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Post by Seth Drakin of Monster Crap on Nov 13, 2007 19:03:48 GMT -5
35. Legacy Of Kain: Soul Reaver Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver is a critically acclaimed video game developed by Crystal Dynamics and published by Eidos. It was the first Legacy of Kain game not developed by Silicon Knights. It is the second game in the Legacy of Kain series. It was released on the PlayStation, Sega Dreamcast and PC. The game chronicles the journey of the soul-devouring wraith, Raziel as he exacts his revenge upon his vampire brethren and his former master, the Vampire anti-hero, Kain. The game was very well received by critics and fans alike. It was praised for its eerie, atmospheric music, and a deeply intriguing gothic story with unmatched dialogue, the likes of which had rarely been seen before in a video game. One of the more highly praised aspects of the game was its engine, capable of loading vast, dynamic environments in a matter of a few milliseconds. Due to use of special programming techniques, the game was devoid of loading times throughout the entire playtime (except for a brief wait upon starting a new game or loading a saved game). This, coupled with the fact that the environments were huge and varied, seemed an impossible feat to achieve on the Playstation. Characters Are: Raziel As Kain's first-born Vampire Lieutenant, Raziel loyally served his master for many years alongside his brothers, creating the Razielim clan of Vampires and dominating Nosgoth with an iron fist. An unspoken law among the clans dictated that after Kain experiences an evolutionary gift, his children may follow and evolve themselves. However, Raziel had the audacity to evolve beyond Kain, growing a pair of bat-like wings. In apparent anger, Kain tore Raziel's wings from his body and ordered his fellow Lieutenants to cast him into the Lake of the Dead. After hundreds of years of agonising torment, Raziel was mysteriously resurrected as a wraith by the enigmatic Elder God, resolving to ascertain revenge upon his traitorous brothers and master. Early in the game, Raziel obtains the Soul Reaver, thereafter wielding it as his symbiotic weapon. Raziel is voiced by Michael Bell. Kain The Guardian of the Pillar of Balance, Kain was transformed into a Vampire hundreds of years ago by the Necromancer, Mortanius. After refusing to sacrifice himself to heal the world, Kain doomed Nosgoth to a millennium of death and decay. Despite becoming the main antagonist in this second installment of the series, Kain still plays a pivotal role in the storyline, damning Raziel to his pitiful existence in the opening scenes. Continuously escaping Raziel's grasp and captivating the wraith with riddles involving destiny and free will, Kain shocks and satisfies himself by proving his theories regarding fate by shattering the seemingly-indestructible Soul Reaver against Raziel. Even though he is far more powerful than Raziel, Kain realises that the wraith is the key to his destiny as the 'Scion of Balance', and thus does not seek to destroy him. Kain is voiced by Simon Templeman. Elder God A parasitic being dwelling at the bottom of the Lake of the Dead, the Elder God is an omnipotent octopus-like deity who sustains his existence by siphoning lost souls. Residing in several places throughout the Material Realm, he relies on spectral beings such as Wraiths and Archons to devour souls in order to allow him to feed. It is deliberately unclear whether or not the Elder God resurrected Raziel as a Wraith, but it is certain that he has many uses for the soul-devourer. Seeking to manipulate Raziel into destroying the Vampire race (in order to expel immortal beings and return the flow of souls to the world), he expresses deep contempt for Kain, though does not appear to be quite as deceitful or malevolent throughout this game as he does in later episodes. The Elder God was voiced by Tony Jay, who passed away August 13th, 2006. Moebius the Timestreamer As the last Guardian of the Pillar of Time, Moebius is long-dead during the time period of this game, though his influence remains preserved throughout Nosgoth. In his youth, after damning the Pillars to ruin, Kain gained much insight into the events, paths and mechanics of history using ancient Star Portals within Moebius's long-forgotten caverns within Nosgoth's mountains. Drawing towards the game's climax, Raziel explores these same caves, observing a statue he discovers of the Time Streamer and noting the grim presence it resonates. Moebius himself makes an appearance at the very end of the game, after Raziel follows Kain through the Guardian's Chronoplast Chamber into the distant past, leading into the events of Soul Reaver 2. Moebius is voiced by Richard Doyle. Ariel of the Balance Ariel once helped Kain but now is angry for her successor's decisions in refusing the sacrifice. She now helps Raziel in his quest to murder Kain. Ariel is voiced by Anna Gunn. Morlock Morlock is the name of the vampire encountered at the tomb of the Sarafan. By killing Morlock he gains the ability of to shoot force projectiles. He is presumed to be Turel's second in command. When Morlock died he became a wraith and then reinhabited his body (rumor) and became a soul devouring vampire. Morlock is voiced by Richard Doyle. Melchiah Melchiah is Raziel's youngest brother and leader of his clan. Over time he became more monster-like and his flesh decayed. Raziel says his soul could not sustain the flesh which this weakness was passed on to his descendants. Raziel murdered him to gain the ability to go through gates in the Spectral Realm. Melchiah is voiced by Michael Bell. Zephon Zephon was Raziel's brother and the leader of a spider-like clan. Over time he became more spider-like and grew so big he could not leave the chamber he resided in. Raziel murdered him to gain the ability to scale walls. Zephon is voiced by Tony Jay. Rahab Rahab was Raziel's brother. Over time he gained the ability to go in water and he became more shark-like. But this transformation came at a cost, Rahab and his clan lost all resistance to sunlight. Raziel murdered him to gain the ability to swim. Rahab is voiced by Neil Ross. Dumah Dumah was Raziel's brother. Over time he became golem-like and his clan lost a war between the humans. When Raziel released Dumah he burned him in a furnace. Raziel murdered him to gain the ability to constrict a band of whirling energy. Dumah is voiced by Simon Templeman. Turel Turel was Raziel's brother. He is only seen in the game's opening scene. He appears in Defiance however and bears the ability of telekinesis. In Defiance he is voiced by Gregg Burger Upon being cast into the Abyss, Raziel's physical body was destroyed. As a soul-devouring wraith, he instead inhabited the Spectral Realm, an alternate plane of existence in Nosgoth where ghosts, spirits and wraiths abound. Early in the game, Raziel discovers conduits between the Spectral and Material Realms which allow him to shift from one to the other. The Spectral Realm, as an environment, is similar to the Material Realm of Nosgoth, but is vastly different in terms of physics. When the player shifts from Material to Spectral, many changes occur in the landscape. Walls, floors and landmarks bend and warp, time slides to a halt and moveable objects become immutable, skies, objects and even Raziel himself adopt ghostly hues, and physical enemies fade out of view as spectral foes and lost souls become visible. Water, though visible, becomes as thin as air. As a wraith, Raziel cannot be killed. If he is at full health, he obtains the ability to enter the Physical Realm through any conduit, albeit for a limited time due to the fact that, as a Spectral being, Raziel's strength decreases in the Material Realm while, in Spectral, it gradually rejuvenates. Should Raziel's health be fully depleted in the Material Realm, he is shunted back into the Spectral Realm, and if his health is expended in Spectral, he is warped back into the chamber of the Elder God with minimal strength. He is beyond death; the greatest potential setback he faces is mere displacement. As the flow of time is extremely distilled in the Spectral Realm, any weapons or objects Raziel may have been carrying fall by the wayside and become immutable should he shift into Spectral. The sole weapon Raziel can wield in both the Material and Spectral Realms is the Soul Reaver, an ancient weapon which he obtains following its physical incarnation's destruction at the conclusion of his first battle with Kain. Raziel begins the game with numerous powers at his disposal. At the outset he can devour souls, perform a variety of combat manoeuvers with many varied weapons, jump high into the air and glide across treacherous landscapes using his ruined, violently tattered wings. However, upon slaying the other Vampire Lieutenants and devouring their souls, he gains their powers (albeit to a lesser extent), which each enhance his ability to survive in both realms. These new abilities are gained in a set order, as each ability allows access to new, previously unreachable locations. For example, Raziel encounters and battles Kain at the Pillars of Nosgoth, which are only accessible (in this game) by using Melchiah's ability to phase through the wrought-iron portcullis at their entrance. Phase Through Barriers (Melchiah): The first ability Raziel gains is the ability to phase, or pass, through certain insubstantial obstacles such as grates, fences, gates, and other bar-like gateways. This ability can only be used in the Spectral Realm. Raziel gains it upon devouring the soul of his devolved Vampire brother, Melchiah, who presides over the Skinners' Necropolis. Soul Reaver (Kain): After Raziel's first confrontation with Kain upon his return to the Sanctuary of the Clans, Kain raises the Soul Reaver against Raziel. Unbelievably, the ancient blade, said to be indestructible, shatters as Kain strikes it against Raziel's skull. Kain ponders the ramifications of this (which aren't fully revealed until Soul Reaver 2), and departs by fading into mist. With its physical restraints eliminated upon its prison's destruction, the spirit inhabiting the Reaver takes on its true form as a wraith blade; a "Soul Reaver" in the literal sense. From this point on, the Soul Reaver is permanently fused to Raziel's right arm as his symbiotic weapon. Later in the game, the Reaver can be imbued with the elemental power of Fire. The Reaver is also used to open certain doors, and is the game's most powerful weapon, though it disappears in the Material Realm if Raziel is at less than full health. Scale Walls (Zephon): Certain walls in the Physical Realm have a specific texture which Raziel can dig his claws into, scaling them with ease. Many previously inaccessible areas can be reached using this ability. Raziel attains it in the Silenced Cathedral after defeating the spider-like brother, the Vampire Zephon. While it can only be used in the Material Realm, it is also available to Raziel in the Spectral Realm in Legacy of Kain: Defiance, due to a weakening in the inter-dimensional barriers caused by the Hylden Lord. Swimming (Rahab): In the early stages of the game, Raziel retains his vampiric vulnerability to the acidic touch of water. However, this ability eliminates this weakness, allowing Raziel to explore submerged tunnels and chambers with ease. This ability is gained from Rahab, one of Raziel's former fellow Vampire Lieutenants who, along with his clan, overcame his vulnerability to water. Telekinesis (Morlock, formerly Turel): This power enables Raziel to fire a projectile of energy at remote objects, perhaps to access an area by moving a switch or block that is out of reach, or to fire an enemy to attack them. It can be used in conjunction with the Fire Reaver to burn enemies from afar. It can be used in both Realms, but in the Spectral Realm it can only affect enemies and not physical objects. Killing a Turelim vampire, Morlock, grants this ability, though in the original build for the game's storyline the power (or perhaps an enhanced version of it) would have been obtained upon slaying Raziel's brother, Turel. (This enhanced telekinesis, along with Turel himself, eventually made their appearances in Legacy of Kain: Defiance). Constrict (Dumah): This ability allows Raziel to harm enemies or manipulate certain circular objects after running two consecutive circles around the respective target. Upon doing so, a band of energy constricts to the center of the circle, either crushing an enemy or turning a switch/lever in the same direction that would otherwise be impossible to manipulate. This power is gained from the soul of the nigh-invincible Vampire Dumah, and is the only ability that Raziel does not reprise in later sequels. No explanation is given for this. While the obvious course of action for Raziel is to kill each of his brothers and eventually take down Kain, there are much more important, and far-reaching, machinations being plotted. Not only does he begin to learn what happened to him and his brothers as the course of the story moves on, but starts to understand that the Elder God isn't being completely honest with him. This becomes very apparent when Raziel confronts Kain for the final battle of this arc of the story, and Kain reveals that he is not the bad guy in all this. Kain slips into the time stream, and Raziel gives chase. Upon entering the time stream to follow, he meets the great puppet master of time, Moebius the Timestreamer, who welcomes him to his destiny. It's only the beginning of what fate had in store for tragic character Raziel.
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Post by Seth Drakin of Monster Crap on Nov 13, 2007 19:10:40 GMT -5
34. Vagrant Story Vagrant Story is a Japanese-developed console role-playing game developed and published by Square (now Square Enix) for the Sony PlayStation video game console in 2000. The game was released in Japan in February 2000, in the United States in May 2000, and in Canada and Europe later, as part of Square's promotional "Summer of Adventure" game package, and in PAL territories in June 2000. It was largely developed by the team responsible for Final Fantasy Tactics, with Yasumi Matsuno serving as producer and director. The game takes place in the fictional kingdom of Valendia and the ruined city of Leá Monde. The story centers on Ashley Riot, an elite agent known as a Riskbreaker, who must travel to Leá Monde to investigate the link between a cult leader and a senior Valendian Parliament member, Duke Bardorba. In the prologue, Ashley was blamed for murdering the duke, and the game discloses the events that happened one week before the murder. Vagrant Story is unique as a console action/adventure role-playing game because it features no shops and no player interaction between other characters; instead, the game focuses on weapon creation and modification, as well as elements of puzzle-solving and strategy. Overall, the game received positive reviews from gaming magazines and websites. Vagrant Story is a solo dungeon crawl, in which the player controls Ashley Riot from a third-person perspective while exploring Leá Monde and the catacombs underneath. The player may also switch into first-person perspective to allow for a 360° view using the L and R buttons on the game controller. Characters and sprites are proportionate with each other, and the player navigates Ashley on a three-dimensional field map. Navigation is in real-time, and areas accessed by the player are stored in an in-game map menu. Ashley can run, jump, and push crates and cubes to navigate around obstacles, adding puzzle and platforming elements to gameplay. During the game, the player must sometimes solve block puzzles to advance the story. When the player returns to a completed block puzzle room, a time-attack mode called "Evolve, or Die!!" begins. Players must reach the end of the room in the shortest time possible, after which they are ranked. This stage is optional and can be turned off from the menu. In the field map, players may engage the enemy as soon as they enter Battle Mode. In Battle Mode, when the player taps the attack button, a wire frame sphere appears around Ashley. Individual body parts within this sphere can be targeted. The battle system involves the player chaining different attacks known as Chain Abilities to achieve large combos and deal damage to the enemy. This is done by pressing buttons in timely succession, making combat resemble a rhythm game. In addition to Chain Abilities, Defensive Abilities allow Ashley to reduce or reflect damage or avoid status ailments. Ashley also gains Break Arts, which exchange his hit points (HP) for increased damage. Magic in Vagrant Story is learned later in the game using Grimoires, items dropped by enemies. Once a Grimoire is used, the magic spell associated with the Grimoire will remain in the menu, and players only need to spend magic points (MP) to cast a learned spell. Magic spells can be used to attack, heal, create status effects, and manipulate Ashley's elemental and enemy affinities. Certain magic spells allow the player to affect multiple targets by using a small sphere positioned within the Battle Mode wire frame. Unlike physical attacks however, magic attacks cannot be chained. Risk is an essential element in the battle system. A Risk bar is placed below the HP and MP bar, representing the Risk Points the player has accumulated. Risk Points affect Ashley's concentration; the longer Ashley attacks a target, the more his Risk Point accumulates — lowering his accuracy and defenses. Chain and Defensive Abilities increase Risk faster than regular attacks, while Break Arts do not increase Risk at all. Enemy attacks and spells deal more damage if the player has high Risk. The advantage, however, is the higher chances for the player to score critical hits and restore higher HP. Vagrant Story's crafting system allows the player to create and customize weapons and armor in designated "workshop" areas, inputting various ranges, strengths, and statistics. Weapons fall into one of three main damage types: blunt, piercing, and edged. Equipment are influenced by their material and affinity to enemy classes and elements. Affinities influence the effectiveness of weapons and armor; however, equipment loses one form of affinity when it gains another type. Weapons and armor can be combined, merging their affinities and sometimes creating a new type of blade or armor in the process. Like several Square titles, the New Game Plus option is made available to the player upon first completing the game. In Vagrant Story, selecting "New Game+" enables the player to replay the story using their end-game weapons, items, and statistics instead of the defaults. This option allows players to access a hidden level, which features more intimidating enemies and more powerful equipment. The story does not change, and original enemy statistics will remain at default. Vagrant Story is set in the fictitious city of Leá Monde, while the kingdom of Valendia is engulfed in civil war. Leá Monde is an old town with a history spanning more than two millennia. Located on an island surrounded by reefs, the walls have been the "witness of many battles" and are "stronger than the mightiest forts of Valendia". In its golden years, Leá Monde was a thriving community until an earthquake struck the town 25 years before the game, destroying the city and leaving the ground unstable. The Grand Cathedral and the Temple of Kiltia are at the center of the city. Beneath the ground is an abandoned mineshaft and limestone quarry, the darkened labyrinths of an "Undercity", and the dark Iron Maiden dungeon. The maze-like Snowfly Forest, named for the so-called snowflies that can be found within, grows around the city. Other locations include the Graylands, the setting for the prologue event; and Valnain, the city where the Valendia Knights of Peace's Headquarters is located. While Valendia and Leá Monde are fictitious, the game's scenery is inspired by real-life landscapes of the southwest of France, including the city of Saint-Émilion. The protagonist is Ashley Riot, a male member of the Valendia Knights of the Peace (VKP) in pursuit of a cult leader named Sydney Losstarot. Sydney, leader of the religious cult Müllenkamp, laid siege to Duke Bardorba's manor in search of a key and kidnapped Bardorba's son, Joshua. Ashley's partner is Callo Merlose, an agent of the VKP Inquisitors. Also attempting to capture Sydney is Romeo Guildenstern of the Crimson Blades, whose mission was made without the approval of the VKP. Ashley is a Riskbreaker, a militant division of the VKP responsible for upholding state security and law. Although Callo