Howdy everyone! It's wonderful to meet you all.

[NekoMizu]

@Shoryu Magami
I mean both SNES and NES were part of my childhood along with the Genesis (though not as much, we were mostly Sony and Nintendo family. I just had Genesis to play at a cousins house). But I wouldn't call those my childhood since they were more my brother's time. The only games I remember playing on PS2 are Kingdom hearts and Final Fantasy (10 and the other 10)

[Shoryu Magami]

@NekoMizu
NES is essentially before my time, due to the whole "from Australia so I got everything late" thing. Before I started getting PlayStation consoles more or less exclusively, I owned a Sega Master System, SNES, and the Genesis. We hired out a N64, mostly just to mess around, and I also hired a Dreamcast because despite Sega not making the greatest consoles the Dreamcast is well known for having a bunch of exclusive fighting games that were really good.

[NekoMizu]

@Shoryu Magami
I know nothing about Sega personally except the whole blast processing thing and sonic. Other than that, it's beyond me.

[ModeGone]

@ModeGone
Not gonna lie, I haven't been able to finish a single Pokemon game since I last played Pokemon Alphasapphire when it came out. I keep trying to play Silver, but I end up quitting out of boredom. So I definitely agree it becomes bland.

@NekoMizu

That's also the main series being pretty much the same thing with a different skin.
I suggest going into the spinoffs if you want some Pokemon games. Its a shame that the DS wifi stuff are no longer working. Pokemon Rangers is kind of like a Pokemon Trainer journey but you have temporary Pokemon and have to mimic NiGHTS to catch them. Also you can use Pokemon to directly remove obstacles but if I remember correctly that also makes them leave so there's a fair bit of planning involved.

@ModeGone
Pretty much, yeah. Though like I mentioned in a previous post, Castle Shikigami is more my thing due to having a wider range of characters in terms of genders and abilities, and I usually prefer them not to use chibi art. I know it sounds crazy, but my attention to detail and reaction speeds make it very noticeable to me despite everything happening on the screen.

I'm more of a JRPG and TJRPG person myself. Most of my video game nostalgia comes from fighting games or those two kinds of RPG games. I'm also a big chess player, so any TJRPG will usually be more satisfying than a conventional JRPG in terms of gameplay, while I play more normal JRPGs mostly for the story since they're always too easy for me.

I don't even want to imagine Mr. Burns in anime form, or a Simpsons version of Gendo. At any rate, they were great picture choices for what I had in mind with that villain (Gendo more so, since he's usually calm and tries to pass himself of as charismatic and devious, so he's less prone to going overboard like Mr. Burns does, at least in public). He's technically based on the real life founder of modern Satanism, just for the record. I actually take the time to completely study an ideology before I form an opinion of it, unlike most people who just hate something without learning about it, so I know at least as much about the ideology as its followers do.

@Shoryu Magami

I never heard of Castle Shikigami but I haven't really followed the genre so...

*cackles as countless RPGs and video games spill from her hands like sand* I have scoured the internet for interesting freeware and commercial indie games. The list is ever-growing. RPGMaker, Gamejolt, Itch.io, and so much more. Something I've noticed is that a lot of good games made for contests can be far more imaginative and well designed than many things made by big developers. Things like The Last Word, Oneshot, and in fact many Ludum Dare entries that end up either winning or coming this close to winning end up being upgraded and converted to commercial titles. These include Evoland, Titan Souls, and Broforce.

The founder should be charismatic considering he got people to take up a philosophy/religion named after the Devil.

@Shoryu Magami
My childhood can be summed up in two words + two numbers.
Donkey Kong 64. That was my shit back in the day and is still my shit.

Lel I wanna see that happen.

@NekoMizu

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcP91tQ4ZSM

[NekoMizu]

@ModeGone
Not a fan of most of the spinoffs besides the stadium games. Also when I was young, I used to dance and act like a gorilla to that song lel. I was weird af.

Rpg maker gets a lot of shit because of it being accessible to anyone, most people are too lazy to actually put effort into their games and even use the RTP sprites and stuff. Though Pokemon essential games are amazing, so they have that.

