now, should probably be required to by their employer as a condition of continued employment.

If you're in a position where you're allowed to get it this early, I'm surprised your co-workers aren't being compelled to get it on threat of firing.

A fully modernized Crystalis would be pretty wild. (and remove the need for "rabbit boots" as an explicit item with more controllable buttons/actions at your disposal) Not quite the same thing, but considering long-lost IP -- updating Wizards and Warriors to have better combat hit boxing (and a more intuitive combat animation) -- or updating Faxanadu...

To each his own, but I think this one isn't a clear-cut victory for N64. The 3rd-person camera control on PS1 was generally much better, to my recollection, and you had more functional buttons accessible to you (without moving your hands to a different orientation). And while N64 had a better "Kart Racer", PS1 dominated realistic racing games for that era.

Yeah, N64 with built-in 4-player as a default dominated a number of genres that were big on local multiplayer. I don't recall having any 4 player games on PS1 except for Bomberman.

Ape Escape clobbers most 3D platformers from that era. Camera control for 3rd person 3D platforming was way stronger on the PS1.

Yeah, we'll see, I guess. I'm excited to play it with my kids, since they have a recent love for Super Ghouls and Ghosts. I just hope the core concept doesn't get toned down to make up for lazy balancing. (i.e. the core of the original games was navigating levels without ever getting hit -- and then going into survival mode to get a fresh suit of armor if you DO get hit -- being able to take multiple hits seems like it changes the flavor)

When was the last time you played the NES or SNES versions of the game? There is usually PLENTY of crap being thrown at you, with fairly unforgiving attack patterns. I don't know -- I hope it has a well supported classic mode if they are going to build the game around making it "more accessible".

Are you joking? Being able to take 4 hits is a MASSIVE reduction in difficulty. Absolutely massive.