accompanies him, Ashley does not accept her as a combat partner due to her lack of combat experience. Callo ends up being Sydney's hostage and discovers the truth of Müllenkamp's activities. Another Riskbreaker, Rosencrantz, appears during Ashley's battles in Leá Monde, briefing him on the plans of the VKP, Sydney and the Cardinal, and subsequently his take on Ashley's past. The Crimson Blades, under direct orders of Cardinal Batistum, are a group that is part of the Cardinal's Knights of the Cross, in charge of seeking heretics and quelling cults. Romeo Guildenstern, their leader, is a pious man, deeply faithful to his belief and consequently immune to the Dark's powers. Under orders of the Cardinal, he pursues Sydney along with Samantha, Duane, Grissom, Tieger and Neesa. Müllenkamp is a cult based in Leá Monde. The city suffered a catastrophe when the population was killed in an earthquake. The city, filled with corpses controlled by Darkness, is the cult's stronghold. Sydney and his accomplice, Hardin, survive the pursuit of the Crimson Blade, though Hardin sometimes doubts Sydney's intentions. Vagrant Story begins in the Graylands, where Ashley and Callo are sent by the VKP to Duke Bardorba's manor to investigate the Duke's involvement with Müllenkamp and the Cardinal's interest in Sydney Losstarot. Ashley infiltrates the manor and encounters Sydney, witnessing his powers first hand. Sydney escapes with his accomplice Hardin and the Duke's son Joshua, leaving Ashley with a clue to his whereabouts. This event was dubbed the "Graylands Incident". Ashley and Callo arrive in Leá Monde and a lone Ashley infiltrates the city through the underground wine cellars. Along the way, he learns of objects holding magical power known as Grimoires and the city's power to spawn the undead and mythological creatures. He encounters Guildenstern and his lover Samantha, and learns of the condition known as incomplete death and the Cardinal's true intention for his pursuit of Sydney: immortality. The Crimson Blades confront Ashley and reveals his presence to Guildenstern. Escaping unharmed, Ashley encounters Rosencrantz who intends to join him, though Ashley declines. Rosencrantz tells him of the VKP and the Parliaments' knowledge of the dark powers of Leá Monde, and that the hidden powers deep within a person can be unleashed with the help of the Dark. In his encounters with Sydney, Ashley is shown visions of his past, where his wife Tia and his son Marco are killed by rogues, who later turned out to be Ashley himself. Meeting Rosencrantz again, Ashley learns that they were not his family, but mistaken targets during their mission. Ashley's guilt over their deaths was manipulated by the VKP to turn Ashley into a loyal Riskbreaker. Ashley recalls his hidden battle skills and experiences "clairvoyance", seeing the progress of the Crimson Blades, which leads him to the Great Cathedral. Sydney had captured Callo earlier and brought her with them. Callo learned that Hardin was skeptical of Sydney's plans. She begins to develop the powers of "heart-seeing", a form of telepathy, as they continue their escape deeper into Leá Monde. With her powers, she learned of Sydney's intentions and Hardin's reason to join Müllenkamp and his closeness to Joshua. Sydney left them to stop the others from advancing; taunting Guildenstern and Samantha, and provoking Ashley to follow him as he intends to succeed his powers to Ashley. Ashley was not interested in inheriting the powers of Darkness; seeing that Callo had been captured, his only intention is to rescue her. While discussing the Gran Grimoire, a powerful source of magic, Guildenstern and Samantha discover ancient Kildean letterings carved throughout the city walls. Rosencrantz reveals that the city is the Gran Grimoire and its power lies at the city center: the Grand Cathedral. As Guildenstern leaves for the Grand Cathedral, Rosencrantz searches for Ashley and Sydney. Finding them, Rosencrantz uses his immunity against Darkness and forces Sydney to surrender his powers. Rosencrantz also assaults Ashley to prove that he is not a suitable candidate for the powers of Darkness. Sydney refuses to listen and kills Rosencrantz by using a possessed statue, leaving Ashley to once again prove himself as his chosen successor. Guildenstern continues on to the Great Cathedral in the center of the city, leading him to Callo, Hardin and Joshua. Interrogating Hardin about a certain "key" known as the Blood-Sin, Guildenstern reveals his intentions in acquiring the Dark's powers. Sydney arrives to teleport Hardin and the rest away, leaving him to Guildenstern. Guildenstern acquires the "key" from him and murders Samantha as his sacrifice for the powers of darkness. Ashley arrives later and listens as Sydney reveals his true intentions. Ashley then confronts Guildenstern and manages to defeat him. Upon Guildenstern's defeat, Ashley, now bearing the "key", carries Sydney out of the collapsing city. The creatures spawned within the city begin to disappear. Callo, Hardin and Joshua escape the city, though Hardin dies. In the epilogue, Duke Bardorba's manor receives a visit from Ashley. In a report received by the VKP a week after the Graylands Incident, the duke was found murdered, and Ashley became the prime suspect, though he was never found again.
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Post by Seth Drakin of Monster Crap on Nov 13, 2007 19:14:34 GMT -5
33. Silent Bomber Silent Bomber is an arcade style action video game for the Sony PlayStation, and the second game developed by CyberConnect2. Silent Bomber is based on the classic top down shoot 'em up genre but with a twist, instead of shooting the enemy the player blows them up using bombs. The game was heralded as one of the fewer original games for the Playstation according to IGN. It was released on the 30th April 1999. Silent Bomber is one of the first titles available to download to the PlayStation Portable through the Game Archive of the Playstation Store. The player takes control of the protagonist, Jutah, whose mission is to attack and destroy the facilities and defenses of the colossal space dreadnaught Dante. The player can either plant bombs simply where they stand, or by launching them using the lock-on reticle. Bombs that are launched at enemies also attach to their target. Bombs can then be detonated at any time at the player's discretion. This introduces the chaining element of gameplay, where the number of enemies destroyed simultaneously awards more points. Bombs can also be "stacked", a larger number of bombs in the same place is more destructive. Jutah can only set a limited number of bombs at any one time, the set bombs must be detonated before more bombs can be set. Jutah also has access to material liquids, these are enhanced bombs with special effects. Napalm continues to burn after it is detonated damaging enemies within the flames, it is also more effective against biological enemies. Gravity forms a miniature black hole sucking in nearby enemies. Paralysis temporarily disables electrical devices, it also does extra damage to mechanical enemies. Material liquids can also be stacked and chained with standard bombs. Jutah can upgrade the number of bombs he can plant before needing to detonate them, the range of his bomb-planting hologram and his resistance to enemy attack by using E-Chips hidden through-out the levels. Jutah's E-Chips can be configured at any time to adapt his skills to different situations. In keeping with arcade style tradition, many levels end with a powerful boss that Jutah must destroy or repel to move on through the game's 14 levels. Jutah Fate, a member of a special military unit was sent in on a solo mission deep into enemy territory on the planet Tarakhan. While on this misson, he comes across an enemy camp and is ordered to burn it to the ground. Upon doing so, Jutah is shocked to find that the camp never housed any soldiers, it was for civilians. Jutah, his faith shaken by the realisation that he has attacked innocent people is then forced to completely destroy the area, killing everyone. Jutah is arrested for war crimes and placed in prison. Seven years later, he is released to take part in a military operation due to his world, Hornet, having such a vast military shortage. Jutah has retreated inwards after the incident seven years ago and has become an emotionless killer. He refers to himself as "Nothing more than a killing machine." on several occasions throughout the game. He is part of a covert operation to destroy a huge space cruiser called the Dante, a menacing juggernaut 200km from stern to aft. The Dante is currently heading towards the planet Hornet and seeks to blow it to smithereens using the 'Fermion Cannon' a weapon of immense destructive power. The mission also includes other war criminals and assorted felons such as Benoit Manderubrot: a political criminal, Micino Tifone: a professional spy and Tim 'Mr Escape' Palmer-nicknamed for his old career of breaking prisoners out of jail and 'volunteers' in the form of John Loss: a member of an oppressed tribe and is headed by an inexperienced CO, Annri Ohara. The operation is know as Operation Toroy. Benoit comments that they are "merely pawns in some elaborate game that will determine the fate of the world." and makes a mysterious comment as to "which player will be fortunate enough to checkmate fate?" The team uses false security codes in an attempt to gain access to Dante but they are discovered and the main craft is destroyed by Dantes Anti-Aircraft weaponry, along with most of the smaller escape craft launched from it. Jutah and Benoit are ejected in landing pods and Jutahs crashlands, Benoits condition is unknown. Jutah destroys the Anti-Aircraft weaponry after coming face to face with a huge, quadrapedal mechanised spider which was armed with Anti-Aircraft weapons and the main defensive force on Dante, the robotic infantry or 'HardShells' and is given a death threat by their leader, the Commander. Jutah destroys the main Anti-Air weapon but not quickly enough to prevent Annri and the rest of the team from being shot down. Jutah discovers Benoit's pod and receives a cryptic message from him. Jutah is then given the task of annihilating the energy plant on board Dante to allow Annri to hack their systems and shut down the HardShells. Even though the hacking is successful, the HardShells are still online when Jutah moves in to destroy them, he still succeeds even after fighting the Commander HardShell again. Annri asks Jutah for help in defending the Lander craft while it is repaired, Jutah refuses at first stating that "My directive is to destroy this ship, I'm not here for a rescue mission." Annri orders him to defend the ship, to which he reluctantly agrees, since she is still his Commanding Officer. John assists Jutah by using his machine gun to fight them off without wearing any armour, a fact which Tim calls him crazy for. John admires Jutah for jumping headfirst into battle to save them, despite Jutah's words that it was only because he was ordered to. Jutah is then sent to travel on the cargo transport system for the Dante, the Linear Liner. During the journey, he speaks with Annri and it is indicated that she is beginning to sympathise with him and develop feelings for her and vice versa, though Jutah hides it since he is still locked in his shell. The Liner stops abruptly and Annri's transmission cuts out, he escapes via a power cable - the cable itself is as large as a building corridor - and is contacted by Benoit once again. "Does it bother you that you have lost you're commander? There's nothing to worry about, you were only following someone who was tying you down with orders. Come on Jutah, cut yourself loose. Call up those killer instincts and reclaim who you really are." Jutah encounters another quadruped machine and defeats it. Jutah runs into Micino after escaping, who tells Jutah that she will give him Annri's location for a price. Jutah must knock out the air generators in Dante's residential district, providing enough chaos to allow her escape. Jutah proceeds with Micino's plan and runs into the HardShell Commander once again. This time however, the Commander has a few upgrades, his entire body is now as large as the room and is mounted on an enormous tank-like platform. Despite this Jutah still defeats him, much to the Commander's disbelief. Micino sends Jutah through the Dante's water systems, an extensive tunnel network that brings water to Dante's residential and industrial areas, Jutah fights off multiple enemies and eventually comes face to face with the elite units of Dante, the 'Blue Mist' androids. Micino contacts Jutah afterwards, telling him that Annri is being held in the maximum security area after being caught in the hacking. Jutah locates her and Annri is shocked that he came to find her after all her failures. She is in despair, feeling that she has no right to lead other people due to her inexperience. Jutah is now beginning to open up to Annri as he speaks of his past, quoted from the game herein. "Back then, the battlefield was all I knew of the world. And the voice, the voice that issued orders to me, was the only thing I could believe in. Each time I was sent into battle to kill, another piece of my soul died. I'm just a mere shell of a man now, nothing more than a killing machine." He also tells her that she only has to give him the order to fight and he will do it, to protect the operation and her. Jutah's next mission is similar to Resident Evil in some respects. Annri sends Jutah to destroy all the bio-weapons, living creatures created as weapons of war. In a scene from a horror movie, the bio-weapons have all escaped, killing their creators and now attacking Jutah. Jutah fights his way past these incredibly powerful enemies before coming face to face with the ultimate bio-weapon, an enormous, mutant spider which attacks him. After the battle, Benoits voice speaks to Jutah. "Heheheh, that's my Jutah. Does it remind you of Tarakhan? Is it reminiscent of those days....of slaughter?" Jutah becomes enraged demanding Benoit reveal himself, to which Benoit replies. "The party will begin soon....and then. I have no doubt you'll discover the other face that's hidden behind Dante." At last, Jutah gains access to an elevator that will lead him to Dante's bridge, unfortunately, the journey is interrupted by the nine remaining members of 'Blue Mist' and their leader the mysterious 'Colonel'. At the end of the elevator, Jutah discovers that all the people there have been brutally killed by the bio-weapons that Benoit had released. He attempts to use Jutah's past to influence him into joining him and revelling in the destruction they could both cause. It is Annri who brings Jutah to his senses and when he refuses, Benoit releases the bridge from the rest of the ship and tries to kill Jutah in the vacuum of space, revealing that this version of himself is a hologram. It is the rest of the members of the operation, including Micino (who was unable to escape because of the bio-weapons) who rescues him, John saying that it was because they are comrades and friends. Jutah is surprised by this and begins to open up even more. Benoit has sealed himself inside the core of the Dante, where the AI that runs the ship the 'Brain' resides. Benoit still plans to destroy the planet and everyone is sealed out side of the ship. Annri hatches a plan, she will hack into the controls of an energy cannon similar to the one which damage their ship, to blast their way through the bulkhead doors. he only problem is that the control room is now a bio-weapon nest. Jutah protects Annri while she uses the cannon to get inside. The entire Hornet space force has now amassed in front of Dante, determined to destroy it. Their attacks do next to nothing against the ship and they are all annihilated by the Fermion Cannon, which must then recharge before it can attack Hornet directly. Jutah is sent in to destroy the main reactor for the cannon, causing a chain reaction which destroys it when it attempts to fire, destroying most of the front of the ship. Thinking that they have stopped Dante, everyone is celebrating until the Dante gives a huge lurch forward. Benoit is now attempting to ram Dante into Hornet and challenges Jutah to a final duel in the core of Dante, the Brain room. While travelling through Dantes massive corridors, Jutah comes across several holograms of Benoit, each one taunting him.-"So glad you could make it Jutah. This is the Brain Room, Dantes core. At this moment, the Dante is heading towards Hornet", "Its speed is gradually increasing. At this rate, it will pierce the atmosphere like a bullet," and lastly, "When that incandescent heat, bearing the mass of a continent, comes crashing down accompanied by countless fragments. What a beautiful sight it will be." Jutah finally makes it to the core of the Brain room where he meets more holograms of Benoit and multiple robots created in the form of chess pieces on a holographic board which he battles against. Upon defeating the queen, Benoit appears, now in his real form, bonded with the Brain and possessing a green aura. "Just as I thought, without the King the game just isn't interesting." This leads into the final battle against Benoit, in which Jutah proves the greater, leaving Benoit mortally wounded. With his final few breaths Benoit reveals the truth. On Tarakhan he was Jutah's commanding officer, the man who ordered him to kill so many innocent civilians, he then activates Dantes self destruct mechanism forcing Jutah to flee, his final words before the explosions engulf him are. "Survive Jutah...fight and survive." Jutah is cut off from the launch point and tells Annri to leave without him to save everyone else. Annri orders him to come back alive, and then leaves in tears, while Jutah moves off screen, a look of grim determination on his face. Three years later, Annri has left the military and is writing her memoirs on the operation, she still has the headset she used to give Jutah his orders. Someone enters the room next to hers and Annri speaks into the microphone. "Jutah...come in Jutah." The door opens, revealing Jutah in the doorway, the movie and game ends with Annri running to embrace him. Characters Are: Jutah Fate: A genetically engineered man created by the military government TARAKHAN and based on the planet controlled by it and named for it-Tarakhan-as part of its Elite Fighter Engineering Project. He was trained as a military weapon, specialising in spying, assassination, and demolition. He lived only to destroy. Then the military government collapsed, and he was sentenced to 300 years in prison. There, he had a mental breakdown. Now, he's fighting for his freedom. (English voice: Skip Stellrecht) (credited as Henry Douglas Grey) Annri Ohara: An elite military officer and computer specialist that graduated from the military academy at the head of her class. Annri sought fulfilment in the Hornet government maintaining planet-wide peace. But, after joining the Hornet army, she discovered there were problems with the government, as with any large institution. Annri is the only member of Operation Toroy from the Hornet Military. (English voice: Debra Jean Rogers) (credited as Debbie Derosa) Benoit Manderubrot: An international political criminal and chess master who has joined and led seven major revolutions. Benoit assumed a different identity and embraced a different ideology for each conflict. He believes that revolution is like chess, and uses people as game pieces. He volunteered for Operation Toroy. Benoit is considered the most mysterious member of the troop, his ability as a soldier exceeding even Jutah's. (English voice: Richard Cansino) (as Richard Hayworth) Micino Tifone: A professional spy who will do anything for money. Micino has stolen state secrets by seducing government officials with her beauty. Her strong points are her physical strength and cat-like agility, and her uncanny sixth sense. (English voice: Bridget Hoffman) (as Ruby Marlowe) John Loss: A hero, he uses guerrilla tactics to fight for the liberation of the oppressed Nufu tribe, a 'primitive' tribe held in government "preservation". He agreed to join Operation Toroy on condition that the tribe be freed. His character is described as intelligent and quiet, but once he's on the battlefield, his bravery and ferocity are unmatched. (English voice: Kirk Thornton) (as Sparky Thornton) Tim Palmer: The youngest member of the mission, Tim is a brilliant and resourceful pilot. He needs only a few minutes to master any vehicle. He gets his nickname "Mr Escape" from his previous career of breaking prisoners out of jail. He's a talented weapons operator and is master of the hasty retreat.