[Shoryu Magami]

@ModeGone
I don't actually recognize the names of those freeware/indie games you're mentioning because I very rarely game on the PC, but since I have a lot of knowledge about fighting games that were made by smaller companies or groups, and consider a lot of them to be superior to a lot of the mainstream/big name ones, I can definitely agree to that sentiment. When people are less interested in selling out because they have huge wallets, they're more likely to actually to devote themselves and come up with something decent. Just another reason I refuse to work on my project with "money" as the focus; I'll never sell out my beliefs or the aesthetic I want the story to hold, and I honestly don't give a shit if I ever get published or not. If I get some free time (not gonna happen for a while), I'll look into some PC RPGs, like RPGMaker games (I know what it is since I discovered it when I learned about Mugen, just haven't played anything using it).

This is the second time you quoting me has made me realize I made a typo. *fixes it on his post* Yes, I'm a perfectionist.

Anyway, yeah, rather than saying "tries to pass himself off" as charismatic, I should've just said he is charismatic, though charisma seems to be quite a subjective thing since a lot of people actually call me charismatic (I've been compared to Hitler before, minus the racism and genocide of course, and some other stuff, so mostly just compared to his charisma and passionate "rants") while other people just think I'm "preachy" and "self-righteous" (not that I give a damn what people think about me).

@NekoMizu
I think they meant more gameplay and story, in terms of RPGMaker, though admittedly I would like to see more people use their own graphics and music. I've seen some of the games on youtube, just like how I've seen a lot of Mugen videos (which have the same problem of reusing pre-existent sprites).

[NekoMizu]

@Shoryu Magami
In terms of gameplay, if they're too lazy to use their own graphics, they are too lazy to make the gameplay any different from what is already given. As for the story, it's generally cheesy and basic.

[Shoryu Magami]

@NekoMizu
From the little I've seen of "Exit Fate", it seems to have a pretty decent story. I can't comment on the other one I've seen because it basically wasn't in English. Generally speaking though, I just have no respect for big name video game companies really, especially if they're greedy. There's obviously a few exceptions, but the more successful a company becomes the more they tend to become twisted or shallow. If you want to get technical about it, Nintendo is "lazy" for basically recycling the same storylines/concepts over and over for 20+ years with very little evolution, and the same goes for Sega (I'm looking at you, Sonic). EA games is notorious for pretty much just bringing out the same games over and over with a new name, and I don't think a Call of Duty (let me make this clear, I don't like FPS games in general) has been innovative in, well, ever. The same could be said for Grand Theft Auto.

[NekoMizu]

@Shoryu Magami
To be fair, there isn't much you can do to make any game deviate from the others in its genre. The same could be said for fighting games. Pokemon's story is a bit different each game, even if just a little.

[ModeGone]

Regarding video games: my family is a bunch of tech-geek packrat bibliophiles. Dad started the collection with the Atari 2600 and the NES. As time progressed we had virtually every Nintendo system, all the SEGA systems, most of Sony's, and two of Microsoft's. I have fond memories of fighting sharing the Nomad and GameGear with my brother. The PS1 Screen made that a good option while traveling. The Virtual Boy pretty much stayed in the closet until we remembered it existed and then promptly put it back when we rediscovered why it had been a while since we last played with it.

@NekoMizu
To each their own. The song was incredibly silly. I loved it when the game was new. A few years later I realized just how hilariously bad it was.

Base RTP can be done well. It's just that if your game is going Commercial it would be nice if the developers who still use the default RTP took the time to make their own sprites. Heaven help you if you use the generated face sprites...

Here's the only problem with Pokemon Essentials: Nintendo has been doing mass wipes of a lot of well made games along with all the first tries. And many troll-games. Fangames are like fanfiction: a lot of people start off writing little stories based off of things they enjoy. Maybe they get fair critiques. Maybe not. Eventually many who enjoy writing and get better go on to write their own stories. I can understand wanting to prevent people from making money off of their IP but outside of site advertisements, the occasional LP, and some tip-jars, most if not all fangames are non-commercial.

