Anime Review: Yosuga no Sora, Episode 3

Posted on October 20, 2010 by J Sensei

So, The Big Question

Let’s get to the big question everyone hearing about this show is asking: Is this anime full, outright hentai??? No, not exactly, but it is the single biggest tease on earth. It shows glimpses of things that can’t be broadcast in Japan, existing safely (?) within the dirty imaginations of major characters for brief moments of time, but it’s a huge, huge tease.

So, an actual show happened, too, and I’ll get to that briefly after the spoiler space.

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Rating: 4 of 5, I’ll say. I mean, it remains fun to watch, but I can’t give everything 5, even with those absolutely hilarious skits at the end (much in SD), and if I see anything better, I need room to give that a 5. But it has been by no means a weak show.

That is, by the way, despite being, and I repeat myself, the biggest tease around. It’s like a giant scam to suck people in… but at any rate, teasing is fine, and the high quality surrounding the art, voice acting, story plotting, and well… let me put it this way, I haven’t seen Whack-A-Mole done as fun as in this show, ever. I enjoyed this.

Just don’t get any wrong ideas. Or put another way, if you’re looking for hentai, don’t expect payoff from this anime, hentai-san. It’s just teasing.

…So far, anyway. Shall we predict bonus episodes for the BD/DVD going way over the top? Anyone?

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Anime Review: Star Driver, Episode 3

Posted on October 20, 2010 by J Sensei

This Episode Rocked. Really. It Did.

I am now completely sold on this anime.

Details after the spoiler space, but this was great, great stuff, and I wouldn’t come even close to comparing the first two episodes with it.

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Review: 5 of 5. A clear plot, more good looks at sexy girl characters, a fine fight with a satisfying ending.

Oh and, we’re not seeing the last of the loser of this fight, it would seem. This is a good thing. He’s tough and good. Permanent early retirement does not suit him.

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A Certain Magical Index II, Ep 2: Review

Posted on October 20, 2010 by J Sensei

Index: Taking A Bite Out Of Crime

OK, this is the Index we know and love: when she’s peeved at Tohma (I’ll use that romanization for now), particularly when he gets involved in a perverted situation against his own wishes and desires because, well, he’s cursed, she has a simple response.

CHOMP!

We see this comedic device used a few times here in Episode 2 of the new season. Details below!

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Rating: 5 stars, of 5. Classical “Index” and doesn’t waste our time or viewing energy. Strongly sets up future episodes, which is exactly what the 2nd hitter in the batting order is supposed to do.

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Pattern and パターン

Posted on October 19, 2010 by J Sensei

Did You Know…

The Japanese word “pataan” (katakana: パターン) is 100% based on the English word pattern?

Not all Japanese people (日本人、nihonjin) know this. After all, they know the word as part of their language, a loan word, one of many. If that particular person hasn’t actually encountered the English word pattern in his or her studies, that person has no way to know that the two words are directly related.

I encountered this recently when helping a Japanese girl with her English over Skype. (This was for free, or 無料. (muryou, lit. no fee)) She didn’t actually know that the two were related… yet. That’s why it can really help to speak (話す、hanasu) with a native speaker.

Anyway, one way this is used is in the Japanese expression ワンパターン (“one pattern“). This relates to something that is cliche. No, seriously, it does; something cliche is something that follows a single pattern and therefore unfolds in a predictable manner.

勉強になりましたか？

And for English natives, did you understand that phrase? If not, and you’re interested, read below.

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Japan, Deflation and the New York Times

Posted on October 18, 2010 by J Sensei

Let’s Get Serious Here.

This is about the first of a series of articles in the New York Time; this article is titled Japan Goes From Dynamic to Disheartened. Essentially, the New York Times (hereafter: NYT) is making Japan out to be the poster child of the evils of deflation.

A Very American Context

There is a context to this.

Right now, and I mean, as I write these words, the U.S. Federal Reserve is talking up the possibility of bringing controlled inflation to the United States. Unsurprisingly, all this talk is making the U.S. dollar decline significantly on international markets, which accomplishes half the U.S.’ goal without firing a shot. The lower the dollar, the better it is for exporters… and the more a general surge in commodity prices continues, with the price of Cotton hitting a 140 year high (that is, since 1870, at the start of Reconstruction and in the midst of the Meiji Restoration!!).

To not bore you to tears, inflation as a solution to economic problems is something that has been pushed for years as the last line of defense against the Japanese disease, as people would have you accept it. This is a subject of serious academic inquiry by minds such as Paul Krugman and Ben Bernacke (the latter being the current Federal Reserve head).

If you read up independently on this, the key word is liquidity trap, which is something Krugman pushed for years as being when the economy becomes resistant to pouring money on it at the Fed level like a Type 2 Diabetic becomes resistant to sugar absorption, resulting in a surplus of the sugar in the bloodstream. (I have Type 2 diabetes, but it is under tight control with medication and was always a mild case, for which I am highly fortunate. – J Sensei)

So the point is, inflation as a cure for our ills…. because you don’t want to end up like Japan over there, do you, youngster?