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Post by Seth Drakin of Monster Crap on Nov 13, 2007 19:21:30 GMT -5
32. The Legend Of Dragoon The Legend of Dragoon is an RPG released for the PlayStation in Japan in 1999. It was released the following year in the US. This game took 3 years in the making with a development group of over 100 members. According to several unofficial sources, the idea for the game was originally pitched to Square Soft (now Square Enix), but the corporation turned the idea down because "it was not an appealing storyline." Legend of Dragoon features three modes of play which are consistent in most RPGs: the world map, the field map, and battle mode. The world map is linear with the main character's movements, which is then limited to dotted lines from place to place rather than the typical free roaming style. The field map is used whenever the player enters a town, dungeon, or landmark. It consists of 3D characters on a 2-D pre-rendered background. Animations are overlaid to create motion such as the movement of water or light effects. Battle mode is a 3D field that compliments the current field map. Turn-based battles occur in this between playable characters and CPU-controlled enemies. Standard actions such as attack, magic, defend, item and escape are present though implimented in various ways. Additions are unique from most turn-based RPGs in the fact that it allows multiple hits to be gained which affect the outcome not only in the damage dealt to the enemy, but also in the amount of SP or spirit points the dealer gains. When the "Attack" command is chosen, the character runs towards the enemy while two blue squares appear on-screen. One is stagnant in the center of the targeted enemy, while the other spirals in from the edges of the battle screen. The player must press "X" when the squares meet to continue the combo until the final move is done. If the player has a Dragoon Spirit, then additions will gain SP for their Dragoon gauge. Certain additions are more useful for dealing large sums of damage, while others are useful for gaining SP. Additions also level if you can complete them enough times, there by doing more damage and gaining more SP. A Counter occurs when the squares turn orange for one move. When this happens, the player must press "O" instead of "X" to continue the addition. If not, the addition stops and the character is knocked backwards by the enemy's counter-attack and receives damage. Every character has their own set of additions gained at certain levels except for Shana and Miranda, who instead deal one shot of their bow & arrow which gains SP based off their Dragoon level. When all listed additions are completed successfully at least 80 times, a final addition will be accessible that outclasses all previous additions. Each protagonist in the game eventually obtains their own unique dragoon spirit to utilize in battle, each with their own elemental specialty that completes the character's natural affinity. Once a character has obtained theirs, the SP gauge will appear below the HP and MP gauges in battle mode. SP can be gained by Additions, equipped armor and accessories, or through certain usable items. The maximum SP that can be held is determined by the Dragoon level of the character. When a certain amount of SP is accumulated, the "Dragoon" option appears in the command menu. The amount of turns the player can stay in Dragoon form is determined by their Dragoon level, for a maximum of 5 complete turns. While in the form, players have 2 options: "Attack" and ";Magic". Attack unleashes a modified form of the addition system, except the amount of hits is determined before the actual attack is completed. A small dragoon symbol appears at the top-right of the screen, with a light revolving around it. The player must press "X" every time the light has passed the very top of the symbol. Every time this is completed, the Dragoon Addition has more successive hits and deals more damage. Every Dragoon uses this method except for Shana and Miranda, who do not have additions. "Magic" uses up Magic Points(MP), but uses elements in its attacks or may be able to heal allies. As the Dragoon level increases with a character, so does their range of magic skills. There is also another option: "Special", which is available whenever the whole party has their Dragoon gauges full. All characters transform into their Dragoon forms, and the environment changes to an alternate Dimension depending on which character chose the "special" option. The dimension will give that player a power boost and the Dragoon Addition will automatically complete perfectly for the character who activates the special. While the dragoon form gives a strong boost to various stats, the characters lose the ability to use items, guard or run. This can be detrimental if the battle takes a turn for the worst as the male dragoon forms have no healing spells and only the White-Silver Dragoon can revive dead characters. Magic is not only limited to the Dragoon system. Players may win, pick up or purchase attack items that will cast various elemental spells. The strength of these items is determined in two ways. First, the strength draws off the magical attack stat of the character using it. For example, a fire element item will do extra damage when used with Dart and less damage with Meru, and will do more or less damage if used on a water or fire element enemy, respectively. Second, some items require the player to rapidly press the 'X' button to power-up the attack. Items listed as a powerful spell do not require the power-up. Various multiple use items can be found throughout the game that will increase stats or cause certain effects for 3 consecutive turns, such as the 'Magic Signet Stone' prevents the enemy from carrying out any actions. Two additional items, 'Smoke Ball' and 'Psychedelic Bomb X' are escape and attack items respectfully. These items can be used once per battle and reappear in the selectable inventory come the next battle. The largest hindrance of these items is the limited inventory space in the North American version. With only 32 spaces available, close to a third of inventory can be eaten by these items. However, some such as the 'Magic Signet Stone' are practically mandatory for defeating rare monsters. The purpose of this item was to increase the item inventory from 32 to 64. There was no equivalent in the North American version and it could be argued this increases the difficulty of the game as it forces the player to choose between attack items or healing items instead of having the space to employ both. The main playable characters in The Legend of Dragoon are also the titular Dragoons. While there are 9 playable characters and 8 Dragoon Spirits, there will never be more than 7 selectable characters at one time. Due to storyline events, Lavitz and Shana are replaced by Albert and Miranda, respectively. Both acquire the stats of the character they replace. The final party will consist of Dart Feld, Rose, Albert, Haschel, Meru, Kongol, and Miranda. As for the eighth Dragoon Spirit, Dart's gets replaced late in the game. The Continent of Endiness is the large landmass in which the game's epic story takes place. It consists of four countries: Serdio, Tiberoa, Mille Seseau, and Gloriano. There is also a desert-like region, which has an arid climate, known as the [[Death Frontier]. In the beginning of the game Serdio is split up into the Duchy of Basil (North of Serdio on the World Map) and Imperial Sandora (South of Serdio on the World Map) as Serdio is currently in a civil war. It has a temperate climate. This is the main primary area explored in the first Chapter 1. Tiberoa is the western country in Endiness, neighboring the Serdio. Its ruling family consists of King Zior and the Princesses Emille and Lisa. It has a desert climate, only a portion of the country is inhabited, and most of its people have very dark skin and are overly celebratory of their ways. Mille Seseau is the largest country situated at the top of the continent. This is the home country of Dart, Shana, Meru and Miranda. This is the primary area explored in Chapter 3: "Fate & Soul". Mille Seseau's capital is in Deningrad which houses a huge elaborate complex maze-ish palace made out of fine clear crystal and a former Wingly fortress. It is a very cold climate, especially in the winter, consisting mostly of forests and snowy forests, but not quite as snowy as Gloriano which happens to get more precipitation in the winter. Gloriano (an entirely icy region) was the base of operations for the holy Emperor Diaz, who led the Humans during the Dragon Campaign. It is also where Dart and his friends meet Zieg when he is under the guise of The Emperor Diaz himself. The Death Frontier is a desert-like region in the Continent of Endiness. The only location that is in this region is a Wingly City, where Melbu Frahma's older sister Charle talks about the five Signet Spheres and wants you to guard them so that The Moon That Never Sets will not fall and prepare the birth of the God of Destruction. Long ago, when the world of Endiness was only darkness, Soa, the creator of the world, planted a seed. This seed sprouted and grew into a giant tree called the Divine Tree. The Divine Tree eventually bore 108 fruits, which actually contained different forms of life and when the fruits fell, they brought to the earth a new life, a new creature. Soa wanted the fruits with the life forms to develop one after another until the last fruit, the 108th fruit, fell to the ground and brought the last species to world of Endiness. The last fruit contained the God of Destruction, a Virage Embryo which was supposed to destroy everything on the earth and allow life to start all over again. The 97th fruit contained the Gigantos, the 99th fruit contained the Minintos, the 105th fruit contained the Dragons, the 106th fruit contained the humans, the 107th contained the Winglies and of course the 108th fruit contained the Virage Embryo, the God of Destruction. Less significant creatures such as Minintos and Gigantos created their own ways of life while Humans and Winglies set off to begin civilizations. Dragons, whose might was unmatched, had their abilities limited by Soa who reduced the Dragons's intelligence to that of a mere beast. A myriad of fauna and flora spawned from the thriving existence of all these creatures, and the cradle of Endiness was secured. The Winglies, whose powers could not be overtaken, began to build an empire beyond belief; stretching from the depths of the sea to the majesty of the sky. From the floating city of Kadessa, the Wingly dictator, Melbu Frahma, conquered all he sought, eventually capturing the gods themselves. He and his armies enslaved all life, using their submissive servants for labour, sacrifice and gladiatorial entertainment. At the peak of the Wingly dynasty, the Winglies had discovered magics so powerful and dark that they could rip the fabrics of reality. When the last fruit brought the God of Destruction, the most powerful species, the Winglies didn't want a being more powerful than them and therefore separated the flesh of the God of Destruction from its soul. They put the soul in a strong crystal sphere, that prevented it to fuse with the flesh, which became The Moon That Never Sets. The other Wingly leader (who led the base of operations for a more kind and civilized Wingly kingdom), Charle Frahma, the older sister of Melbu Frahma, designed five Signet Spheres that prevented the soul from reaching the flesh even further. The Signet Spheres circled around The Moon That Never Sets or the flesh of the God of Destruction. The evil Melbu Frahma drew unlimited power from his Crystal Sphere and plotted that he could destroy the signets anytime he wanted and free the God of Destruction. He created five objects of great power, known as Divine Moon Objects. Three of these objects, The Moon Mirror, Moon Dagger and Moon Gem were passed down as heirlooms in the impending human countries, but the other two were lost or destroyed in the course of war. But, before Melbu Frahma could employ the Divine Moon Objects, the humans wanted to rise to fight against Winglies for their liberation in this world and to free the gods. Then the legendary miracle occurred; the souls of the Dragons. As a Dragon died, the humans learned that its immortal soul could be extracted in the form of a token, or gem. These gems gave seven heroic humans the ability to merge with the Dragon spirits and become Dragoons, or knights of the Dragon. The killed Dragon would respawn from itself and rise to serve its new master, much like the cycle of a phoenix. The seven Dragoons controlled the seven Elemental Dragons- fire, water, earth, darkness, thunder, wind and light. The seven Dragoons were Syuveil the Wind Dragoon, Damia the Water Dragoon, Belzac the Earth Dragoon, Kanzas the Thunder Dragoon, Shirley the Light Dragoon, Rose the Darkness Dragoon and Zieg the Fire Dragoon. The Humans rose to fight against the Winglies under the command of the leader of Holy Imperial Gloriano - Emperor Diaz. The humans were supported by Dragons/Dragoons and fought against the Winglies, who were supported by Virages- the winglys weapon against the dragons. The seven Dragoons fought against the Wingly leader, Melbu Frahma but five of the Dargoons- Syuveil, Damia, Kanzas, Belzac and Shirley- died in the final battle. The other two Dragoons- Rose and Zieg- still lived. Rose loved Zieg and was his fiance, but got separated from him while engaging the evil dictator in combat. Zieg thrust his blade through Melbu Frahma and watched the light leave his eyes. But as he tried to pull away, Melbu seized him, sending them both plummeting into the Crystal sphere, shattering it. Frahma's body turned to ash, and vanished in the rubble, but not before he cast his final curse on Zieg, petrifying him where he stood. For Melbu Frahma had a secret power- he could live without his physical body! Melbu Frahma stole himself into the Dragoon spirit of Zieg, hiding, as Zieg was frozen to stone. It would be thousands of years before the spell would wear off, but he could wait. Despite the loss of the six Dragoons (and the disappearance of Rose), the humans celebrated their victory, and began their new age under the leadership of Emperor Diaz. But the humans made a mistake in the war- they destroyed the Crystal Sphere in which Melbu Frahma was extracting his power and in which the soul of the Virage was sealed. In the war the humans also destroyed one of the Signet Spheres and one of the Signet Spheres was lost. The Winglies were vanquished, disappearing by the thousands, and their empire crumbled. The once mighty land of Gloriano turned to a frozen waste, and humans left it behind in search of new and better lands. Three kingdoms were divided between the rulers of Gloriano, Serdio, Tiberoa and Mille Seseau, each country claiming one of the three remaining moon objects.