@Shoryu Magami
It can be a bit tricky to find some good PC RPGs. Sometimes the reviews are skewed by "positive" reviews made by people who just want to troll the internet. Sometimes the game is actually really good but there's issues with the Dev or again trolls have struck. Then there's framerate lag or people just assuming that the game stinks because the program used to make it.
With RPGMaker I highly recommend looking at RPGMaker dot net. There's a lot of good stuff buried on Gamejolt and Itch.io but you have to really dig in past the new games, the troll games, the poorly done 'horror', the endless FNAF horde (on Gamejolt), and all the really weird stuff (usually on Itch.io).

Charisma is neutral. It can be good, getting people to agree to do something wonderful. But... well... There's plenty of examples of it being used poorly or horribly.

Also: it varies. Sometimes the base RTP game has a wonderful story. Sometimes it has a wonderful story hampered by poorly executed coding. Many times the base RTP is your standard generic fantasy plot.
Sometimes the RTP doesn't matter because the point of the game is something completely different. Case in point: the Hirigana battle games where it tries to teach the player how to read kanji through RPG combat.

[NekoMizu]

@ModeGone
I don't hate rpg maker games as a whole, heck I was wanting to make one of my story, but I hate lazy ones that show as little effort as to not even go on google and look for new graphics (if they can't make it or buy it that is)

Just a little edit to cover the pokemon essentials thing. Their problem is they got popularity and they used Nintendo's copyrighted material. If I were to make a game with essentials I'd make everything my own basically.

[Shoryu Magami]

@NekoMizu
Fighting games are actually a great example of what I'm talking about. Big name ones like, say, Tekken, have pretty much recycled exactly the same one-dimensional mechanics for ages now, while some of the very unknown fighting games that came out in the last years (Chaos Code is a great example and one of the best fighting games I've ever seen) have very innovative and interesting combat styles for the characters, and one of the best fighting game series out there (Melty Blood) started out more or less as a doujin game. Several other fighting games have similar patterns of recycling gameplay, and only adding balance changes or mechanics when they're needed (to be fair, there's no point rebalancing something that isn't broken; chess would be terrible if people changed the rules after all this time), but they usually try to evolve their stories more than a lot of franchises I see out there. Tekken is an example of them not evolving it (I'll be fair, Tekken 6 was a bit more innovative story-wise, but that series really has just stagnated for over a decade now in terms of gameplay; interesting new fighting styles but the core gameplay of that game means everyone is pretty much the same anyway), and again it's big name. The same went for Soul Calibur until they brought out Soul Calibur V (best in the series, and as far as I'm concerned the best 3D fighting game period) and made all the fanboys cry because they were actually using imagination again (apparently fans don't like innovation).

The issue I mentioned with Nintendo is more of a problem with franchises that focus on the same protagonist each time, like Mario, Kirby, etc. Why bring out virtually the exact same game over and over again with slightly upgraded graphics (as far as I'm concerned, if a game is good it shouldn't matter if it's 8-Bit or 1500-Bit graphics)? It's less of a problem with, say, an RPG series that gives you a whole different set of characters or world each time, since at least then even if there's similar elements the plot will be different. I can understand them wanting to bring out a new Mario game for each console so the new gamers can play them, but 20 similar Mario games on a single console? That's just extortion as far as I'm concerned, unless they actually take the time to create a new plot, which only happens very occasionally (Paper Mario is probably one of the few Mario games with an interesting story, and that's mostly because Count Bleck was such a unique antagonist for Nintendo to try).

I could go into a video game developer rant here if I wanted, but then I'd need to start talking about DLC and all that wonderful business, so I'll hold that particular train wreck back for now. That's not even getting started with how fast they're bringing out new consoles before they even make the most of current ones. Seriously, who the fuck cares if the graphics on the next console are so good you can see the characters' nose hairs?

Charisma is neutral. It can be good, getting people to agree to do something wonderful. But... well... There's plenty of examples of it being used poorly or horribly.

@ModeGone

Well said. I'd like to think of myself as the type who uses charisma for good.

Yeah, there's a big problem with video games that come from the internet because the internet is largely flooded by a lot of very superficial and degenerate people who just want to troll things or bash them without any sort of understanding of what they're even talking about. This applies to games, and pretty much everything else as well. There's also the whole problem of a lot of big name companies having fans who think they can do no wrong and would more or less buy their shit even if it condoned the holocaust. These types of people flood the internet with negative views of pretty much anything that isn't whatever they're a fan of, which leads to people coming into something uninformed often just assuming the worst of a project before they even try it out.