Laying It On A Bit Thick

I linked to the NYT above so, you can go read that for yourself. Here, I’ll focus on the issues raised.

First of all… let me put this simply. A thousand yen buys a LOT more today than it did 10 or 15 years ago. Akihabara, the mecca of Japanese electronics, has seen incredible turnover in the technology available for consumers at the same prices as the previous generations.

So, let’s not talk about this as if price is the only concern here.

Second, if you hadn’t noticed, the U.S. government has been chewing out Japan for supposedly doing beggar-thy-neighbor policies driving down its own currency. This is, uh… silly. I wrote about this over at Learn Out Live (which uses the same host as my humble blog here), in Don’t Start A Currency War You Can’t Finish, and since then the Obama administration has essentially… backed down meekly. For now. The gist is, the U.S. is a giant culprit in devaluing its own currency, but does so using means outside of actual currency market manipulation, so its devaluation is cool, but that of others, is not.

Look, Japan is seeing a massive rise in the value of the yen and has intervened only to try to hold the line to get some damned currency stability. Even that was enough to make the U.S. explode at it and cry charges of beggar-thy-neighbor.

So wanting some stability is trying to screw over your trading partners. Uh, okay? Point being, it undermines the advantages China and the U.S. seek to obtain from devaluing their currencies. Remember, if the U.S. dollar is going down, and China is keeping a constant ratio to the U.S. dollar artificially, that means the Chinese currency is going down, too.

Well, the point being is this:

The NYT’s Accusing Finger

The NYT’s basic message is simple: because you idiots won’t inflate the economy, coerce your people into spending more money like they did during the 1980’s, and shake people out of their problems, you suck. Not only do you suck, but you are stinking up the entire world, and the last thing we want as Americans is to end up like you.

Cheerful, isn’t it.

Let’s go over a few short topics.

Japan’s 1980’s bubble had valuations that were UTTERLY INSANE.

We’re talking like the sum value of real estate in Tokyo, on paper, being worth more than all real estate in the continental U.S., put together. I think that’s one statistic I heard, but I can’t be bothered to look it up over ten years later.

Lead paragraph:

Like many members of Japan’s middle class, Masato Y. enjoyed a level of affluence two decades ago that was the envy of the world. Masato, a small-business owner, bought a $500,000 condominium, vacationed in Hawaii and drove a late-model Mercedes.

You don’t think an entire nation spending like this was beyond its means? Japan is still, in the end, an island country that has to import huge amounts of foodstuffs to keep a first world level diet going. Delicacies like ootoro (the fattiest tuna belly meat) don’t come cheap. How do you think they get tuna meat raw from catch in the Atlantic ocean and get it fresh to Japan? By flying it chilled, of course. You think that’s cheap?

So yes, Japan’s economic valuations were the result of a shared economic delusion that eventually hit reality. The bubble could not sustain itself, and it burst.

People responding to that are baka? Seriously?

People think spending money (blindly) is stupid. (It is.)

No, they’re not idiots at all.

Take not taking out a multi-decade mortgage on the premise that young Japanese people today don’t have the job stability of their parents’ generation. Guess what? They don’t.

The discussion should end at that fact, but the NYT seeks to make a moral issue out of it more or less: lack of spending and lack of price inflation is equated with the national character, shown as a disease that essentially gives the entire country of Japan a smaller endowment, in the male sense. I could get more explicit, but I don’t need to, do I?

They’re Cowards For Scaling Back National Ambitions?? Really??

Since when?

Japan’s modern economic miracle started where, the 60’s? Heavily subsidized by American policies, mind you. At any rate, they were rebuilding from being bombed into submission in WWII. Of course they would have an economic boom. The funny part is, the boom brought Japan more prosperity than before… largely because the U.S. wasn’t closed to it. That’s a luxury the U.S. would never have provided without WWII and military occupation; it’d have felt quite unsafe otherwise.

But since when? Japan has a long history. I study it, so I have some sense of it. What period of Japanese history are we basing this loss of national character on? The Meiji Restoration? The Edo Period? The Warring States Period (Sengoku Jidai)? When?

Japan, lest it be forgotten (by journalists anyway), has a long tradition of economic conservatism, a long history of economic doldrums spanning centuries and even well over a millennium (and that’s just recorded history), where most of the people were dirt poor and had no concept of microwave ovens or plasma TV’s, let alone every girl on the street walking with brand name European designer handbags and high heels.

To paint recognizing a lack of money to keep up that level of blind, insane spending forever as

“It’s like Japanese have even lost the desire to look good,” said Akiko Oka, 63, who works part time in a small apparel shop, a job she has held since her own clothing store went bankrupt in 2002.

is just annoying to read. Really it is.

If people want to look good on a budget, don’t sneer, please. It’s disgusting.

Living Standards Are More Than Street Prices.

It’s stupid that I even have to write this but, Japanese living standards are dependent on what their yen buy, not on HOW MANY yen are used to buy it.

Seriously. I don’t think the NYT writers know that.

Lay Off The Attacks On People’s Manhood Please

So we have more of the herbivore men mocking, saying that Japanese males have lost their animal spirits.

…Uh?