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Post by Seth Drakin of Monster Crap on Nov 13, 2007 19:29:41 GMT -5
31. Wild Arms Wild Arms is a role-playing game developed by software company Media.Vision and originally released in Japan in 1996 for the Sony Playstation video game console and was later translated and released in North America in 1997 and Europe in 1998 by Sony Computer Entertainment. It is noteworthy for not only being one of the first role-playing video games on the PlayStation,[2] but one of the few to feature a Western American setting and motif. The game features two-dimensional graphics for normal game play, while battle sequences are rendered in 3D. Taking place in the fantasy world of Filgaia, Wild Arms follows the adventures of a band of miscreants and adventurers called Dream Chasers who scour the world in search of excitement and fortune. The player must assume control of a young boy named Rudy who has the ability to operate powerful weapons called ARMs ("Ancient Relic Machines"), forbidden remnants of a lost age that resemble guns. Along with his companions Jack and Cecilia, the group must use their respective skills to navigate through the vast wastelands and dungeons of Filgaia and prevent an otherworldly threat from reviving their lost leader and destroying the world. In November 2003, an enhanced remake of Wild Arms titled Wild Arms Alter Code: F was released for the PlayStation 2 in Japan, with a North American version produced two years later in 2005. In addition to enhanced graphics, Alter Code: F also features an expanded script, remastered soundtrack, new characters, and additional gameplay scenarios. Wild Arms is a traditional console role-playing game that involves the player controlling up to three characters, Rudy, Jack, and Cecilia, as they progress through a number of environments, battle enemies, and solve puzzles. The game is presented in a top-down two-dimensional fashion where the player has an overhead view of all the action taking place on a particular screen. In order to advance, the player must overcome a number of story-based scenarios and sequences that involving navigating through dungeons while fighting monsters and other enemies that appear randomly. Characters progress and grow by gaining experience points after a battle and thereby gain levels, giving them better statistics and making them able to battle increasingly more difficult enemies. Progressively more powerful armor and weapons can be purchased for each character from specialized shops in towns throughout the world, and new skills can be learned to help the player complete tougher challenges. Special devices called "Tools" unique to each character allow the player to transverse otherwise impassable situations while not in battle. These items are obtained at certain points in the game, and allow hidden areas or pathways to be discovered, as well as destroy objects and solve puzzles. Rudy's bomb tool, for example, can demolish large rocks and other impediments, while Jack's grappling hook allows the party to cross large gaps and chasms while avoiding traps. Unlike normal gameplay, during which all character and background graphics are two-dimensional, combat is rendered entirely in 3D. Wild Arms uses a turn-based battle structure in which the player inputs commands at the start of each combat round and the designated actions take place. The order in which each character and enemy performs these actions is based on their "response" (RES) statistic, which denotes how quickly a particular character can act. The higher a character's response, the more likely they are to act before an enemy. The player has the option every round to either use a restorative item from their inventory, use a special skill, run from combat, or attack. Enemy units are defeated when their hit points, a numerical representation of their vitality, reaches zero. Hit points can be reduced by attacking an enemy, either with standard attacks or spells. Each of the three playable characters has a unique set of abilities that can be used to defeat enemies or aid party members. Rudy utilizes "ARMs", powerful yet limited attacks involving gun-like weapons that rely on a set number of bullets, Jack's "Fast Draw" sword techniques can damage opponents in a variety of ways, and Cecilia's magic can either benefit the party by restoring hit points and raising statistics or damage enemies with harmful spells. Additionally, a character can equip special items called "runes" that allow them to summon powerful Guardians to aid them in battle. New skills are acquired through normal gameplay, completing certain objects, or purchasing them from an in-game shop. During combat, each character has a "Force Bar" divided into 4 equal-sized sections called levels. As the bar's level increases, the player is given access to one of four "Force Techniques", made available through different areas of gameplay. These techniques allow a character to perform a special action each time they attack or use a skill, adding to their overall effectiveness. Cecilia's "Mystic" ability, for example, allows an item used by her to affect all characters instead of one, and Jack's "Accelerator" gives him the option of acting first in the next combat round, regardless of his or the enemy's speed.[9] The more effective the skill, the more Force Bar levels the move requires. Like normal equipment, Runes can alter a character's statistics to make them more proficient in certain areas of combat, such as raising their "strength" (STR) stat, thereby increasing the damage caused by normal attacks. Equipping these items has the added benefit of allowing a character to call upon powerful magic creatures to attack all enemies at once or aid allies with beneficial magic. Runes can be obtained either in hidden areas within dungeons, or simply whenever the story wills it. Each Guardian's attack, like Cecilia's magic, has a certain elemental designation that is more effective against certain enemies. Wild Arms takes place in the world of Filgaia ("Fargaia" in the original Japanese version), a fantasy world modeled closely after the American Old West and Medieval Europe. The Wild West motif is present throughout the entirety of the game, and though several different landforms and climates exist across the entirety of the world, vast deserts, wide gorges, canyons, and sparse grasslands make up the majority of the landscape. A number of towns and villages exist, some containing old-world European architecture and castles, while others resemble early American frontier towns and trade posts. Technology at the time of the game is set around the early Industrial Revolution, with advancements such as motors first coming into use. A recurring theme throughout the game is destructive technology such as guns and firearms being seen as dangerous and therefore forbidden technology that is feared by the general populace. Since most of the world's most advanced technology existed centuries before the start of the game, archaeologists and engineers are essentially one and the same; rediscovering old technology as they find new applications for it. In addition to several supporting characters and villains, Wild Arms features three playable characters. Rudy Roughnight ("Rody Roughnight" in the Japanese version and "Rudy Roughknight" in subsequent English translations) is a 15 year-old boy from a remote village who was orphaned several years before the beginning of the game when his grandfather Zepet passed away. Under the care of the town's mayor, Rudy worked as a farmhand for his neighbor until the day a local boy, searching for medicinal herbs to heal his ailing father, became lost in a cave just outside of town. Rushing to save him, Rudy eventually finds ands rescues the child, yet inadvertently frees a demon sealed deep within the cavern's inner sanctum. He is able to defeat the demon and save the village, but alerts the villagers to his forbidden ARM weapon in the process, causing him to be cast out of the village and live on his own, adopting the life of an adventurer and drifter. After severing his own arm (by sword in Wild Arms, and by gun in Wild Arms Alter Code: F), Rudy is discovered to be an Holmcross, an artificial weapon created similarly to the Demons. Rudy's character exemplifies the role-playing game archetype of the silent protagonist, and is meant to act as the player's extension into the Wild Arms game, though he does have a few lines at rare points in the game. Jack Van Burace ("Zakk Vam Brace" in the Japanese version) is a treasure hunter and swordsman-for-hire who is searching the world for the mysterious "ultimate power" that will allow him to confront and sort out his troubled past. Upon the discovery of an ancient holographic device within a ruin, Jack learns of the long lost race of Elws who had developed several forms of high technology. He then sets off to the town of Adelhyde to find more information that will point him in the direction of his goal.[11] Jack is constantly accompanied by his partner Hanpan, a "wind mouse" who is able to speak and understand the language of humans, and, though arrogant, often acts as Jack's moral compass. Cecilia Lynne Adelhyde ("Cecilia Raynne Adelheid" in the Japanese version) is a young apprentice magician who has spent most of her life studying at the Curan Abbey magic school. Her 17th birthday at the beginning of the game marks her official ascension into the Adelhyde royal family and departure from the school. Before she can leave, however, Cecilia is contacted by a mysterious voice who beckons her to a hidden library deep within the academy's halls. It is there that she confronts and defeats a demon using her fledgling magic skills, and frees a powerful entity known as a "Guardian" from a sealed tome. The Guardian informs Cecilia that her royal blood allows her to be a medium between the real world and the spirit dimension occupied by the avatars of all the world's elemental forces, and that she will be instrumental in securing the future and reconstruction of the barren planet. A thousand years before the events of Wild Arms, a war raged between the inhabitants of Filgaia and demonic invaders seeking to turn the planet into their new home. After a fierce struggle, the humans managed to capture the demon's leader, "Mother", and sealed her deep within a castle in the tundra of Arctica. Unable to completely destroy her constantly regenerating body, the people of Arctica imprisoned her within a chrysalis, keeping it closed with a magic seal maintained by three stone statues which they later spread across the world. With their leader gone, a majority of the demons disappeared, with only a few remaining in seclusion over the next few centuries, eventually launching an attack on the castle to reclaim the incapacitated body of Mother. Succeeding in their mission, a small band of demon warriors known as the Quarter Knights kept watch over the body of Mother in their massive fortress hidden behind a force field, and began gathering information as to the whereabouts of the guardian statues with the hope of one day reviving her and claiming Filgaia as their own. As time passed, talk of the ancient invasion began to dwindle, though stories of demonic weaponry such as "ARM" guns and robotic soldiers still persisted in the minds of many. When a mysterious child named Rudy was left in the care of the mayor of the small town of Surf, he came with an ARM at his side. The mayor, fearing for the child's safety, hid the weapon and raised him as his own. Until he was 15, Rudy lived a quiet life in Surf until it was discovered that he had the ability to psychically link with and operate his forbidden weapon, a trait only attributed to a few people, and was cast out of the village from fear of misfortune. Making his way to the city of Adelhyde, Rudy meets Cecilia, a magician-in-training and successor to the Adelhyde royal family, and Jack, a headstrong treasure hunter. The trio teams up for the first time as hired muscle for a local engineer named Emma, who is researching ancient technology in a nearby tomb and believes a remnant of the Demon Wars may be inside. Upon discovering the object, a deactivated robotic creature called a "golem", the three adventurers escort Emma and their discovery back to Adelhyde to exhibit it at the town's annual festival. During the event, where several other golem creatures are on display, a small army of demons led by the Quarter Knights precede to burn the town, steal the golems, and critically injure Cecilia's father, the king. In order to spare the remaining people of Adelhyde, Cecilia gives the Quarter Knights her family heirloom, a pendant called the Tear Drop that has magic properties which the demons believe can be used as a catalyst for reviving their leader. When the invaders recall from the town, Rudy and his friends make a pact to stop the Knights from taking control of Filgaia, and to restore balance to the weakening elemental forces of the world that have been in decline since the demons' initial invasion. Traveling across Filgaia, the heroes make their way to the long-abandoned Guardian Temple to gain the alliance of the mystical guardians who maintain the forces of nature across the planet. Once befriended, the Guardians tell Rudy and his companions that the demons have already begun to revive their leader, and have only to lift the seal on her cocoon-like prison by destroying the three scattered statues that lie across Filgaia. Utilizing ancient Elw technology in the form of teleportation devices, the group travels the world to stop the Quarter Knights from destroying the statues, but fail in each attempt. The consequent resurrection of Mother occurs, yet the demons are informed by their leader that it is her intention of destroying Filgaia rather than subjugating it, and tells her followers that their own deaths will follow soon after. Realizing that the only way to defeat the demons is to confront them in their stronghold, the Protosphere, Rudy, Jack, and Cecilia gather the necessary materials to enter the tomb of the last remaining golem, Asgard. Convincing him to aid them in their struggle, Asgard destroys the protective seal around the Protosphere, granting Rudy, Jack, and Cecilia access. With the aid of a mysterious hooded figure, the heroes are able to re-acquire Cecilia's Tear Drop, now acting as the power source to the entire fortress, and confront a weakened Mother directly, destroying her body just as the Protosphere sinks into the ocean. Thinking the worst to be over, the trio begins to depart for Adelhyde when they are confronted by the Quarter Knights, who inform them of their plan to take over Filgaia in their maniacal leader's absence. The demons then attempt to disrupt the planetary ray line which runs under Filgaia in an effort to destroy all humanity, but are stopped at the last moment, with Zeikfried, the Quarter Knight's leader, being thrown through a rift in space at the battle's end. Finding himself transported to the underwater wreckage of the Photosphere, Zeikfred is met by a deformed visage of Mother, who consumes him. Once inside the demon's newly-arisen stronghold of Ka Dingel, Rudy, Jack, and Cecilia confront what remains of their adversaries before reaching the teleportation device to take them to the lunar base of Malduke. Within Malduke's deepest sanctum, they confront a weakened Zeikfried, who completely transforms into a revived Mother. This new being, Motherfried, confronts the heroes with the intent of using Malduke's primary weapon to destroy Filgaia, yet is defeated. With Malduke's cannon deactivated, and Mother's dark influence on the world gone, the Guardians are able to pool together their strength and revive the world. Rudy, Jack, and Cecilia board the teleportation device to be transported back to Filgaia, only to be stopped in mid-voyage by what is left of Zeikfried's body. The weakened Zeikfried launches a last desperate assault on the heroes, and, though defeated in the end, warns that they may not make it home without the energy of the teleporter tearing them apart. Narrowly escaping through the portal to Filgaia, the trio arrives at Ka Dingel just as it collapses, with the golem Asgard arriving to shield them from the falling debris. With the demons defeated and nature beginning to revive, Jack and Rudy set off on a new journey while Cecilia remains in Adelhyde to fulfill her duties as ruler. In a letter she writes Jack and Rudy, she tells them that she will send them a surprise to help them on their future adventures, and shows up shortly after to join them on a new quest.
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Post by Seth Drakin of Monster Crap on Nov 13, 2007 19:34:55 GMT -5
Now For A Countdown Update
200. Fear Effect 199. Arc The Lad II 198. Croc: Legend Of The Goobos 197. NFL Gameday 2000 196. Philosoma 195. Command & Conquer: Red Alert 194. Star Wars: Rebel Assault II 193. Discworld 192. Psychic Force 191. Point Blank 190. Metal Slug X 189. Einhander 188. ECW Anarchy Rulz 187. Guilty Gear 186. Bust A Groove 185. Wild 9 184. Blasto 183. Jumping Flash 182. Rollcage 181. Ray Storm 180. Treasures Of The Deep 179. Dark Stalkers 3 178. Vandal Hearts II 177. Star Wars: Dark Forces 176. Pandemonium 175. Madden NFL 2003 174. Darkstalkers 173. Omega Boost 172. Madden NFL 2001 171. Vandal Hearts 170. Jet Moto 169. Croc 2 168. WWF Wrestlemania: The Arcade Game 167. Motor Toon Grand Prix 2 166. You Don't Know Jack 165. PaRappa The Rapper 164. Evil Zone 163. Bloody Roar 162. Fighting Force 2 161. Area 51 160. Ridge Racer 159. Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation 158. WipEout 3 157. Theme Hospital 156. Quake II 155. Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together 154. Ape Escape 153. Fighting Force 152. King Of The Fighters 95 151. Street Fighter EX Plus Alpha 150. Hydro Thunder 149. Colin McRae Rally 148. Legend Of Mana 147. Saga Frontier 146. Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo 145. Duke Nukem: Total Meltdown 144. Mega Man X3 143. Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage 142. Kagero: Deception 2 141. WCW Nitro 140. Rayman 2: The Great Escape 139. NHL 98 138. Mortal Kombat 4 137. TOCA: Touring Cars 2 136. Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped 135. Vigilante 8 134. Power Move Pro Wrestling 133. Rayman 132. Terra Diver 131. Spyro: Year Of The Dragon 130. Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash Of The Super Heroes 129. World Cup 98 128. The Raiden Project 127. Tecmo's Deception: Invitation To The Darkness 126. Gex 3: Deep Cover Gecko 125. Front Mission 3 124. Jet Moto 2 123. Mega Man Legends 122. Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete 121. Spyro The Dragon 120. Micro Maniacs 119. NHL 99 118. Final Fantasy VI 117. Star Ocean: The Second Story 116. Diablo 115. Bust A Groove 2 114. Theme Park 113. Dragon Warrior VII 112. Breath Of Fire IV 111. Rival Schools: United By Fate 110. ESPN Extreme Games 109. Discworld II: Missing Presumed...!? 108. Tenchu 2: Birth Of Stealth Assassins 107. Bushido Blade 2 106. Slap Happy Rhythm Busters 105. The Rugrats: The Search For Reptar 104. Worms 103. Grandia 102. Breath Of Fire III 101. Speed Freaks 100. Nightmare Creatures 99. Panzer Bandit 98. Monster Rancher 97. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 96. Command & Conquer 95. X-COM: UFO Defense 94. Gradius Gaiden 93. V.R. Baseball '99 92. Jade Cocoon: Story of Tamamayu 91. Medal Of Honor: Underground 90. Worms: Armageddon 89. Monster Rancher 2 88. Skullmonkeys 87. WipEout 86. Dino Crisis 2 85. Thunderforce IV 84. Rage Racer 83. Parasite Eve 82. Xenogears 81. Ogre Battle: March Of The Black Queen 80. ISS Pro Evolution 2 79. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 78. Need For Speed III: Hot Pursuit 77. Grand Theft Auto 76. Chrono Trigger 75. Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee 74. NASCAR 98 73. The Adventures Of Little Ralph 72. Tomb Raider III: The Adventures Of Laura Croft 71. Intelligent Qube 70. Wild Arms 2 69. Mega Man X5 68. UnJammer Lammy 67. G-Police 66. Gungage 65. Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Complete 64. MediEvil 63. Mega Man X4 62. Die Hard Trilogy 61. Doom 60. WWF Attitude 59. Mega Man X6 58. Valkyrie Profile 57. Gex 56. WCW Mayhem 55. Final Fantasy Origins 54. WCW vs. The World 53. R4: Ridge Racer Type 4 52. Crash Team Racing 51. Madden NFL 2000 50. Medal Of Honor 49. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 48. Klonoa: Door To Phantomile 47. Spider-Man 46. Tenchu: Stealth Assassins 45. Mortal Kombat Trilogy 44. Mega Man 8 43. Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back 42. Dino Crisis 41. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 40. Destruction Derby 2 39. Suikodden II 38. Parasite Eve II 37. Destruction Derby 36. Twisted Metal 35. Legacy Of Kain: Soulk Reaver 34. Vagrant Story 33. Silent Bomber 32. Legend Of Dragoon 31. Wild Arms
Now for clues to the next five games on the list
* Computer Crash
* Enter If You Dare
* Isn't That Odd
* Rune Of Life And Death
* The Rock Lays This On All His Opponent's Candy Asses
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Post by Seth Drakin of Monster Crap on Nov 13, 2007 21:00:01 GMT -5
30. Gex: Enter The Gecko Gex: Enter the Gecko is the sequel to Gex and the first in the series in 3D (2D for Game Boy). The game involves collecting 3 types of remotes to unlock different levels and to aid in the fight against Rez. Leslie Phillips provided the voice for Gex in the UK and European release of Gex: Enter the Gecko. Dana Gould provided the voice in the US version. Since Gex's retirement from the public eye in 1996, television held the only enjoyment in his life. Gex resigned himself to a life of solitude away from the paparazzi frenzy of a few years ago, tucked away in the Maui hillside with his life partner, a big-screen TV. Only things take a turn for the worse when Gex is visited by secret government agents who tell Gex that Rez has returned and hijacked the Media Dimension, a world which has power over all of the world's television. Gex's mission is to rescue television from Rez and make him "disappear." Description of the following channel-worlds which play host to the different TV-related missions upon which Gex must fight through in order to acquire the special remotes: Pre-History Channel: A TV channel-world that references pre-history and the stone-age with extensive references to The Flintstones. This level's main enemies are dinosaurs such as Triceratops and Pterodactyls. "Pangaea 90210" and "Lava Dabba Doo" take place around a giant volcano, while "This Old Cave" takes place in a lava-filled cave. Missions: Pangaea 90210, This Old Cave Secret level: Lava Dabba Doo Scream TV: This channel-world is heavily inspired by American horror movies throughout. It features monsters such as ghosts and zombies. Missions: Frankensteinfeld, Poltergex, Smellraiser Bonus level: Thursday the 12th Secret level: Texas Chainsaw Manicure Circuit Central: References the Net and computer science with slight homage to Tron. This level features an energy sphere that, if Gex touches it, allows him to be full of electrical energy for a limited time to activate deactivated machinery. Missions: Honey, I Shrunk The Gecko, WWW.DotCom.ComBonus levels: Bugged Out, Chips & Dips Rocket Channel: Another channel-world paying homage to genre of science fiction television and film, such as Star Wars and Star Trek. Gex constantly needs air in this channel, which can be refuelled at certain points. Missions: Pain in the Asteroids, The Umpire Strikes Out Bonus Levels: I've Got the Reruns, Trouble in Uranus Toon TV: Gex explores a channel-world home to the Saturday morning American cartoons. This makes references to cartoons such as Looney Tunes. For example, there is a hunter similar to Elmer Fudd and signs that say "wabbit season". Missions: Fine Tooning, Out of Toon Kung-Fu Theater: "Grab some take-out and then turn some guy into Kung-Fu Chicken. Pulling out chest hair is no fair." – Another genre inspired channel-world with references to martial arts cinema. Mao Tse Tongue features a mini-boss: a long, red dragon. Missions: Mao Tse Tongue, Samurai Night Fever Bonus Level: Lizard In A China Shop Rezopolis: Rez's personal channel-world inspired by various genres in TV-culture and movie genres such as crime drama and the disaster film etc. Missions: No Weddings and a Funeral Bonus Levels: In Drag Net, The Spy Who Loved Himself Secret Level: Mazed & Confused Boss TV: These are the boss levels. Each one is worth a gold remote. Missions: Gilligex Island, Mooshoo Pork, Gexzilla Vs. Mecharez, Channel Z
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Post by Seth Drakin of Monster Crap on Nov 13, 2007 21:06:41 GMT -5
29. Oddworld: Abe's Exxodus Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus is considered a bonus title in the Oddworld series, essentially a sequel to Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee, and thus does not count as one of the games in the Oddworld quintology. It continues the story of Abe, charting his efforts to save his fellow Mudokons from another dastardly plot by the Glukkons to enslave them. The game was released to similar critical acclaim as the first title, with similar, albeit slightly enhanced gameplay. Just like in the first game, you can talk to other characters. You can say phrases such as "hello" and "follow me" to make them come to you. Sometimes you have to pull several levers at the same time, and you have to find enough friends to help you and order them to pull. Unlike the first game the characters have emotions or status ailments such as being angry, giddy, sad or blind. These won't obey your orders (except blind ones) but you can console them. 1. An angry character becomes normal when you comfort, and attacks you when you slap him. 2. A giddy character becomes normal when you slap him and there is no laughing gas around. 3. A sad character becomes normal when you comfort, and suicidal when you snarl at him. 4. A sick character needs a cure and will not respond until he gets it. 5. A blind character can't see, So you must tell him to "wait" before he walks into a drill, or other trap. Like in the first game you can also possess creatures by chanting while they are on the screen, but in addition to the sligs, you can also possess paramites, scrabs, glukkons and even your own farts after drinking Soulstorm Brew. There is essentially the same cast in this game as there was in the last , but a few new additions as well: * Sligs: Trigger happy creatures who have no legs, but robotic appendages to aid movement and speed. These robotic legs are often referred to as "pants". They have a tentacle-like face, and have room temperature IQs. They attack Abe on sight, using a machine gun. * Scrabs: These are creatures with four "crablike" legs, and a claw-like head. They are very vicious creatures and nothing can get in their way, except other scrabs. * Paramites: Vicious creatures with attitude, unlike Scrabs they won't attack right away. But find them in packs or corner them and you're in trouble. Paramites can easily be distracted with thrown meat. * Shrykull: What appears to be a paramite and a scrab put together, Abe can transform into this god-like creature and blow everything away with its mighty lightning and spirit powers. * Fleeches: They start life as happy pets for Glukkons. But when they grow too big they are flushed down the toilet (Literally. Fleeches inhabit the Oddworld underworld.) Fleeches can often be found sleeping while hanging to the ceiling. They will try to catch Abe on sight using their long, sticky tongues, after which they swallow him in one piece. They fear Scrabs, and will attempt to stay away from them if possible. A player can use this to their advantage. * Flying Sligs: Sligs without the pants. They have helicopter rotors instead and attack with grenades. * Slurgs: The lowest form of life in Oddworld. They are basically Slugs, but uglier. They resign on the offal of Fleeches, and when stepped upon they burst open, emitting a 'beep' sound that wakes up the fleeches. Paramites can eat the slurgs. * Slogs: A Slig's best friend. They resemble something of a deformed dog. Consisting of only two legs and a head with razor sharp teeth. Very vicious, and "Their favourite bone is in Abe's leg". * Sloggies: The puppy form of a Slog, but still as dangerous. * Crawling Sligs: They're Sligs who decided to disobey orders and sleep without their pants on, making them very vulnerable until they can get a set. * Greeters: A robotic security guard. They were once created for public speaking and advertising. They started to attack their customers so they were made security guards. * Mudokons: Abe is a Mudokon, Mudokons are either enslaved or living in the wild. * Glukkons: Sleazy businessmen with what looks like a body, a head, and stubby clown-like feet. They will stop at nothing to make a profit. They'll even wipe out an entire species if they have to. They wiped out the Meeches, and nearly the Scrabs and Paramites too. They have degenerated legs so they use their long arms for walking, as can be seen in the good ending of Abe's Oddysee. Since they use their arms for walking, they're harmless on their own, but they use sligs to do the work. * Vice President Aslik: Glukkon in charge of FeeCo Depot, a large railway station and storage/transshipment area. * General Dripik: Glukkon in charge of the Slig Barracks. * Director Phleg: Glukkon in charge of the Bonewerks, a bone-processing plant.