[ModeGone]

*cracks knuckles*
@Shoryu Magami@NekoMizu

Games mentioned

The Last Word
rpgmaker.net/games/6610 - ... I'm not really sure how to describe this. Nonstandard combat system where you actually fight through debate.

Oneshot
rpgmaker.net/games/6560 - Puzzle-adventure game where you explore a strange world. Be warned: there is actually only one chance at this game. If the game closes outside of saving, you lose.
Evoland
ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-24/?act..
Kind of a visual progression of a Zelda-like game. The commercial version sends you from what is essentially Zelda 1 all the way to Ocarina of Time dungeons and Final Fantasy 7 style overworld maps. I do not recall what it does past that point. Weird but neat.
Titan Souls
ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-28/?act..
One arrow, giant bosses. Prepare to die.

RPGs

I'm assuming you've heard of OFF but if not...
forum.starmen.net/forum/Fan/Games/OFF-..

Japanese games translated by VGPerson
vgperson.com/games
I have a thin skin for animated or audible spooky. That being said pretty much everything I've tried thanks to that wonderful person's work translating RPGMaker and similar software games is phenomenal. A few titles translated went on to be updated and rereleased as commercial titles.

The Reconstruction, The Drop, I Miss The Sunrise.
rpgmaker.net/games/1426 rpgmaker.net/games/4395 rpgmaker.net/games/2732
I always end up recommending these. Not your usual RPGs, the second is a Dungeon Crawler made with RPGMaker, and the third is actually a prequel.

Middens, Gingiva
rpgmaker.net/games/3843 rpgmaker.net/games/4427
These two games are utterly insane but goes to show how... weird... rpgs can be.

Space Funeral
rpgmaker.net/games/2430
This too.

Paradise Blue
rpgmaker.net/games/251
A game inspired by Final Fantasy. It's basically a big love letter to the franchise. There's a few actual Final Fantasy fangames but this is more its own thing.

More RPGs

Endless Night
ungraphicsgames.itch.io/endless-night
First person dungeon crawler. It's pretty cool and the graphics are amazing. Not a RPGMaker game. I think. No, it's not.

Void Pyramid
willyelektrix.itch.io/void-pyramid
See above. Except it is post-apocalypse Space Ancient Egypt.

Ink Travellers
lucy-fox.itch.io/ink-travellers
Utterly adorable RPG where you're a pair of young kids entering storybooks to get rich at first get gifts then get medicine and so on.

Blank
king-sangos.itch.io/blank
Don't let the name fool you. It's a like OFF and Earthbound so you'll be in for some surprises (although a few are kind of obvious).

The Time Traveller
mark-rey.itch.io/the-time-traveler
Sometimes I see games saying they are like Chrono Trigger and your choices are important. Many are mistaken. This is not. Less of an RPG more of an Action-RPG. While the graphics look like RPGMaker as far as I can tell it is not.

Cool Demos

Glitched
enhousestudios.itch.io/glitched
Kind of like Earthbound. Kind of an in-universe cosmic horror story. So kind of like Undertale but with standard combat?

Long Gone Days
laburatory.itch.io/lgd
Slightly sci-fi Military-themed RPG with targetable combat system. Very character driven but damn if its not cool.

Light Fairytale
nekodotworks.itch.io/light-fairytale
Also not an RPGMaker game but its too cool (if rather short) demo of someone's idea of a Final Fantasy 7-style game with Final Fantasy DS-style graphics.

Ara Fell
stegosoftgames.itch.io/ara-fell
This has been in the works for a really really long time. The graphics are gorgeous, the maps are well made (although sometimes too busy), and combat is pretty straight-forward.

A few titles can show just how far you can take RPGMaker are LISA, Cherry Tree High Comedy Club, and The Sacred Tears TRUE.

There's actually a lot of RTP-standard games that I enjoy and many many more that have original graphics and fun or interesting gameplay but it is past midnight and I really should get going to bed.

[Shoryu Magami]

@ModeGone
Interesting. There's a lot there, but if the time comes that I've got that free time I mentioned, I'll take a look. Can't really click on many links right now due to the limited mobile data I'm running on til my ISP gets in gear and brings a technician out.

Good night.