OK, so let me get this straight. They’re not offered lifetime employment. They don’t have a realistic shot at a house the size their parents had. They’re expected to slave at work for very long hours, land a girl and become baby factories for… visibly less than what their parents had, and they’re expected to grin and bear it and happily do it because well, that’s what Real Men do.

People ask why Japan’s birthrate is low. Uh, have you looked at the economy there? It costs to raise a kid. It’s a massive commitment. They’re not inner city gangsters who have ten kids with six different women and skip out on all of them (or spend time behind bars). They’re trying to be (gasp!) responsible adults, and that means not leaping into commitments they can’t keep.

Also, well, the women have reason to say, is that all you have? At some level, people just have to deal with the fact that there’s less shiny objects to gather the attention of females with.

Less, but hardly none.

The Bottom Line: Japan’s Still OK

The real bottom line here has to be pounded home.

Japan didn’t collapse. It persevered. It’s still here.

(Granted that annoys some, but whatever.)

A lot of people might suspect that… Japan ought to have collapsed, it’d be good in the longer terms. We should just have a mass blowing up of economic society and start over. Something like that. Funny that the Japanese themselves don’t think so.

Now look, it’s easy to understand one way inflation would have helped certain people: by digging them out of debts that were way over their heads once the bubble burst. That’s why it was a bubble.

Let me put it a different way. At their most basic, prices are mathematical representations of reality. Inflating prices with no relation to underlying reality is nothing more than denial of reality.

So for not denying reality, as the Federal Reserve plans to push in America – which some people sanely point out would be ruinous – Japan is condemned as having lost its national manhood.

You know, the U.S. didn’t like Japan when it did have the swagger. Remember the movie Rising Sun? I’ve seen it three times. I was fascinated by Japan in spite of the whole, well, you know, Evil Japanese Bogeyman vibe. (Simple reason why: It beat stupid Canadian language politics. – J Sensei) A lot of Japanese people seemed sort of relieved to not be so threatening to the U.S. that it threatened a trade war to trash their existing living standards.

By the way, Japan has largely maintained its living standards, in reality if not on paper. Ironically, the higher the yen soars, the better off importers are (though I won’t say consumers, that would mean lower prices get passed on; right, keep dreaming). Sure, it sucks for exporters, and the government doesn’t want to see Toyota and Sony coming in with sucky profit figures, but their problems run deeper than the value of the yen.

Indeed, Japan would be well served by forgetting about these manhood issues and just focusing on solving real problems in the real world and ignoring the harpies at the New York Times.

Buyer Beware – Inflation Has No Trade-In Policy

You can’t give inflation back to the store for a refund.

I will say one thing about Japan: so far as I can tell, through serious study and observation of the facts, what got Japan to the state where it is today – that is, no swagger but still kicking – is that it stopped a lot of evasion and political back-scratching and took restructuring of the banks’ balance sheets seriously. Real, long-term problems that could have been made to disappear with mass inflation, at the cost of the life savings of two generations of Japanese people (or is it three? who’s counting?), were instead acknowledged and painfully dealt with.

In so doing, society has been stable. Not great, not fantastic, certainly not dynamic in the size and length of Japan’s… economic numbers, but let me tell you something…

It could have been much, much worse.

Serious Business Thus Concluded

Hey, I want to get back to culture and anime blogging as much as anyone. I just feel a lot better getting back to that once I put in context how I feel about these other issues.

Essentially, I feel that Japan has hope. It’s not a matter of quick fixes or instant gratification. It is the longer, less traveled path, the search for a greater and more fulfilling personal experience rather than a brute force approach through life. It is appreciating what we have and searching for what we desire. It is doing so in a way that will not break us, but will enrich us and make us wiser over the long haul.

That’s why I blog about Japan. That’s why I learned the Japanese language over years of study (over a decade in fact).

Because deep down, I think that Japan is worth it.

(Even if the New York Times thinks Japan is boring and shouldn’t be bothered with except to make it a poster child of decline while lavishing awe upon China…)

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Early Anime Impressions: Hyakka Ryouran Samurai Girls

Posted on October 15, 2010 by J Sensei

Correct me if I’m wrong, but the first two words seem to amount to hundred flowers blooming profusely.

Um, well it’s essentially to the Warring States Period what Ikki Tousen is to the Three Kingdoms era of China: a bunch of girls named for famous male warriors who are attractive, of school age, and in this case, who are in a sort of fantasy supernatural combat thing and… well, it’s basically an excuse for an ecchi comedy.

Of particular note, without spoiling a darned thing, is that the girls are drawn in very interesting ways, and I don’t detect a grown girl in the bunch that is well, your skinny model type. These girls have meat on them, have very interesting curves (and certainly revealing outfits), so there’s that.

In addition to this, of special note is a seemingly special animation technique that gives every cel in the show a kind of comic book/ ukiyo-e look with extra thick border lines for the characters and just enough easing off of vibrant color to make things look like those old samurai art scrolls and of course, Ukiyo-e as I’ve shown on this blog a couple of times.