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Post by Seth Drakin of Monster Crap on Nov 13, 2007 21:11:09 GMT -5
28. Crash Bandicoot Crash Bandicoot is a platform game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the Sony PlayStation in 1996, featuring the character of the same name. Crash is a marsupial evolved by the psychopathic Doctor Neo Cortex and his right hand man Doctor Nitrus Brio. The story follows Crash's effort to stop his creators' plans for world domination, clean up any pollution they have caused and save his girlfriend Tawna, a female bandicoot also evolved by Doctor Cortex and Nitrus Brio. The game, as well as being originally released on the PlayStation, was also emulated on the PlayStation Network in 2006, through which it can be played on the Sony PlayStation Portable and, as of Operating System update 1.70, on the PlayStation 3. The game has twenty-five normal levels, as well as two secret levels and six boss battles, the six bosses being the local tribe leader Papu Papu, the insane Ripper Roo, the muscle-bound Koala Kong, the gun-toting Pinstripe Potoroo, Doctor Nitrus Brio, and finally, Doctor Neo Cortex himself. The player must make their way through a limited environment whilst defeating enemies, avoiding pits and breaking crates, each of which contain some kind of bonus. Breaking all of a level's crates while not losing a life will reward the player with a gem. The boss battles have the player avoiding the boss character's attacks, then attacking the boss when the boss is vulnerable. Crash's only forms of attack are jumping and spinning. The majority of enemies can be defeated by using the jump attack, but enemies that cannot be defeated by the jump attack must be defeated by using the spinning move. This move can also be used to hit enemies into other enemies or crates. Also, in some levels, Crash will ride a hog, which he has limited control over. In levels such as these, the player must avoid obstacles such as enemies while continuously going forward at fast speed on the hog. Also, numerous levels have the player being chased by a boulder, in which players must run towards the screen while jumping over gaps. The player can collect masks hidden in crates. When protected by these floating masks, the player is protected from one enemy's attack or contact. Collecting three masks will give players temporary invulnerability from all minor dangers. Also available in numerous levels are tokens hidden inside crates. These tokens feature the likenesses of either Tawna, Doctor Nitrus Brio or Doctor Neo Cortex. Once the player collects three matching tokens in one stage, the player is transported to a bonus round, where the player can collect additional fruit and items. The Tawna bonus rounds can be used to save any progress made before that point/ As the first game of the series, the game only features nine characters, a majority of them voiced by Brendan O'Brien. The game's protagonist is Crash Bandicoot, a brave bandicoot evolved by Doctor Neo Cortex, trying to clean up the pollution the doctor has caused and stop him in his plans for world domination with the help of Aku Aku. Doctor Cortex, while trying to create the ultimate soldier using the Evolvo Ray and the Cortex Vortex using Crash as one of his experiments, noticed that the experiment had gone wrong and chased him out of his castle. He considers Crash a failure due to his average intelligence. Washing up on N. Sanity Island, he resolves to stop Cortex and save Tawna, another evolved female bandicoot. Aku Aku is the voodoo mask spirit of an old witch doctor. He watches over the three islands and aids Crash on his quest to defeat Doctor Cortex and clear up the toxic waste he has created. Doctor Neo Cortex is a villainous mad scientist and the game's main antagonist. He has evolved the wildlife of the islands, turning them into anthropomorphic beasts, hoping to use them to form an army. Doctor Nitrus Brio is a deranged scientist and Doctor Cortex's right-hand man. The creator of the Evolvo-Ray, though with his lack of ambition he has let Doctor Cortex take the credit for its creation. Naughty Dog created him as a foil to Doctor Cortex, with Brio being successful to Cortex's failure, logical to Cortex's emotional. Also, as well as Cortex and Brio, Papu Papu, the deranged Ripper Roo, the muscular Koala Kong and The Godfather inspired Pinstripe Potoroo all serve as bosses. The game is set on a group of three Australian islands owned by Doctor Neo Cortex known as the Wumpa Islands (though they wouldn't be called by this name until the release of Crash of the Titans eleven years later). The main settings for levels, particularly on the first two islands, are either forests, tribesmen villages, or beaches. The jungle environment focused on peace and harmony. Some levels on the second island also take place in temple ruins, where the artists envisioned an overgrown, organic level. The third island is more industrial, and its levels take place in power plants and a castle. The interior of the castle was designed to reflect Doctor Cortex's twisted mind. A level's enemies depend on the level's setting. The numerous levels set on the first and second islands would contain crabs, tortoises and tribesmen as enemies. In contrast, enemies in levels set in the power plants on the third island are mostly mechanical robots, while those set in the castle contain the identical android Lab Assistants and monstrous experiments as the enemies. The game takes place on a small trio of islands just south-east of Australia, all owned by the evil scientist, Doctor Neo Cortex. With the aid of Doctor Nitrus Brio, he creates the Evolvo Ray, which they use to evolve the various animals living on the islands, all while causing terrible pollution. One of their experiments was a bandicoot, Crash. Once evolved by the Evolvo Ray, the duo tests the Cortex Vortex on him, a machine that would put him completely under their control. However, this experiment on Crash fails, and Crash flees from his captors. Falling out of a window of Doctor Neo Cortex's castle, Crash awakes on a beach on N. Sanity Island. During Crash's time in captivity, he had become attached with another evolved bandicoot, the female Tawna. Resolving to defeat Cortex, clean up the pollution he had caused and rescue Tawna, he sets off. After defeating the tribe chief Papu Papu, Crash crosses over to the second island, where he defeats two of the doctor's henchmen, mutants Ripper Roo and Koala Kong. Eventually, he makes it to the third island, where he enters the power plant causing the pollution. After making it to the core of the plant he fights its chief executive officer, Pinstripe Potoroo. During their battle the core is destroyed by stray bullets, halting the pollution. After making his way to Cortex's castle, Crash wanders through the laboratories and defeats Doctor Nitrus Brio. He climbs to the top of the tower, and sets the castle on fire. As the building burns to the ground, Crash makes it to Cortex's airship, where he and Cortex fight. After using Doctor Cortex's own projectiles against him, he sends Cortex falling to his apparent death. United with Tawna, they escape the burning castle on Doctor Cortex's airship.
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Post by Seth Drakin of Monster Crap on Nov 13, 2007 21:15:01 GMT -5
27. Suikoden Suikoden is the first installment of the Suikoden series by Konami. It is a console role-playing game developed and published by Konami that was released initially in Japan in 1995 for the Sony PlayStation. A North American release followed one year later, and a European release came the following March. The game was also released for the Sega Saturn in 1998 only in Japan. The game centers around the political struggles of the Scarlet Moon Empire. The player controls the son of a Scarlet Moon Empire general who is destined to seek out 108 warriors (referred to as the 108 Stars of Destiny) in order to revolt against the corrupt sovereign state and bring peace to a war-torn land. The game is loosely based on the Chinese novel Shui Hu Zhuan. The game features a vast array of characters both controllable and not, with over ninety characters usable in combat and many more able to help or hinder the the hero in a variety of ways. Suikoden plays like a traditional console role-playing game, with the player moving characters across a landscape, advancing the plot by completing tasks and talking with other characters and has been compared to Beyond the Beyond and Final Fantasy VII. The Hero may recruit up to a grand total of 108 new characters to his cause, although the battle system in Suikoden features six person parties in combat, with each character being individually controllable. Combat triggers through random encounters and is largely turn-based in that both the player-controlled party members and the computer-controlled enemy combatants select their actions before the turn commences and, once the turn begins, carry out their actions in the order of their speed. A variety of statistics determine in-game combat ability, including optimum weapon range. Weapon range requires the player to think character placement in the standard battle formation. There are three ranges from which a character can have the ability to attack: Short, Medium and Long. Short range characters are typically swordsmen who have to be placed at the front row of the six party formation, while Medium range attacks can fight from either the front or the back row, meanwhile Long range attackers can attack from both ranges but benefit more so from fighting in the back row, usually due to either their low hit point total, their low physical defence, or both. They also benefit from being able to attack either the enemy's front row or back row in combat. If all 6 characters lose all their hit points and are thus incapacitated, it is game over and the player must restart from a save point. Exceptions exist for certain plot battles in which winning is optional; the player can lose and the plot continues on, albeit in a slightly different fashion. Weapons are unique to each character and require sharpening in towns that have blacksmiths. There are no weapon shops in Suikoden and equipment shopping is limited to armour and items. However, because of the need to sharpen a minimum of 6 characters' weapons at any one time, this can be a more expensive process than in a typical RPG.. Information gathering and character recruiting is also a common place occurrence within towns. Wilderness areas such as the world map or dungeons generally feature random encounters with monsters that do not increase in difficulty as the player's party advances in level. Runes are the source of all magic in the world of Suikoden. Characters have a certain number of spell usages per "spell level;" governed generally by their magic statistic. For instance, a character with 4 level 1 spell slots and a Water Rune could cast "Kindness Drops" (the level 1 Water Rune spell) 4 times. Other runes offer different benefits such as allowing a character to deal double damage at the cost of a 50% reduction in defence. Most runes can only be used in a limited capacity. Two other type of battle system exist: duel battles and war battles. Both duel battles and strategic war battles are analogous to Rock, Paper, Scissors. In one-on-one duels, there are three commands: attack, defend and special. Attack beats defend, defend beats special and special beats attack. In strategic war battles, the four major groups are charge attacks, bow attacks, magic attacks and others. Charge attacks beat bow attacks, bow attacks beat magic attacks and magic attacks beat charge attacks. The 'other' command acts as a free special command enabling you to for example, learn what the enemy's next attack will be. Suikoden tells the story of a nameless hero, known as McDohl in the novelization, in the vein of a political-military oriented theme. McDohl is the son of a Great General of the Scarlet Moon Empire, Teo McDohl. Teo is called away to fight a battle in the northlands, leaving his son alone under the guardianship of several family friends to begin his career in the Imperial Army. He soon comes to realise through his missions and association with his leaders that the corruption within the Empire's top tier has led to a country where its populace is enslaved and unhappy. Through his friend Ted, he comes into possession of the Rune of Life and Death (also known as the Soul Eater), one of 27 True Runes that govern various aspects of the world. The Rune, ruthlessly hunted for by corrupt officials within the Empire and their manipulators, force Tir and his companions to flee the capital city of Gregminster. This early chain of events forces McDohl to cross paths with a rebel organisation where he is sheltered, although he is only convinced of the need to struggle against the Empire when the hideout is attacked and sacked by Imperial forces. Recruiting the help of Mathiu Silverberg, a former Imperial strategist, McDohl's Liberation Army starts off as a small force working to unite rebel factions throughout Scarlet Moon, and eventually becomes a force large enough and powerful enough to bring down the Empire itself. Suikoden boasts an extremely large number of characters with over 108 allied characters and numerous enemies and neutral characters. Many of the characters in this game would later go on to appear in other games in the Suikoden franchise. See List of recurring characters in Suikoden for a comprehensive list.