This is another that wasn’t on my radar going in, but it’s proven an intriguing addition to my roster. Plus, I have a thick skin for ecchi stuff so really, the more curvy girls breaking the skinny model stereotype, the better for me.

Really, not minded to complain at all here.

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Early Anime Impressions: Kami Nomi zo Shiru Sekai

Posted on October 15, 2010 by J Sensei

a.k.a. “The World Only God Knows”

To explain briefly, the main character, known as “kami-sama” (i.e. God) is the god of romance video games, where the objective is to “land” girls through dialogue choices, or put more bluntly, through fictional seduction. Reflecting the biases of some gamers, this character is completely uninterested in women in the real world and is a bespectacled (that’s a fancy word for “wearing glasses”) geek who is not considered all that hot stuff at school. He is usually depicted playing games on a PSP (an actual PSP).

So, in comes a challenge that he accepts without knowing the full story: to “land” the most challenging girls out there as part of a contract with a er, well, “little sister type character” enthusiastic demoness whose mission is to capture evil spirits hiding in the openings in the (figurative) hearts of human beings.

(The Japanese here, btw, is 心の隙 (kokoro no suki), not “that” suki (for liking) but the one describing openings whereupon one unleashes a 53-hit combo upon an opponent.)

So in other words, he’s expected to “land” real girls, but he has no experience whatsoever with the real deal.

Well, he’s forced to do it the hard way. Failure to execute the contract will result in execution – that is, they’ll literally lose their heads (thanks to metal collars they can’t take off on their own).

So, put simply, the guy now has to engage in video game like seduction of girls (who very conveniently start forgetting his involvement after the evil spirits have been Ghostbusters-style trapped), leading to quite a bit of comedy.

Furthermore, our little demoness starts parading as the real little sister of our main character, justifying it with a (forged) letter claiming that she is his father’s love child. (A few scenes later she’s explaining how the mother is off seeing a “lawyer,” not that she has any idea what a lawyer is mind you…)

The Review

Comedy factor is very high. Also, it’s not overdone; this is something taking place in a “real” world but with a supernatural influence, but is rooted in actual video gamer culture and just enough plausibility in terms of human characters and reactions that I was able to laugh along, enjoy myself, and be pleasantly surprised.

Production quality seems average in a way that is done smartly. In other words, effort is expended on making the characters look good, which is a good place to put effort. In other words, it’s not going to blow you away, but the characters are pleasant  to look at, and I can’t ask for much more here.

Best of all, no one needs to be a romance game addict to “get” this show, any more than we needed to be MMO players to appreciate .hack a while back. A general idea and at least a minute’s acquaintance with Tokimeki Memorial and you’re set.

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Early Anime Impressions: Fall 2010, Japan

Posted on October 11, 2010 by J Sensei

Two Episodes Are A Trend

Having caught up on a fair bit of anime watching, I wanted to write some early impressions (as in, they are not first impressions). First episodes can be very misleading in some cases; two episodes allow things to shake out a lot.

The following impressions will feature a) a picture, b) impressions below spoiler space.

Let us begin.

Iron Man (The Anime)

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Overall, good stuff, good enough, I intend to watch more and enjoy some decent Iron Man action without worrying much about the details. The show seems determined to reveal its plot at its own adequate pace. Fair enough, just keep us fed with a diet of action, thank you very much. So far, so good.

Panty And Stocking With Garterbelt

Spoilers are irrelevant here. Note that Panty, Stocking and Garterbelt are proper names of characters in this show. I didn’t watch much of the first episode of this, and here’s why: The style is like those Cartoon Network in-house shows!!! Gainax made this to bring a style that’s foreign to Japan into Japan, but it is a style I seek anime out to flee from.

Though, I will mention that something a lot closer to real anime style is used for “transformation sequences” including some self-touching by the girls. For those so inclined, that’s not a spoiler – that’s an incentive. Each to their own.

Shinrei Tantei Yakumo

a.k.a. Psychic Detective Yakumo

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Good stuff, no reason to miss it if you’re at all interested in mystery.

Star Driver – Kagayaki no Takuto

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Super Robot Taisen OG: The Inspector

Named for Super Robot Taisen Original Generations, based on the second of the two games (originally GBA, sold as a Playstation 2 amalgam later, with a later sequel on that system). I have played the import PS2 version extensively, so I have a pretty good idea what’s going on.

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Soredemo Machi Wa Matteiru

a.k.a. Even So, The City Awaits

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Yosuga no Sora

No spoilers here. There’s no point. A disclaimer is of far more practical value:

This anime is based on an “eroge” (for “erotic video game”), a PC-based game with “naughty” scenes, situations, plotlines and characters. Anyone sensitive to any of the above things should run like hell.

So without even trying to get into the plot, it’s very well animated and voice acted, so no one should complain about the production values.

Also, there’s a sequence at the end with a “regular” anime sequence revisited with a super-deformed style skit that shows that the creators aren’t taking this seriously, so the onus is upon us to not take it seriously, either.

Good advice for staying sane, I think.

Ore No Imouto Ga Konna Ni Kawaii Wake Ga Nai

a.k.a. There’s NO WAY My Little Sister Is THIS CUTE

…Let’s call this Imouto for short. Everyone else does. OK?

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To Aru Majutsu No INDEX II

a.k.a. A Certain Magical INDEX, season 2

To explain the title, Index is the “name” of the main character, above, who doubles as a walking, grinning, munching, sleeping index of magical tomes stored within her.

As this show is a more or less direct continuation of the first season, perhaps skimming over some minor events (this is based on a novel series, you see, and they’re not required to animate everything but it can be canon), it comes down to this: if you liked the first one, you’ll like this one. The first episode is all I’ve seen but there’s still a wonderful cast of characters, strong writing, strong voice acting, high production values and lots of action.

Describing the plot would just get in the way. It’s great stuff, if you haven’t heard of it, definitely watch the first season first so you can pick up where it leaves off.

Hakuouki ~ Hekketsu Roku ~

OK, put bluntly, if you haven’t seen the first show, you’re not going to have any chance of figuring out what’s going on here… unless you watch “Episode 13,” which kicked off Season 2, which is a recap episode. So there.

The main change, aside from a direct continuation of this Meiji Restoration era romantic fantasy, based on a video game. I say romantic fantasy because while I thoroughly liked the first season, it did have edge on edge katana fighting action, and that’s something that belongs in “chick flick” versions of anime. ^^;

As you can see above, the main contribution of the 2nd season is to put major characters in snappy “modern” uniforms rather than kimono. Total babe magnets, I bet. Anyway, the production values appear to be completely unchanged; the next arc has only been warmed up and will really get serious starting next episode, which would be Episode 15 since they’re counting both seasons as part of the same numbering, apparently. No complaint here.

Sora No Otoshimono Forte

One more sequel for the road.

Fair warning, this is a very naughty show and the second season lays it on thick, especially with the OP, so this is for people who saw the first season, liked it and want more.

Period.

Now without trying to use spoilers, largely since there’s too much mystery to bother spoiling yet, there is a serious plot taking place here. It’s just hidden – at times, very, very well hidden – under a lot of naughtiness and teases and so forth.

It’s also immensely funny, but if you haven’t seen the first season, you’ll miss all the little touches that act as continuity. This show has a lot of, er, how to put this… “Oh My God, they didn’t!!” moments.

Watch, if you dare.

Thank you for reading. – J

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Japanese Culture: A Monster Hunter’s Life, Pt. 2

Posted on October 10, 2010 by J Sensei

The First “Monster Hunt”

I’m only getting around to blogging about it now, but I continued my early “hunter” efforts by fulfilling a basic quest for the village elder and, thanks to my previous Monster Hunter experience, I chose to challenge the first of the game’s “monsters,” Dos Lampos (above), with nothing but a Bone Kukri and the clothing on my back (and the emergency supplies from the Jungle base camp). Note that the name for American purposes differs, but I’ll stick with the Japanese naming here.

A kukri, a.k.a. a Gurkha knife, is a forward curved knife that, because of this curve, has chopping characteristics. In Monster Hunter, this makes for a good early weapon.

Each major weapon type has, to start with, an “iron” line and a “bone” line that branch off into specialized areas as one improves these weapons at the village blacksmith forge. Something that will come into play later, but not really this time, is the hardness of a monster’s hide. This isn’t a factor with Dos Lampos, however.

The lampos are essentially Monster Hunter’s jungle version of velociraptors, made famous in the movie Jurassic Park (and its sequels to a lesser degree). In this game, anything with Dos in the name is a bigger, meaner version of the same monster, or a differently named version of some sort of more common monster at least. In this case, Dos Lampos is a big, mean raptor… but as monster bosses go, he is by far the weakest in the game.

Off To The Hunt

New monster bosses tend to require being found in their “home” areas before they begin what will become a normal pattern: they fight you until you flee, or die, or inflict enough damage to force them to leave, and then they either keep moving around on a circuit (like Dos Lampos), or they find a nest to sleep in (like many others).

In this case, I entered the cave sections of the Jungle island and encountered Dos Lampos for the first time. Not particularly fearing riff-raff surrounding him (largely due to prior experience), I entered into a battle of attrition with the monster, applying several hard-earned lessons:

  • Only fools attack a monster to the front (usually).
  • Beware leaping claw attacks.
  • Always circle around.
  • Always attack the hind quarters.
  • Even with sharpness breaking down, it is better to drive the opponent off than to stop swinging.

Yes, weapon sharpness is an issue here. As a weapon is used for attacking and carving, the sharpness is reduced. This reduces damage and raises the likelihood of a weapon bouncing off tough armor. In this case, though, it just meant less damage.

Finally, Dos Lampos finally left the area and I was able to heal, grind my bone kukri back to full sharpness, and await his return.

Trapping One’s Foe

In true Sun Tzu style, I prepared the battlefield for his return. Or rather, I set a trap that was a gift from the emergency supplies. This “stun trap,” combined with a throw-able tranquilizer (think of it like a ninja hand pellet, just emitting a small tranquilizing cloud), would serve to capture the monster alive. This can only be done with “bosses,” and stun traps don’t even work on all. Just most.