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Post by Seth Drakin of Monster Crap on Nov 13, 2007 21:19:19 GMT -5
26. WWF Smackdown WWF SmackDown! (Exciting Pro Wrestling in Japan) is a professional wrestling video game released on the PlayStation console by THQ and developed by YUKE's Future Media Creators. It is part of the WWF SmackDown! series based on the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) professional wrestling promotion. This game was succeeded by WWF SmackDown! 2: Know Your Role. SmackDown! was the first WWF game on the PlayStation to be published by THQ, taking over for the previous publisher Acclaim. The most significant change most people found with this game over its predecessor from Acclaim, WWF Attitude, was its much faster, arcade-style gameplay. Unlike Attitude which depended on Tekken-like button press sequences to produce even the simplest of moves, SmackDown! had a clear cut system for moves such as combining an arrow key with the circle button for grappling moves and combining an arrow key with the X button for striking moves. Another feature that was well received was the addition of various backstage rooms for the wrestlers to fight in, which reflected the product at the time with Hardcore matches going backstage. This was only the second wrestling game to have this feature (the previously released WCW Mayhem being the first). The game also featured the first extensive Season Mode in a WWF game, in which the player was allowed to participate in WWF storylines. Featured Wrestlers Are: * Al Snow * Big Bossman * Big Show * Bradshaw * Bubba Ray Dudley * Chris Jericho * Christian * Chyna * Debra * D'Lo Brown * D-Von Dudley * Edge * Faarooq * Gangrel * The Godfather * Hardcore Holly * Jeff Hardy * Kane * Ken Shamrock * Mankind * Mark Henry * Matt Hardy * Mr. Ass * Paul Bearer * Road Dogg * The Rock * Shane McMahon * Steve Blackman * Stone Cold * Test * Tori * Triple H * The Undertaker * Val Venis * Vince McMahon * X-Pac
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Post by Seth Drakin of Monster Crap on Nov 13, 2007 21:28:24 GMT -5
Now For A Countdown Update
200. Fear Effect 199. Arc The Lad II 198. Croc: Legend Of The Goobos 197. NFL Gameday 2000 196. Philosoma 195. Command & Conquer: Red Alert 194. Star Wars: Rebel Assault II 193. Discworld 192. Psychic Force 191. Point Blank 190. Metal Slug X 189. Einhander 188. ECW Anarchy Rulz 187. Guilty Gear 186. Bust A Groove 185. Wild 9 184. Blasto 183. Jumping Flash 182. Rollcage 181. Ray Storm 180. Treasures Of The Deep 179. Dark Stalkers 3 178. Vandal Hearts II 177. Star Wars: Dark Forces 176. Pandemonium 175. Madden NFL 2003 174. Darkstalkers 173. Omega Boost 172. Madden NFL 2001 171. Vandal Hearts 170. Jet Moto 169. Croc 2 168. WWF Wrestlemania: The Arcade Game 167. Motor Toon Grand Prix 2 166. You Don't Know Jack 165. PaRappa The Rapper 164. Evil Zone 163. Bloody Roar 162. Fighting Force 2 161. Area 51 160. Ridge Racer 159. Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation 158. WipEout 3 157. Theme Hospital 156. Quake II 155. Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together 154. Ape Escape 153. Fighting Force 152. King Of The Fighters 95 151. Street Fighter EX Plus Alpha 150. Hydro Thunder 149. Colin McRae Rally 148. Legend Of Mana 147. Saga Frontier 146. Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo 145. Duke Nukem: Total Meltdown 144. Mega Man X3 143. Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage 142. Kagero: Deception 2 141. WCW Nitro 140. Rayman 2: The Great Escape 139. NHL 98 138. Mortal Kombat 4 137. TOCA: Touring Cars 2 136. Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped 135. Vigilante 8 134. Power Move Pro Wrestling 133. Rayman 132. Terra Diver 131. Spyro: Year Of The Dragon 130. Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash Of The Super Heroes 129. World Cup 98 128. The Raiden Project 127. Tecmo's Deception: Invitation To The Darkness 126. Gex 3: Deep Cover Gecko 125. Front Mission 3 124. Jet Moto 2 123. Mega Man Legends 122. Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete 121. Spyro The Dragon 120. Micro Maniacs 119. NHL 99 118. Final Fantasy VI 117. Star Ocean: The Second Story 116. Diablo 115. Bust A Groove 2 114. Theme Park 113. Dragon Warrior VII 112. Breath Of Fire IV 111. Rival Schools: United By Fate 110. ESPN Extreme Games 109. Discworld II: Missing Presumed...!? 108. Tenchu 2: Birth Of Stealth Assassins 107. Bushido Blade 2 106. Slap Happy Rhythm Busters 105. The Rugrats: The Search For Reptar 104. Worms 103. Grandia 102. Breath Of Fire III 101. Speed Freaks 100. Nightmare Creatures 99. Panzer Bandit 98. Monster Rancher 97. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 96. Command & Conquer 95. X-COM: UFO Defense 94. Gradius Gaiden 93. V.R. Baseball '99 92. Jade Cocoon: Story of Tamamayu 91. Medal Of Honor: Underground 90. Worms: Armageddon 89. Monster Rancher 2 88. Skullmonkeys 87. WipEout 86. Dino Crisis 2 85. Thunderforce IV 84. Rage Racer 83. Parasite Eve 82. Xenogears 81. Ogre Battle: March Of The Black Queen 80. ISS Pro Evolution 2 79. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 78. Need For Speed III: Hot Pursuit 77. Grand Theft Auto 76. Chrono Trigger 75. Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee 74. NASCAR 98 73. The Adventures Of Little Ralph 72. Tomb Raider III: The Adventures Of Laura Croft 71. Intelligent Qube 70. Wild Arms 2 69. Mega Man X5 68. UnJammer Lammy 67. G-Police 66. Gungage 65. Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Complete 64. MediEvil 63. Mega Man X4 62. Die Hard Trilogy 61. Doom 60. WWF Attitude 59. Mega Man X6 58. Valkyrie Profile 57. Gex 56. WCW Mayhem 55. Final Fantasy Origins 54. WCW vs. The World 53. R4: Ridge Racer Type 4 52. Crash Team Racing 51. Madden NFL 2000 50. Medal Of Honor 49. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 48. Klonoa: Door To Phantomile 47. Spider-Man 46. Tenchu: Stealth Assassins 45. Mortal Kombat Trilogy 44. Mega Man 8 43. Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back 42. Dino Crisis 41. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 40. Destruction Derby 2 39. Suikoden II 38. Parasite Eve II 37. Destruction Derby 36. Twisted Metal 35. Legacy Of Kain: Soulk Reaver 34. Vagrant Story 33. Silent Bomber 32. Legend Of Dragoon 31. Wild Arms 30. Gex: Enter The Gecko 29. Oddworld: Abe's Exxodus 28. Crash Bandicoot 27. Suikoden 26. WWF Smackdown
That is all for today. Tomorrow is the final day where we find out the Top 25.
Now for clues to the next five games on the list
* Dagger Of Xian
* Drive To Win
* King Of The Iron Fist Title
* Southern Cross
* This Game Has Soul
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Post by MGH on Nov 13, 2007 21:33:38 GMT -5
30. Gex: Enter The Gecko Gex: Enter the Gecko is the sequel to Gex and the first in the series in 3D (2D for Game Boy). The game involves collecting 3 types of remotes to unlock different levels and to aid in the fight against Rez. Leslie Phillips provided the voice for Gex in the UK and European release of Gex: Enter the Gecko. Dana Gould provided the voice in the US version. Since Gex's retirement from the public eye in 1996, television held the only enjoyment in his life. Gex resigned himself to a life of solitude away from the paparazzi frenzy of a few years ago, tucked away in the Maui hillside with his life partner, a big-screen TV. Only things take a turn for the worse when Gex is visited by secret government agents who tell Gex that Rez has returned and hijacked the Media Dimension, a world which has power over all of the world's television. Gex's mission is to rescue television from Rez and make him "disappear." Description of the following channel-worlds which play host to the different TV-related missions upon which Gex must fight through in order to acquire the special remotes: Pre-History Channel: A TV channel-world that references pre-history and the stone-age with extensive references to The Flintstones. This level's main enemies are dinosaurs such as Triceratops and Pterodactyls. "Pangaea 90210" and "Lava Dabba Doo" take place around a giant volcano, while "This Old Cave" takes place in a lava-filled cave. Missions: Pangaea 90210, This Old Cave Secret level: Lava Dabba Doo Scream TV: This channel-world is heavily inspired by American horror movies throughout. It features monsters such as ghosts and zombies. Missions: Frankensteinfeld, Poltergex, Smellraiser Bonus level: Thursday the 12th Secret level: Texas Chainsaw Manicure Circuit Central: References the Net and computer science with slight homage to Tron. This level features an energy sphere that, if Gex touches it, allows him to be full of electrical energy for a limited time to activate deactivated machinery. Missions: Honey, I Shrunk The Gecko, WWW.DotCom.ComBonus levels: Bugged Out, Chips & Dips Rocket Channel: Another channel-world paying homage to genre of science fiction television and film, such as Star Wars and Star Trek. Gex constantly needs air in this channel, which can be refuelled at certain points. Missions: Pain in the Asteroids, The Umpire Strikes Out Bonus Levels: I've Got the Reruns, Trouble in Uranus Toon TV: Gex explores a channel-world home to the Saturday morning American cartoons. This makes references to cartoons such as Looney Tunes. For example, there is a hunter similar to Elmer Fudd and signs that say "wabbit season". Missions: Fine Tooning, Out of Toon Kung-Fu Theater: "Grab some take-out and then turn some guy into Kung-Fu Chicken. Pulling out chest hair is no fair." – Another genre inspired channel-world with references to martial arts cinema. Mao Tse Tongue features a mini-boss: a long, red dragon. Missions: Mao Tse Tongue, Samurai Night Fever Bonus Level: Lizard In A China Shop Rezopolis: Rez's personal channel-world inspired by various genres in TV-culture and movie genres such as crime drama and the disaster film etc. Missions: No Weddings and a Funeral Bonus Levels: In Drag Net, The Spy Who Loved Himself Secret Level: Mazed & Confused Boss TV: These are the boss levels. Each one is worth a gold remote. Missions: Gilligex Island, Mooshoo Pork, Gexzilla Vs. Mecharez, Channel Z Words can't describe how much fun I had playing this one over and over. It's around here somewhere, this almost makes me want to go dig it out.
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Post by Koda, Master Crunchyroller on Nov 13, 2007 21:35:16 GMT -5
Soul Calibur!
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Post by Seth Drakin of Monster Crap on Nov 13, 2007 22:23:22 GMT -5
Soul Caliber did not make the list. Sorry, but you are incorrect.
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Post by Seth Drakin of Monster Crap on Nov 14, 2007 9:06:54 GMT -5
25. Tekken Tekken is a fighting game and is the first of the series of the same name. It was released at arcades in 1994 and on the PlayStation in 1995 and was later released again in Tekken 5's arcade history mode. It was developed and published by Namco. Tekken is one of the earliest 3D fighting game franchises, with the first game applying many of the concepts found in Virtua Fighter by Sega. As with many fighting games, players choose a character from a lineup, and engage in hand-to-hand combat with an opponent. Tekken differs from other hand-to-hand fighting games in some ways. Traditional fighting games are usually played with buttons which correspond to the strength of the attack, such as strong punch or weak kick. Tekken, however, dedicates a button to each limb of the fighter, making learning special attacks more of an intuitive process. The player could watch the animation on screen and figure out the appropriate command (if the character kicks low with their right leg, the move is likely to be executed by pressing down and right kick, or a similar variation). Traditional fighting games, such as Street Fighter, involve inputting commands as rapidly and accurately as possible, whereas Tekken slows the action down, emphasizing rhythm, strategy, and deception over speed. By default, there will be two rounds of combat. However, the players have a choice from one to five rounds, as well as options for the time limit of each round. If the winning character retains all his or her health without the time having run out, the announcer will say, "Perfect!" If the winning character is near knock out, the announcer will call, "Great!" Occasionally, both characters will be knocked out simultaneously, and the announcer will call "Double K.O." If the time limit for the round expires, the character with more health will be declared the winner. If one does not exist, the round will be a draw. In most cases, the announcer will call "K.O." when one character is victorious. In the game, the name of the location was displayed in the bottom right corner of the screen. The locations included Angkor Wat, Szechwan, Monument Valley, Chicago, Kyoto, Fiji, Windermere, Venezia, Akropolis, King George Island, and Chiba Marine Stadium (however, in later Tekken games the location names were removed). A worldwide martial arts tournament is nearing its final, with a large purse of prize money to the fighter who can defeat Heihachi Mishima in the final round of competition. The contest is sponsored by the giant financial group, the Mishima Zaibatsu. There are eight fighters that remain after winning death matches all over the world. The winner of the tournament will receive The King of the Iron Fist title. Only one will have a chance at defeating Heihachi and taking home the prize money and fame. The player is initially able to select one of those eight fighters at the start of the game, each one having their own personal reasons for entering the tournament aside from the prize money. Kazuya Mishima is the main character. Heihachi's biological son, he was thrown into a ravine by his tyrannical father when he was five years old. Heihachi, believing his son was too weak to ever inherit his conglomerate, decided that if he were truly strong enough, he would be able to survive the fall and climb back up. Kazuya barely survived a fall that left him with the scar prominently visible on his chest. Fueled by hatred for his father, he enters the tournament to exact his revenge. Although all playable characters in Tekken have their own ending upon completion of their particular scenario, depicting events following the tournament as if they were the one victorious, it became a staple in later Tekken games of having only one character's ending as the true canonical one, and the following sequel's storyline is based on what happened after that particular ending. Starting characters* Kazuya Mishima * King * Nina Williams * Paul Phoenix * Michelle Chang * Marshall Law * Yoshimitsu * Jack Unlockable characters* Lee Chaolan * Armor King * Anna Williams * Kuma * Kunimitsu * Wang Jinrei * Prototype Jack * Ganryu * Heihachi Mishima * Devil
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Post by Seth Drakin of Monster Crap on Nov 14, 2007 9:11:58 GMT -5
24. Tomb Raider II Tomb Raider II is a video game in the Tomb Raider series, and is the sequel to Tomb Raider. It was developed by Core Design and published by Eidos Interactive, and was originally released for PC and PlayStation in 1997. The story of Tomb Raider II concerns the mythical Dagger of Xian, a weapon which in ancient times was used by the Emperor of China to command his army. By plunging the Dagger into its owner's heart, the weapon has the power to turn its wearer into a dragon. A flashback reveals that the last battle which was fought with the Dagger ended in defeat when the warrior monks of Tibet succeeded in removing the knife from the Emperor's heart. The Dagger was then returned to its resting place within the Great Wall and locked up for centuries. The game opens in the present time near the remains of the Great Wall, where Lara Croft is investigating the truth behind the legend of the Dagger. When she discovers the entrance to the chamber of the artifact, it appears that the key to the door lock mechanism is missing, and she is suddenly attacked by an Italian who claims to work for a man named Marco Bartoli. Lara soon learns that Bartoli is a Venetian mob leader who has founded a cult obsessed with the ancient lore of the Dagger. She travels to Venice and follows Bartoli on board his airplane, headed toward an oil rig in the Atlantic. At the site, the cult is carrying out excavations on a sunken ship called the Maria Doria, which once belonged to Bartoli's father Gianni Bartoli. Lara learns from an imprisoned Tibetan monk, brother Chan, that the shipwreck carries an ancient Tibetan artifact called the Seraph. For generations the monks of the Barkhang monastery have been dedicated to preserving the Talion, the key to the door lock mechanism of the Dagger of Xian, even going as far as to sink the Maria Doria. The Seraph in turn is the keystone to the chamber which holds the Talion. Before brother Chan reveals more however he is shot by Bartoli. Lara dives to the wreck and successfully retrieves the Seraph, after which her journey takes her to Barkhang monastery in Tibet. With the help from the warrior monks, she opens the tomb to the Talion and recovers the artifact from its resting place. A high speed Jeep chase with Bartoli in pursuit ends back in China, where Lara opens the door to the chamber holding the Dagger. Before she reaches the artifact however, Lara plunges into the catacombs beneath the Great Wall. Meanwhile Bartoli drives the dagger into his heart, thus transforming into a dragon. In the final showdown, Lara manages to temporarily render the creature unconscious and pulls the dagger from Bartoli's heart. In the epilogue, the remainder of Bartoli's men track Lara down to England and invade her mansion. Settings Are: * England (1 level): Once again, Lara's mansion in England is home to a training course designed to get the player acquainted with the controls of the game. This time training takes place outdoors on an expanded assault course and inside a thorn bush maze. The old but loyal family butler of the Crofts, Winston will follow the player around during training. The final level also takes place in Lara's mansion, when the remains of Bartoli's cult break into her home looking for revenge. * China (4 levels): The game begins with a prelude at the Great Wall of China. After the Tibet missions are completed, three more levels in this location follow, all taking place in and around the catacombs which hold the dagger. * Venice (3 levels): In Venice Lara infiltrates Marco Bartoli's hideout. The levels provide the player with the first opportunity to drive vehicles, in this case a motorboat. * Offshore Rig (2 levels): While hiding on board Bartoli's plane as a stowaway, Lara is knocked unconscious by one of Bartoli's henchmen. When she wakes up, she finds herself stripped of all her weapons and trapped on an oil rig surrounded by a huge ocean. * The Wreck of the Maria Doria (4 levels): The game continues underwater into the remains of the wreck of the Maria Doria, a luxury ship that sank decades ago. On board is the mystical artifact called the Seraph. * Tibet (4 levels): In Tibet, the player moves through the ancient catacombs beneath the Barkhang monastery to acquire the Talion key, after which the game returns to China. The gameplay of Tomb Raider II builds upon the basic set up of the original game. For a detailed discussion of its features, see the gameplay section of Tomb Raider. Innovations in Tomb Raider II include, new weapons, extra moves, a small set of vehicles, larger levels, and many enemies. In terms of movement, Lara can now climb walls and perform a mid-air roll used to land in the opposite direction of which the player was facing. The range of weapons has been expanded to include a harpoon gun (though, more correctly termed, it is a speargun), a grenade launcher and an M5 rifle, which requires Lara to assume an aiming stance to fire. The item inventory now includes pyrotechnic flares, which are used to light up dark corners and take advantage of the improved lighting system implemented by the developers. The two vehicles in the game are a motorboat (in Venice) and a snow scooter (in Tibet). Both are used to travel long distances across the map and can speed up on ramps or run over enemies. For Tomb Raider II, Lara's appearance was given a make-over by the designer, Stuart Atkinson, giving her a free-flowing pony tail, a smoother appearance, and several new outfits.[1] In China and Venice she wears her familiar Tomb Raider outfit of a tanktop and shorts, in the ocean levels a half-body wetsuit and in Tibet a flight jacket. The object of the game remains unchanged from the previous game: each level must be finished by solving various puzzles, collecting key items, and performing difficult jumps. However, this time there is an emphasis on gun fights and the killing of human opponents as well. Secrets no longer immediately reward the player with weapons or medipacks. Instead, each secret is marked by a coloured dragon ornament: silver (or stone), jade, and gold, according to the difficulty of their location. Only when Lara has collected each of these dragons in a level will she receive a bonus.
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Post by Seth Drakin of Monster Crap on Nov 14, 2007 9:17:46 GMT -5
23. Driver: You Are The Wheelman Driver: You Are the Wheelman, known simply as Driver outside of the US, is a 1999 video game developed by Reflections Interactive, who had earlier hits with Destruction Derby on the early years of the PlayStation. It is the first game in the Driver series. In the game, the player is Officer Tanner, a cop gone undercover due to his impressive driving skills, and must gain the confidence of the syndicate's bosses by performing increasingly difficult missions such as stopping or following another car, driving through windows, delivering a stolen car or a fan-favorite, scaring a taxi customer. The game is played in four cities—(Miami, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York City)—which, like many games, remain only partially faithful to the original city layouts. The game was designed to look like '60s and '70s car chase movies. The music, the character design in the cut scenes, the cars (with flying hubcaps), everything is inspired from movies such as Bullitt and even TV shows such as Starsky and Hutch. The game also features a Director's Mode where the run could be replayed with cameras chosen by the player, and a Quick Replay, where the cameras were automatically selected. In addition to the Undercover mode, the player also had an option to drive around in the cities (once they were unlocked) and dirt tracks. There were several other modes, like pursuit, escape, checkpoint, and carnage (inflicting as much damage as possible). After the game was finished (or secret passwords inserted in the records screens), several cheats were available. Among them are: skipping the garage mission, give (among others) the car super speed, immunity to police cars, invincibility, or a short ride on Newcastle, Reflections' home town. However some editions of the game do not show this. Initially only for the PlayStation, Windows and Mac ports were released. A special Game Boy Color version was released, with top-down view, only three cities—San Francisco was removed—and fewer missions. At the beginning cutscene, you see Tanner walking through a parking garage looking for a car, and he steals a 1965 Ford Mustang. He starts to drive to the exit of the garage and is spotted by the police and starts a chase. Tanner gets away after the police wreck. Before starting the actual undercover mode, Tanner and a New York City deputy are talking about a mobster named Castaldi. In order to stop him, Tanner must give up his status as a cop and go undercover. Tanner has to prove to very lowly gangsters in a parking garage that he can do jobs for them by demonstrating his skills while keeping the car intact. Success means access to the first mission in Miami. MiamiTanner begins his missions in a Miami motel room. Tanner begins with a lowly bank job carried out by a man named Art and his associates, before being called up to either drive a stolen car to a yard for a respray or helping a lowly gangster called Tico carry out an assassination. If Tanner takes the stolen car mission he works for Art in exchanging a briefcase for a key, but ends up being double-crossed and forced to chase the double-crosser across Miami Bay. If Tanner takes Tico for a ride then Tanner cleans up after a driver left a stolen car and its occupants in the lurch. Tanner then talks to a pimp named Rufus who reveals that he is busting out an associate of his called Jean-Paul from an armoured police car. When Tanner carries this out, he either smashes a group of restaurants for a gangster who has found one of his associates lacking in paying for protection money, or drives an extremely fast car to safety for a gangster who needs the car for a job. After this Tanner is forced to pick up a supply of drugs for an operation and get home with the goods. Upon Tanner's return, Rufus is shot by his girlfriend Jesse and Tanner chases her as she tries to escape in a monorail. Tanner turns her over to the police, and under interrogation she reveals that Castaldi is in San Francisco. San FranciscoTanner begins in San Francisco with a casino job for a bunch of gangsters who have heard he is in town. After this mission he meets an informant known as Mojo, who gives Tanner information about who Jean-Paul is really working for and a man named Rudi for money. From here Tanner either aids in an exchange (passing a test whereby he has to pass through three destinations in a time limit before the pick-up for the exchange), drives stolen guns to a warehouse or aids in the robbery of a shopping mall. Following this, Tanner meets a legendary rival of his called Slater, who was left in the lurch once by Tanner. Tanner punches him but their rivalry is settled before Tanner either aids a gangster in scaring one of his former associates (who double-crossed him) by taking him on a bumpy taxi ride or takes heavy-duty explosives to an alleyway while evading large collisions in order to stop an explosion. If Tanner has scared the associate then he takes a local gangster called Cosy to a chopper taking him out of town, or if he has taken the explosives across town then Tanner aids a group of gangsters left in the lurch in Chinatown. Tanner then gets a phone call whereby he learns that Mojo the informant has been kidnapped, and his captors want $10,000. They make Tanner work to save Mojo by forcing him to go to three phone booths in order to pick up instructions about where to go next. At the third phone booth Mojo is saved and the money exchanged. Mojo reveals that Castaldi (the gangster Jean-Paul is really working for) is working with a man called Don Hancock on the east coast. He also reveals Slater's great hatred for Tanner. Following this Tanner is either setup by Slater and forced to evade cops as he heads home, or aids Castaldi in meeting one of his men called Ross and bringing him to an underground car park for a meeting. The rivalry between Tanner and Slater has become too bitter at this point, and Tanner smashes him off the road on a chase but makes it look like the cops did it. This scares Castaldi into moving to Los Angeles. Los AngelesLA is straight-forward, and all missions are at night. Tanner begins his job here by either stealing a cop car for Castaldi's associates in order for future jobs or picking up an associate called Lucky and taking him to an assassination. Following this Tanner then either chases a double-crossing associate of Castaldi's called Duval and smashes him off the road or gets Castaldi's girlfriend Maya to a hospital after she has overdosed on drugs. Following this Tanner learns of Castaldi's true purpose in Los Angeles: the carrying out of a hit on a fictitious security officer of the FBI called Bill Maddox outside Grauman's Chinese Theater. Tanner later meets with an unnamed partner from New York and alerts him to the assassination of Maddox. Tanner orders him to make sure Maddox turns up or otherwise his cover may be rumbled. He also warns him that there is a FBI leak giving information to Castaldi about Maddox's whereabouts and other pieces of interest. Tanner picks up the assassins from a parking garage before taking them to the Theatre, where the hit takes place. The cops spring an ambush on Tanner, who then takes the gangsters home to an out-of-town safehouse. The gangsters are convinced that Tanner (the newest and therefore least trustworthy of Castaldi's gang) tipped off the cops, but he convinces them that Slater probably let the San Francisco police know about the hit under interrogation. Tanner survives, then either rescues Lucky from a gangster called Granger, helps some associates escape from a Beverly Hills job or tests the effectiveness of a safehouse by driving to it. New York CityWhen Tanner arrives back in New York he begins by either making a switch at Grand Central Terminal (a briefcase for a key to a man in a Stetson hat) before getting double-crossed by the Stetson wearer or taking a very damaged car to a scrapyard for crushing before the cops can pick it up. Following this Tanner either takes control of a cop car to thwart a bank job by Granger's gang and raise his suspicions about possible rats in the gang, or gets some gangsters out of trouble after they were pinned down by cops in a building after a bad getaway job. Following this Tanner brings a cab home for further jobs in the city or destroys Granger's main car. Tanner then meets up with a disguised NYPD associate, who warns him that his boss wants him out now. Tanner ignores him. At this point the good ending mission occurs, destroying four of Granger's gang's cars before they reach Castaldi. If the bad ending is being activated (or the good ending mission is completed) then Tanner meets with his associate from Los Angeles who again warns him that the boss wants him out because he is worried that Tanner's cover will not hold up much longer. Tanner again ignores this advice but tells the associate that he will let him know who the ultimate hit is on. Tanner then goes through his "Rite of Passage", told over the phone by Castaldi that if he does not beat Slater's time across town (7 minutes) then Tanner is out of the final job. Tanner makes the rite, whereupon the bad ending mission occurs where Tanner must get some negatives from a photographer and smash his car up to do so. If Tanner completes this mission (or goes for the good ending) then the final mission starts where Tanner learns that the hit is on the President of the USA. Tanner is forced (in the hardest mission of the game) to ignore all of Castaldi's instructions and take the President to safety. With a little luck (and some skill) , or the use of the invincibility cheat, Tanner takes the President to his parking garage to eventual safety. AftermathTanner drives into the parking garage having taken the President across town and evaded all attention from Castaldi's gang and the police. Tanner checks on the President's condition before Tanner's boss enters along with another unknown man, probably the President's security guard. Tanner's boss congratulates him and tells him that Castaldi, Don Hancock and the FBI leak are behind bars. He tells Tanner to take his badge back, but Tanner is infuriated that the FBI and police could be involved in the job, corrupted by bribes. He leaves the garage, ignoring his boss completely. At the end of the game, depending on which missions you chose to complete, where Tanner drives varies. The good ending (and the more regularly occurring one) shows Tanner in a jeep driving away on a motorway out of New York. It is not clear that he is heading to Chicago, where Tanner starts his undercover job in Driver 2.
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Post by Seth Drakin of Monster Crap on Nov 14, 2007 9:24:16 GMT -5
22. Soul Edge Soul Edge is the first installment in the Soul series of fighting games developed and published by Namco. It was initially released in the arcades in 1995. It was ported to the Sony PlayStation in 1996 where it is usually referred to as Soul Edge Version 2 or Soul Blade in Europe, North America and Australia. Soul Edge has been largely overshadowed by its sequel, Soulcalibur, which has been the moniker of the series since 1999. Soul Edge is the name of the demonic sword, which the story revolves around. Soul Edge is the second 3D fighter to feature characters that fight with weapons, although putting weapons in fighters was not a new concept (Samurai Shodown is an example of a 2D fighter with weapons). Apart from the aesthetic benefits, giving the characters weapons allows for a greater diversity between them, meaning there is someone for every play style. One excellent concept of weapon-based combat implemented by Namco is the major factor that range has in gameplay. The slower, longer ranged characters try to deliver their heavy blows from a distance whereas the quicker, faster characters try to get in as close as possible and deliver quick-hitting attacks. All characters have moves that work at varying ranges though, so longer ranged characters can also hit surprisingly quickly and lesser ranged characters will get in the opponent's face within the blink of an eye if the enemy is careless. One of the series' main attractions was that it was one of the first fighting games to feature detailed accounts of the individual fighters' motivations and common relations in their quest to achieve a common goal for varying purposes. Many players appreciate Namco's ability to introduce new characters to the series with interconnected storylines such that every character is linked to another somehow, with connections growing larger as the series progresses and the characters accomplish new tasks in the events of the story. Soul Edge was created prior to the introduction of the "8-Way Run", which allowed the player to move their character in a complete range on the Y-axis. The characters can sidestep on either side by double-tapping up or down. The jump maneuver (which in Soulcalibur is more like a hop) moves the player higher into the air, even allowing it to pass above the opponent (much like in Tekken). One of the most notable gameplay aspects is the "Weapon Gauge". This bar was found under the character's lifebar and was comparable to the equipped weapons' resistance. Each time the player blocked an attack, the bar would deplete, and if it's totally empty, the character would lose his/her weapon, forced to end the match unarmed. Though this is an original idea, unfortunately the unarmed move-lists are the same for every character. Another feature that was removed from Soulcalibur's engine is when two character strike at the same time, "locking" their weapons. In those situations, those who pressed the right button would have the advantage. This aspect behaves similarly to rock-paper-scissors. Character moves retain a feel of Namco's Tekken series. Each character has in his or her arsenal one or two unblockable attacks, balanced however because of its slow execution. Also, each character is capable of performing one or two Critical Edge attacks, which consisted of a long series of linked hits, which usually ended in a strong high attack. These moves require the input of a special combination of two parts: they're activated by pressing "A+B+K" together, and if it connects, the player has the chance of extending the combo with a character-only sequence, which must be input during the attack. This attack depletes 1/3 of the Weapon Gauge when used. To achieve a ring out (which is a forcable maneuver that ejects the opponent from the arena and gains an automatic victory for the round), the player must be knocked outside the ring by an enemy; the player cannot deliberately or accidentally ring out his/her own character. According to a timeline released by Namco in its Soul Archive old site, Soul Edge's events happens in 1584. This allows the calculation of the characters' birth years. Soul Edge's story is set in the 16th century, and tells the tale of warriors searching for the ultimate sword, "Soul Edge". It has been given many names throughout the story, such as "The Sword of Salvation", "The Sword of Heroes", and "The Ultimate Sword" among others. Many strong warriors searched for years, but very few actually found it. The sword, now in the form of a twin pair of long swords, appeared mysteriously in an auction. They were taken by the dreaded Captain Cervantes. Nothing was known of his fate thereafter... Now, ten warriors from around the world search for the sword for different reasons. Some for power, others for revenge; some believing it's a benevolent sword, searching for its support; while others knowing of its evil nature, seeking its destruction. Nothing is known for certain about the sword, except for one thing: it brings misfortune to those seeking it. Soul Edge introduced many characters still familiar to players today, especially the series' main character--who serves as both a protagonist and an antagonist throughout the series' history--Siegfried; as well as its token samurai and ninja, Mitsurugi and Taki, respectively. The total of characters on the games is of fifteen selectable characters: ten in the Arcade release, and fifteen in the Home Versions: Original Arcade characters: Mitsurugi – Uses a Katana. Mitsurugi is a Japanese mercenary who uses his katana as his weapon of choice. However, he is displeased by the arrival of guns which he is afraid will beat him somehow. He is searching for the SoulEdge because he wants a weapon more powerful than guns. Siegfried – Uses a Zweihänder. Siegfried is a German youth whose father was a knight in the Crusades. One night, Siegfried and a gang of youths ambushed a group of knights fleeing from the Crusades and Siegfried killed the captain but realised it was his father. He has come to believe that someone else killed his father and that someone used the Soul Edge to do so. Taki – Uses a Ninjaken Taki is a ninja who recently defeated a demon haunting a temple and discovered her weapon's powers weakening because of the Soul Edge. Taki leaves Japan to search for the evil sword and planning to destroy it. Li Long – Uses a pair of Nunchaku (possibly changed in some countries to Three section staff due to censorship). Li Long is a Chinese man still in mourning over his late wife Chie who died recently. He has decided to search for Soul Edge because he believes he may be able to revive her. Sophitia – Uses a set of Xiphos and Targe. Sophitia is the daughter of a Greek baker. One day, while in the forest, the god Hephaestus appeared before her and told her of the evil sword, claiming it would bring shame to him as he had not created it. He presented her with the weapons necessary to destroy it. Rock – Uses a Danish Axe. Rock is an English man who grew up in the "New World" after his parents supposedly died on a ship and he washed up on the shores of America. He was shunned by the tribes people who were afraid of him apart from a young boy. Rock is searching for Soul Edge because he thinks it will restore his memories of his parents. Seung Mina – Uses a Guan Dao. Seung Mina is a Korean tomboy brought up in her father's dojo. She is trained in the art of combat but her father wants her to settle down and marry. Mina goes off in search of Soul Edge to prove her skill to her father. Voldo – Uses a pair of Jamadhar Katars. Voldo is a mute Italian who has stayed underground in his master Vercci's tomb where he has lost his sight and listens to his master's ghost who has commanded Voldo to bring him the Soul Edge. Hidden characters in the Arcade version, later made initially selectable in Home Versions: * Hwang – Uses a Chinese Sword. * Cervantes – Uses a pair of twin Long Swords. Extra characters made only for Home Versions: * Han Myong – Uses a Dao SoulEdge – Uses a pair of twin Long Swords "Alternative" versions of certain characters, created exclusively for Home releases: * Siegfried! – Siegfried when possessed by Soul Edge in his Bad Ending. This concept would later evolve into Nightmare. * Sophitia! – Sophitia without armor, from her ending * Sophitia!! – Sophitia wearing a one-piece swimsuit, from her alternate ending Unfinished characters found in the game code for the Home Versions: * Bangu - A mistranslation of Bangoo, Rock's friend from his ending, uses Seung Mina's moveset, his name appears during fights as "Seung Mina" * Belti - A mistranslation of Vercci, Voldo's master, he's actually Vercci's ghost, from Voldo's ending, uses Cervantes' moveset, his name appears during fights as "Sophitia" * Botsu Lilong - An alternate version of Li Long, not enough code in the game for him to be playable * Chie - Li Long's lover from his ending, uses Seung Mina's moveset, her name appears during fights as "Seung Mina" * Diver - The scuba diver from SoulEdge's ending, uses Sophitia's moveset, his name appears during fights as "SoulEdge" * Hage Seig - An alternate version of Seigfried, from his alternate ending, his name appears during fights as "Seung Mina" * Mabochie - An alternate verson of Chie, she's actually Chie's ghost, from Li Long's alternate ending, her name appears during fights as "Seung Mina" * Monkasei - Han Myong's student from Hwang's ending, although the character model was never actually used during the ending, uses Mitsurugi's moveset, his name appears during fights as "Seung Mina" * Nugi Taki - An alternate version of Taki, with no ponytail, armor, or shoes, from her ending, her name appears during fights as "Taki" * Standard - An alternate version of Mitsurugi, who moves slower, has no ponytail, and only has the Murasame weapon selectable, his name appears during fights as "Mitsurugi" * Teppou Hei - Tanegashima from Mitsurugi's ending, uses Mitsurugi's moveset, his name appears during fights as "Seung Mina"