Fortunately, my earlier efforts had weakened Dos Lampos enough that he fell easily to the trap, and then fully succumbed to my tranquilizer. Victory!!

Due to the fact Dos Lampos was captured alive here, there was none of a usual staple of victory in this game, carving the defeated monster for items. Victory nonetheless won me not only money, but bonus items, including a rare Dos Lampos Crest, the red stuff at the top of the head, which is used in certain rarer items. I got lucky, that’s all.

One down. Many more to go.

Posted in Culture, Japan, video games | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Conversations: The Disappointment of Final Fantasy XIV (14)

Posted on October 9, 2010 by J Sensei

Interview With A True FF11 Fan

Final Fantasy XIV (FF14 for short) has arrived with a simultaneous release in both the U.S. and Japan to… how shall we put this… bitter, overwhelming disappointment.For a truly in-depth perspective on this game’s glimmers of light, and exhaustive veils of darkness, I went to a close personal friend of mine, known as Andrius, which was also his username during very exhaustive playing time (9600 hours, the equivalent of 400 24-hour days) in Final Fantasy XI (FF11), the MMO predecessor of FF14.

What is reflected here is a deep sadness for the decline of a formidable franchise, as well as great dismay over a game that, at present, is unable to reach its predecessor’s standards in terms of playability, socialization, and fun. This is not something restricted to any specific individual; it is the united cry of an entire fan base.

So, without further delay.

Interview with Andrius on Final Fantasy XIV

J-Sensei: Final Fantasy 14 has been given a rating of 4.0 by Gamespot (maximum score 10.0). In your view, does this game deserve that awful rating?

Andrius: Yes, it deserves it.

Since this would indicate a great deal of failings, what would you rate as its greatest failing, as the game currently stands?

Andrius: Everything ^^;;

(Laughter)

Andrius: There’s so many flaws that are really serious, it’s hard to pick just one.

Okay, tell me about how the world itself compares. You saw the best and worst FF11 had to offer. How does FF14 measure up, or come up short, here?

Andrius: Well, FF 14 is new, so obviously there’s less of the world out there, but even just comparing what does exist to its FF 11 counterpart has 14 coming up short.

The cities in 11 felt real, they felt alive, like they had a soul. They were built like real cities would be, they had residential districts, houses, people out walking around…

They had industries and jobs for the npcs living there, npcs at the ports fishing, they looked and felt like someone made real cities as their goal.

In 14 the city I started in, Gridania has none of that. It feels like it was made for a game.

There’s no reason for the city to exist. A few shops and guilds there, but almost no npcs, no one seems to run the place, it feels like a road side rest stop for adventurers. A few vending machines and a public bathroom could do just as much and have as much soul. And Gridania is needlessly large. The areas that have things between them are separated by long tunnels that have no purpose.

That’s a very vivid image. So if it is a rest stop, it must be a stop for travelers going somewhere. What about what lies beyond the cities?

Andrius: The city could be redesigned to be anywhere from 30-50% smaller and lose no content at all.

Outside of Gridania is a zone called the Black Shroud.

I picked ths starting city because it was in the woods, and forest zones tend to be some of the nicest in games.

In 11 the forst zones like Ronfaure and Zi’tah were some of my favorites. They had such a nice feel to them, and different in both cases.

The Black Shroud is the worst forest zone I’ve ever seen. Even calling a forest zone stretches the term beyond all reason.

The zone is in reality a series of tunnels and a few open areas.

The tunnels are literally just right angles and straight piece that it looks like someone just plopped down in a world builder. Most of it is in basically grid patterns, almost like someone drew it on graph paper and thought the lines on the paper had to be put into the final plan.

It’s just so disapointing. Copied and pasted tunnel sections.

For those who have not played 11, can you describe these differences briefly?

Ronfaure was a starting zone in 11, outside the City of Sandoria. It was a well maintained forest, big trees, little underbrush, and the sort of forest critters you’d expect in a starting zone. It was open, had some hills and felt like what you’d expect a forested park that had been let go a bit to be like.

Zi’Tah was a higher level zone, far from any city. It had massive trees, 20′ wide things that disappeared into the sky. It was a farily dark zone, often foggy and rainy. It was this sort of forgotten, moody ancient redwood forest. Even though it generally was used by people passing through it, it still had such a wonderful feel to it.

So the Black Shroud doesn’t just have a gloomy name, it feels lacking in every aspect of design?

Andrius: Unfortunately, yes. And the worst part is that it’s absurdly huge. Beyond all reason in fact.

The fact it’s so big is the only reason it doesn’t feel like it wasknocked out in one afternoon. And even worse, the game only has 5 outdoor zones.

Well, are the other zones any better? Or do they stand out at least?

Andrius: Actually I haven’t gotten to them.

The first ten levels of the game keep you fairly close to town, less than halfway into the zone. I just haven’t had the urge to go beyond that, saddly.

In ff 11 I wanted to explore.

I met a player in Sandoria and we just decided to go explore the world.

The world map (If ff 14 has this, it hides it very well, I haven’t found it yet) showed a city called Bastok far to the south of our starting city, so we set out to find it.

We wandered around for a long time heading south, left Sandoria, throug the forest of Ronfaure, south to a grassy plateau, through a desert, mountain highlands and then finally badlands surounding Bastok.

It took us several hours, and the variety of terrain really made it feel like we’d crossed the world.

In reality, we had, but the fact that it felt like we did, that it was such varied zones that we went through really made it feel like a worthwhile trip.

A more innocent time, perhaps. So, onto the next major question. What’s changed – for the worse, apparently – in terms of the human terrain, the player character classes?

Andrius: The jobs were remade for no apparent reason.

The names that have been around since the first final fantasy were all tossed out in favor of new ones.

I don’t see why you’d rename a monk a pugilist, a black mage a conjurer, a dragoon a lancer, and so on.

Every single job was renamed. And remade.

Dragoons don’t jump anymore. They don’t have cute little dragon pets like in ff 11. A lancer is just what it says, a guy with a lance.

The 2 hour abilities from ff 11 are also gone.

I thought that a pugilist was a 19th century British term for a boxer, myself. But go on…

Andrius: Yeah, pugilist sounds like a guy from about 1900 with this massive moustache who tends to get in a row with various fellows who aren’t having a bully day.

http://www.thorpefineart.com/American_Pugilist.html

Conjurer is now a combination of white and black mage, a combination that absolutelly baffles me. To do well you need to pay your full attention to just one of those jobs, and in a party there’s no doubt they’ll be whining for healing full time.

And if you don’t like the whm (J Sensei: “White Mage,” designated healer) aspect of the job, being in a party will be very miserable very fast.

All the enfeebles were tossed into one job, now named thaumaturge instead of red mage.

Enfeebles?

Andrius: Debuffs for mobs. unfortunately the two red mages actually used in ff 11 are gone. Refresh and dispelare gone. Those two are the only reasons red mages were used endgame.

The rest simply just didn’t make enough of a difference to justify the job taking a slot that could be filled by someone else.

Gotcha. So as far as you have seen, there’s not a single change that can be called for the better?

Andrius: The new job system is interesting. You can mix and match abilities now, once you’ve unlocked them.

It’s too soon to tell how that would playout over the life of a game, but it’s interesting and new. It could lead to some very intersting builds at endgame, or it could lead to everyone being exactly the same at endgame, it’s hard to say.

Yes, at this rate few people will be playing to that point, sadly. So onto something Gamespot mentioned in its review… supposedly, the interface sets up obstacles between you and, well, doing things and having fun, at every step of the way. Your thoughts?

Andrius: I play the game with a gamepad, a playstation 2 controler I have connected to my computer, I did the same in ff 11.

The interface is *generally* similar with that. And from what I understand designed for a controller, but even that has some steps backwards.

For instance inventory has no means to sort. There is no auto sort. Things fall to your inventory and that’s the order they sit in.

Auto follow has been removed. It can be restord with a macro, but something like that should be there by default.

Macros are more hidden now, though you can have more of them and they can be longer now.

Equipping gear is somewhat annoying, when you pick a slot to equip gear in, rather than give you a short list of what can fit in that slot you get the general inventory

And have to go sorting through it to find what you want.

I haven’t taken up crafting, but from what I understand it’s an endless set of prompts and confirmations.

Also I haven’t heard anyone wo lhikes the game with a keyboard and mouse. I haven’t had any desire to try it firsthand.

I also miss being able to maximize the chat log. that apparently can’t be done with a controler anymore. I have no idea why they would remove that or inventory sorting.

Gamespot’s video review suggested a great deal of trouble there, so let’s just accept that at face value.

OK, so how does combat rate? Does it look good? Does it feel good? Does it work?

Andrius: These are simple things people have asked fro since the closed beta, which I was in. For reasons unknown all that changed since closed beta is an option to use hardware mouse.

The obvious difference in combat from ff 11 is here is no auto attack.

In 11 you would attack and the game would auto attack for you, keep swinging away and when you wanted to cast a spell or use a weapon skill you’d tell the game and then it’d go back to auto attack.

In 14 you have to actually tell the game every time you want to attack.

Now both work, 14 feels mroe involved and faster.

But auto attack has some advantages. If you’ve been in a party for a few hours, running to refill your drink or go to the bathroom quickly while your character whails on a mob for you was quite useful.

It sounds silly, but in serious xp parties they don’t really stop, so you learned to deal with it.

I think by endgame people would miss auto attack, but that’s just a guess.

The combat in 14 doesn’t feel bad though. It’s different, but from what I’ve played it works. It’d take a longer term look to see how it really compares in dpeth to ff11.

What other major problems exist in this game?

Andrius: Well, it’s hard to miss the game’s economy. Or it’s near total lack of one.

The auction house, star of basically every MMO game since the begining of time is gone. And I greatly mourn its loss. It is suvived by endless legion of player bazaars.

So, We Are All Street Peddlers Now?

The developers clearly intend bazaars to be the engine of the game’s economy. You can get npcs for free who will stand around and bazzar for you.

They can sell up to 10 items at a time, and you can do the same.