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Post by Seth Drakin of Monster Crap on Nov 14, 2007 9:31:47 GMT -5
21. Chrono Cross Chrono Cross is a console role-playing game developed and published by Square (now Square Enix) for the Sony PlayStation video game console. It is the sequel to Chrono Trigger, which was released in 1995 for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Unlike its predecessor's "Dream Team", Chrono Cross was developed primarily by scenarist and director Masato Kato and other programmers for Chrono Trigger, including art director Yasuyuki Honne and sound planner Minoru Akao. Composer Yasunori Mitsuda scored Chrono Cross and Nobuteru Yûki designed its characters. The story of Chrono Cross focuses on a teenage boy named Serge and a theme of parallel worlds. Faced with an alternate reality in which he died as a child, Serge endeavors to discover the truth of the two worlds' divergence. The flashy thief Kid and forty-three other characters assist him in his travels around the tropical archipelago El Nido. Struggling to uncover his past and find the mysterious Frozen Flame, Serge is chiefly challenged by Lynx, a shadowy antagonist working to apprehend him. Upon its release in Japan in 1999 and in the United States in 2000, Chrono Cross received high ratings and critical acclaim, earning a rare perfect 10.0 score from GameSpot. The game's 1.5 million worldwide sales led to a Greatest Hits re-release and continued life in Japan as part of the Ultimate Hits series. A "Millennium Edition" featuring a calendar, clock, and music sampler disc was also released. Chrono Cross features standard RPG gameplay with certain innovations. Players advance the game by controlling Serge through the game's world by foot and boat. Navigation between areas is conducted via an overworld map, depicting the landscape from a scaled down overhead view. Around the island world are villages, outdoor areas, and dungeons, through which the player moves in three dimensions. Locations such as cities and forests are represented by more realistically scaled field maps, in which players can converse with locals to procure items and services, solve puzzles and challenges, or encounter enemies. Like Chrono Trigger, the game features no random encounters; enemies are openly visible on field maps or lie in wait to ambush the party. Touching the monster switches perspectives to a battle screen, where players physically attack, use Elements, defend, or run away from the enemy. Battles are turn-based, allowing the player infinite time to select an action from the available menu. For both the playable characters and the CPU-controlled enemies, each attack reduces their number of hit points (a numerically based life bar), which can be restored through Elements and Consumable Elements. When a playable character loses all hit points, he or she faints. If all the player's characters fall in battle, the game ends and must be restored from a previously saved chapter—except for specific storyline-related battles that allow the player to lose. Chrono Cross's developers aimed to break new ground in the genre, and the game features several innovations. The game's magical system focuses on Elements, which unleash magic effects upon the enemy or party and must be equipped for use (much like the materia of 1997's Final Fantasy VII). Elements can be purchased from shops or found in treasure chests littered throughout areas. Once acquired, they are allocated to a grid whose size and shape are unique to each character. They are ranked according to eight tiers; certain high level Elements can only be assigned on equivalent tiers in a character's grid. With each level up, the grid expands, allowing more powerful Elements to be equipped. Elements are divided into six paired oppositional types, or "colors," each with a natural effect. These pairs are Red (fire/magma) and Blue (water/ice), Green (wind/flora), Yellow (earth/lightning), White (light/cosmos), and Black (darkness/gravity). Each character has an innate color, enhancing the power of using same-color Elements. Chrono Cross features a "field effect", which keeps track of Element color used in the upper corner of the battle screen. If the field is purely one color, the power of Elements of that color will be enhanced, while Elements of the opposite color will be weakened. Characters also innately learn some special techniques, called "Techs", that are unique to each character but otherwise act like Elements. Like Chrono Trigger, characters can combine certain Techs to make more powerful Double or Triple Techs. Players can run away from all conflicts, including boss fights and the final battle. Another unique aspect of Chrono Cross is its stamina bar.[3] At the beginning of a battle, each character has seven points of stamina. When a character attacks or uses an Element, stamina is decreased according to the potency of the attack. Stamina slowly recovers when other characters and enemies perform actions in battle. Characters with stamina below one point must wait to take action, and Elements require all seven stamina points to use (if you use an Element at any number less than seven, the character's stamina gauge falls into the negative and the character must wait longer than usual to recover). With each battle, players can enhance statistics such as strength and defense. However, no system of experience points exists; after four or five upgrades, statistics remain static until players defeat a boss. This adds a star to a running count shown on the status screen, which allows for another few rounds of statistical increases. Players can equip characters with weapons, armor, helmets, and accessories. Consumable Elements may be used to restore hit points or heal status ailments after battle. Certain accessories can be equipped to provide special effects in combat—such as the Power Seal, which upgrades attack power. Items and equipment may be purchased or found on field maps, often in treasure chests. Unlike Elements, weapons and armor cannot be purchased; instead, the player must obtain base materials—such as copper, bronze, or bone—for a blacksmith to forge for a fee. The items can later be disassembled into their original components at no cost. The existence of two parallel dimensions, like time periods in Chrono Trigger, plays a significant role in the game. Players must go back and forth between worlds to recruit party members, obtain items, and advance the plot. Much of the population of either world have counterparts in the other; some party members can even visit their other versions. The player must often search for items or places found exclusively in one world. Events in one dimension sometime have an impact in another—for instance, cooling scorched ground on an island allows vegetation to grow in the other world. This system assists the presentation of certain themes, including the questioning of the importance of one's past decisions and humanity's role in destroying the environment. Rounding out the notable facets of Chrono Cross's gameplay are the New Game+ option and multiple endings. As in Chrono Trigger, players who have completed the game may choose to start the game over using data from the previous session. Character levels, learned techniques, equipment, and items gathered copy over, while acquired money and some story-related items are discarded. On a New Game+, players can access twelve multiple endings. Scenes viewed depend on players' progress in the game before the final battle, which can be fought at any time. The story of Chrono Cross begins with Serge, who must collect komodo dragon scales on the beach for his friend Leena. The setting is El Nido, a tropical archipelago inhabited by ancient natives, mainland colonists, and beings called Demi-humans who are often prejudiced against. While meeting his friend, Serge slips into an alternate dimension in which he drowned on the beach ten years prior. While searching for truth behind his supposed death, Serge meets the famous thief, Kid, a teenage girl intent on finding the mysterious Frozen Flame. Serge joins her search, and they recruit help and infiltrate Viper Manor, rumored to host the artifact. Viper Manor is home to the Acacia Dragoons—the combative, affluent, and revered protectors of the island. While in the manor's library, a mysterious old man known as the prophet of time reveals that ten years before the present, the universe split into two dimensions—one in which Serge lived (Home world), and one in which he perished (Another world). The shadowy antagonist, Lynx, foils the break-in, poisoning Kid and causing the would-be thieves to flee. Kid eventually recuperates, and Serge prepares to journey to Fort Dragonia, an ancient ruin left by Dragonians, a mysterious race gone extinct a hundred years before. There, the Acacia Dragoons intend to make a stand against an invading continental army of Porre. While preparing, Serge gains the ability to travel between the dimensions and secure further assistance and items, including the Water Dragon's breath, capable of freezing lava. He attempts to voyage by boat to the fort's shores, but is interrupted by the pirate Fargo. Initially imprisoned, Serge is freed when the ship comes under attack from ghosts. After earning Fargo's respect, Serge enters the fort and ascends to its highest floor. Through the use of a Dragonian artifact called the Dragon Tear, Lynx switches bodies with Serge. Unknowing of the switch, Kid confides in Lynx; he stabs her as the real Serge helplessly watches. Lynx boasts of his victory and banishes Serge to a strange realm called the Temporal Vortex. He takes Kid under his wing, brainwashing her to believe the real Serge is her enemy. Serge escapes with help from Harle. Discovering that his new body prevents him from traveling across the dimensions, he is marooned in Home world. He sets out to regain his former body and learn more of the universal split that occurred ten years earlier. He speaks with his mother and recruits new members to his cause. Hearing that a Demi-human sage confined on a cruise ship may be able to help him, he journeys to the S.S. Zelbess. He gains the sage's favor, and is given an artifact that allows access to the Dead Sea, a mysterious body of water. While attempting to enter, he discovers the evil sword Masamune and must counter it with the holy sword Einlanzer. Once inside the Dead Sea, he finds a wasteland frozen in time, dotted with futuristic ruins. At the center, he locates a man named Miguel and presumably Home world's Frozen Flame. Charged with guarding the Dead Sea by an entity named FATE, Miguel unsuccessfully battles Serge. To prevent Serge from obtaining the Frozen Flame, FATE destroys the Dead Sea. Still in Lynx's body, Serge is rescued by a Dragon, one of six mythical entities that inhabit El Nido. Able to return to Another world, Serge finds the Acacia Dragoons in dire straits from Porre's invasion and rescues General Viper's daughter. After collecting six relics from the Dragons, he locates that dimension's Dragon Tear and travels to Fort Dragonia to initiate a ceremony to recreate his body. He succeeds after staving off Lynx at the base of the fortress. With the Dragon relics in tow, he enters the Sea of Eden, Another world's physical equivalent of the Dead Sea. He finds a temporal research facility called Chronopolis; inside are Lynx, Kid, and the Frozen Flame. Confronted by Serge, Lynx bonds with the entity FATE, the main computer of the facility, to defeat the boy in battle. He is unsuccessful, and with FATE's capitulation, the defense systems of Chronopolis fall. After uniting in air, the six Dragons fly over the facility and scoop up the Frozen Flame. Kid falls into a coma, and Harle bids the party goodbye to fly with the Dragons. The new villains soar to Terra Tower, a massive structure raised from the sea floor. Serge regroups his party and tends to Kid, who remains comatose. Continuing his adventure, he obtains and cleanses the Masamune. He then uses the Dragon relics and shards of the Dragon Tears to create the mythic Element Chrono Cross. The spiritual power of the Masamune later allows him to lift Kid from her coma and prepare to assault Terra Tower. He outfits his boat with an anti-gravity device and travels to battle the Dragons. At Terra Tower, the prophet of time, revealed to be Belthasar from Chrono Trigger, visits him and imparts the boy's history. This information is later expatiated by accompanied apparitions. Serge learns that the time research facility Chronopolis created El Nido thousands of years ago after a catastrophic experimental failure drew it to the past. The introduction of a temporally foreign object in history caused the planet to pull in a counterbalance from a different dimension. This was Dinopolis, a city of Dragonians—parallel universe descendants of Chrono Trigger's Reptites. The institutions warred and Chronopolis subjugated the Dragonians. Humans captured their chief creation—the Dragon God, an entity capable of controlling nature. Chronopolis divided this entity into six pieces and created an Elements system, which individuals could use for combat or trade. FATE terraformed an archipelago, erased the memories of most Chronopolis's staff, and sent them to inhabit and populate its new paradise. Chronopolis remained obscured from view by clouds and surrounded by poisonous reef. Thousands of years later, a panther demon attacked a three-year old Serge. His father took him to find assistance at Marbule, but Serge's boat blew off course due to a raging magnetic storm caused by Schala. Schala, the princess of the Kingdom of Zeal, had long ago accidentally fallen to a place known as the Darkness Beyond Time and began merging with Lavos, the chief villain of Chrono Trigger. Schala's storm nullified Chronopolis's defenses and allowed Serge to contact the Frozen Flame. Approaching it healed Serge but corrupted his father. By touching the Flame, Serge was designated its Arbiter by a circuit in Chronopolis, simultaneously preventing FATE from using the artifact by extension. The Dragons were aware of this situation, creating a seventh Dragon under the storm's cover. This Dragon was Harle, who manipulated Lynx by serving as his accomplice. After Serge returned home, FATE manipulated his father to try and kill the boy, which would release the lock on the Frozen Flame. His father drowned Serge and became Lynx. However, ten years after the event, the thief Kid—presumably on Belthasar's orders—went back in time to save Serge and split the dimensions. FATE, locked out of the Frozen Flame again, knew that Serge would one day cross to Another world and prepared to apprehend him. Lynx switched bodies with Serge to dupe the biological check of Chronopolis on the Frozen Flame. When Serge defeated FATE, the freed Dragons snatched the Frozen Flame and raised Terra Tower. Belthasar then reveals that these events were part of a plan he had orchestrated named Project Kid–and that its final purpose would soon be revealed. Serge continues to the top of Terra Tower and defeats the Dragon God. Continuing to the beach where the split in dimensions had occurred, Serge finds three apparitions resembling the original team from Chrono Trigger. More of the game's history is revealed, such as the revelation that Belthasar planned the entire plot to empower Serge and free Schala from melding with Lavos. The resulting fused being—called the Time Devourer—would consume and destroy spacetime. Lucca explains that Kid is Schala's clone, sent to the modern age to take part in Project Kid. Crono entreats Serge to use the Chrono Cross to free Schala. Serge uses a Time Egg—given to him by Belthasar—to enter the Darkness Beyond Time and vanquish the Time Devourer. He separates Schala from Lavos and restores the dimensions to one. Thankful, Schala muses on evolution and the struggle of life and returns Serge to his home, noting that he will forget the entire adventure. She then seemingly records the experience in her diary, set upon a desk on which a wedding photo of Kid and Serge appears. She then embarks on a mysterious search for Serge as cut scenes depict her walking through a modern city. The ambiguous ending leaves the events of the characters' lives following the game up to interpretation. Chrono Cross employs story arcs, characters, and themes from Radical Dreamers, a Satellaview side story to Chrono Trigger released in Japan. An illustrated text adventure, it was created to wrap up an unresolved plot line of Chrono Trigger. Though it borrows from Radical Dreamers in its exposition, Chrono Cross is not a remake of Radical Dreamers, but a larger effort to fulfill that game's purpose. The plots of the games are irreconcilable. To resolve continuity issues and acknowledge Radical Dreamers, the developers of Chrono Cross suggested the game happened in a parallel dimension. A notable difference between the two games is that Magus—present in Radical Dreamers as Gil—is absent from Chrono Cross. Director Masato Kato originally planned for Magus to appear in disguise as Guile, but scrapped the idea due to plot difficulties. As Richard Honeywood translated the game for its US release, he worked with Kato to rewrite certain dialogue for ease of comprehension in English. Chrono Cross features a diverse cast of forty-five party members. To create characters, developers brainstormed traits and archetypes. Originally, sixty-four were planned.[6] Each character is outfitted with an innate Element affinity and three unique special abilities. The presence of six elements is a departure from Chrono Trigger's limit at four, and Chrono Cross does provide an explanation for the change—that Chrono Trigger's magic involved manipulating four basic universal properties, and that Chrono Cross's magic employs manufactured tools to effect changes in nature. If taken to the world opposite their own, characters react to their counterparts (if available). Many characters tie in to crucial plot events. Since it is impossible to obtain all forty-five in one playthrough, players must replay the game to witness everything. Through use of the New Game+ feature, players can ultimately obtain all characters on one save file. Several characters speak with unique accents. Done manually in the Japanese release, implementing accents the same way in the English version would have been impossible due to size restraints. As a result, developers coded a system for the North American release that produces accents by modifying basic text. The system changes the text template based on the character speaking. Serge, the game's protagonist, is a seventeen year old boy with blue hair who lives in the fishing village of Arni. One day, he slips into an alternate world in which he drowned ten years before. Determined to find the truth behind the incident, he follows a predestined course that leads him to save the world. He is assisted by Kid, a feisty, skilled thief who seeks the mythical Frozen Flame. Portrayed as willful and tomboyish due to her rough, thieving past, she helps Serge sneak into Viper Manor. Raised by Lucca as a child, she vows to find and defeat Lynx, an anthropomorphic lynx who burned down Lucca's orphanage. A sadistic and cruel agent of FATE, he is bent on finding Serge, and succeeds in taking his body. He travels with Harle, a mysterious, playful girl dressed like a harlequin. Sent by the Dragon God to shadow Lynx and one day steal the Frozen Flame from Chronopolis, she painfully fulfills her duty though smitten with Serge. To this end, she helped Lynx manipulate the Acacia Dragoons, the powerful militia governing the islands of El Nido. As the Dragoons maintain order, they contend with Fargo, a former Dragoon turned pirate captain who holds a grudge against their leader, General Viper. Their home base, Viper Manor, is also infiltrated by Serge, Kid, and one of three characters—Nikki, a musician, Pierre, a hero-in-training, or Guile, a mysterious magician. Though tussling with Serge initially, the Acacia Dragoons—whose ranks include the fierce warriors Karsh, Zoah, Marcy, and Glenn—later assist him when the militaristic nation of Porre invades the archipelago. The invasion brings Norris and Grobyc to the islands, a heartful commander of an elite force and a prototype cyborg soldier, respectively. As they too seek the Frozen Flame, the plot unfolds amidst tens of other characters.
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