Unfortunately, it’s just a disorganized mess.

Think of a giant shopping mall. Every store front is painted white, and identical to the store before it, and identical to the store after it.

You have no idea what the store in front of you contains. No idea what the next one contains.

Square Enix made areas called market wards to put your npcs in.

You’d think they could have put the effort to label them on your map, but apparently no.

Searching the market wards takes on average an hour. A real life hour. 60 minutes.

(!?!)

Andrius: It is a very, very large white mall you’re in. And in the end you usually don’t find what you’re looking for.

That’s a hard way to do business…

Andrius: And often your eyes are so glazed over from elsless bazaars you miss what you’re looking for.

And when you have to sell things, it’s a pure crapshoot.

With an auction house there’s sales history to use as a guide for the pricing of your items. Now there isn’t. Pricing is a shot in the dark. And even if well priced, you need someone to find you or your npc.

It just isn’t realistically possible to outfit yourself with a full set of gear to replace your starting gear, not in any sort of timelly fashion.

And the whole exercise of checking the auction house when you log on is an hour long ordeal now.

It just isn’t worth it.

…So if you can’t buy it, are you expected to craft it yourself, with all the delays and issues involved?

Andrius: Buying from bazaars int he field is an option, but there Square Enix messed up too.

You can’t move when viewing a bazaar. So someone running past with one is a very short window of opportunity. You need to check it very fast.

And worse still, they get out of range for you to buy quickly. You can look at the bazaar from a farther distance than you can buy.

It seems like once or twice a day I check a bazaar of someone running past, find something I want, but by the time I find it, they’re out of range of my buying it.

So the game just leaves the bazaar up to taunt me.

Talk about fly-by-night merchants…!

Andrius: Square Enix definatelly is pushing crafting this game. It’s required for fixing your own gear for instance.

Gear now is damaged over time. Oddly, not from being hit in combat, just from time.

So if you sit in town and craft all day, your gear breaks down. UV rays I guess.

That’s a major departure from most games I have seen with equipment that gets damaged…

Andrius: The damage is not at a very fast rate so it isn’t terrible. Gear being damaged from crafting is a weird one though. Lot of crafters in their crafting gear and nothing else.

OK, now for the serious longer-term question. This is a game with many flaws, but some bright spots. So… can it be saved? That is, realistically?

Andrius: That’s a tough question. Square Enix seems determined to push their market wards idea. I think eventually they’ll have to include an auction house, but by then there could be a lot of damage.

The problem is, a lot of the player base are former ff11 players who wanted something similar.

They’re on their free month they got for buying the game right now, and they’re thinking about if they want to pay subscription fees. If too many say no it will hurt the game and leave Square Enix little time or budget to fix things.

I think the best thing Square Enix could do right now is apologize for the game being very rough on release, give another free month to everyone and start making some major changes fast.

For one, the auction house has to be built.

Heck, if they want to be clever make players craft it themselves. Craft the logs and nails and all that to make it happen.

But without an auction house I just don’t see the game working.

People play games for fun, and an hour a day of searching bazaars isn’t fun.

There won’t be much of an economy if that’s how it stays.

Personally I also miss mog houses. I spent a lot of money furnishing mine. It was a part of the game that was just your own, and it sounds like a small things, but its absence is felt.

I don’t think Square Enix will ever redo the zones. I wish they would, tell us this was all a joke, and release new ones. They’d laugh, we’d laugh and everyone could move on. But not gonna happen.

I think the jobs should also be brought back within final fatnasy traditions more. Put back 2 hour oves, let dragoons have jumps and their critter for instance.

It’s rather personal, but I’d like dark knights back too. As it stands they won’t ever be in ff14, their abilities were given to other jobs.

I can’t imagine why. What possible reason is there to rule out an existing job class? But they decided to do so.

In general the game needs to regain some of the soul that ff11 has.

Add some more npcs in town, add some quests to them too.

I haven’t been asked to run to the store and buy a gallon of milk for an npc, no lost kitties needed finding, nothing. Those quests are cliche, no doubt about it, but without them the towns feel empty.

You can do them better, and it gives people something to do.

What I’m feeling here is that the personal connection between the player and the game is very important, and a game lacking that connection will struggle to survive in a competitive marketplace.

Andrius: The connection the player has with the game goes along way, yes. At some point it wil transition to a player having a connection to other players in the game.

But you have to first establish the player’s connection to the game, get them into it, get them doing stuff, advancing their chracters, the story and get them into doing things with other players.

Then they form associations and friendships, build linkshell and that is what really keeps your players playing your game.

When I left ff 11 I’d done everything many many times. Any endgame you can name, I was a veteran of it, playing it, leading others through it, managing my linkshell, supervising others leading it, I’d done it all.

The reason I did it so much was because of the poeple.

Long after I had the victories I wanted, the gear I wanted, mountains of gil, it was the people that kept me there.

Thank you very much, this has been a tremendous interview and I think it carries a very strong message. Time will tell what Square Enix manages to do about this game, but you’ve certainly demonstrated a great deal about the spirit of MMO’s and what makes successful ones a positive experience for long-term players.

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