X-Com Dev Interview Rant

In developer interviews, the X-Com developers reference Dark Souls and Dwarf Fortress as examples of difficult games and as a comparison to X-Com's difficulty.

Dark Souls is a trial and error action game where mistakes are punished with grinding to make up lost souls or backtracking. It's in no way difficult in that it significantly tests typical action game skills as found in series such as DMC, NG, or Bayonetta, or even God of War and Vindictus, most of which have extremely fast enemies that require millisecond timing, coordination, reflexes, and more complex strategy. There's also far less potential for grinding out of a difficult situation. Yes, I can hear the goalposts being hurriedly moved at this moment, claiming "Dark Souls is an RPG, you can't compare it to action games!" Most action games have RPG elements these days, including all of the ones I just listed, and the comparison is valid.

It is true that you can theoretically run past every enemy in the game without dying, smack the final boss around a bit, then win the game. I don't think this is how Dark Souls is typically played, since it bypasses a huge amount of content. It's generally assumed that the player will want to explore the world and fight most or all of the bosses to experience the content.

Dark Souls has almost nothing to do with the strategic depth and difficulty found in a turn based tactics game. Instead it piles tedium on the player for making mistakes or getting caught by trial and error nonsense, although there is less trial and error than in Demon's Souls. Remove the punishment and grinding/leveling from Dark Souls and you're left with a sluggish action combat game with bosses that don't take any particularly complex strategy to defeat, certainly not approaching the level of complexity that can be encountered in tactics games. Not to mention Dark Soul's lack of a scoring system and pecking order style PvP.

Of course, that's one of the reasons why Dark Souls is so popular. Almost anybody, even poorly skilled gamers that are bad at other action games, can eventually complete it with enough patience, tedium, and simple trial and error, then go around proclaiming that they "beat such a difficult game". If such gamers think they really do love difficult games, they should give this list a try and let me know how many buckets of tears they fill.

It's the same with Dwarf Fortress, which is a heavily random and punishing sandbox game. Dwarf Fortress is designed for the player to randomly and uncontrollably fail, and the randomized sandbox style method of failure is supposed to be part of the game's amusement, much in the way that random disasters in SimCity are supposed to be fun. You also need to familiarize yourself with dozens of obscure rules and systems in order to progress past the first few bits of game play. What does this sandbox play have to do with turn based tactics game strategic difficulty or depth? Pretty much nothing, which is why it makes little to no sense to be comparing X-Com's difficulty to Dwarf Fortress, either.

Feb 2012 News

What's going on this month (and a bit of last month) in the world of turn based tactics games and MJ commentary? Even if the world ends (man-made or otherwise), we'll still have some great tactics games to play in the meantime! And I'm as opinionated as ever.

04/05 [PSP] [JP] [P] [1] 2nd Super Robot Wars Z Saisei-hen

New 2nd Super Robot Wars Z Saisei-hen Screenshots.

First 2nd Super Robot Wars Z Saisei-hen Trailer: Saisei-hen will almost certainly take the crown of best 2D graphics on the PSP.

Clear Bonuses Revealed: You'll get clear bonuses for completing 2nd SRW Z Hakai-hen up to 10 times, and another bonus for completing every Hakai-hen scenario. Hakai-hen was already pretty easy, so Saisei-hen with clear bonuses might be one of the easiest SRWs since MX. It's sad to see the series move so far in the direction of fanservice and flashy graphics, though. Even most SRW fans, most of whom play SRW for its fanservice value, though MX was too easy.

Fall [PC] [NA] [1] X-COM: Enemy Unknown

Gameplay Preview at Gameinformer: Looks like they'll be paring down the unnecessary cruft (Line of sight checks, awful default accuracy, etc.) and making a more streamlined tactics game that is more X-Com in spirit than in mechanics. That's fine with me, as I don't have some sort of ignorant, irrational adherence to the original game and all its design, balance, bug, and UI issues. Now if only people who are obsessed with a singular tactics game or series (FFT, TO, X-Com, Fire Emblem, etc.) would broaden their horizons a bit.

X-Com: Enemy Unknown Gameplay Preview #2.

Interview with Julian Gollop over X-Com. He's apparently not involved in the project, not even as a play tester or to offer feedback. I have a feeling they'll invite him to play the game and give feedback, at least.

04/19 [3DS] [JP] [P] [1] Fire Emblem: Kakusei / Fire Emblem: Awakening

New gameplay details. My Unit, Casual Mode, and multiple difficulties are making a return to Fire Emblem. Most of these features were introduced in Fire Emblem: Heroes of Light and Shadow, which was sadly not localized for NA. Lunatic difficulty mode is back, but no mention of Lunatic Reverse. Since FE: Awakening is a more open ended, RPG-like game with free battles, it will need an accurate scoring system to avoid trivializing its strategic difficulty. FE: Heroes of Shadow and Light had a decent scoring system, but I was disappointed that it only stopped at "A" rank, which was rather easy to achieve. Also, the downloadable Rainbow Potion significantly reduced its difficulty and I have a feeling they'll be adding more such items to FE: Awakening, not less, given how they're going to use it as a DLC guinea pig.

I'm fairly confident that FE: Awakening will be localized. It plays closer to Fire Emblem: Sacred Stones, which was chosen as one of the 3DS Ambassador games. The overworld map, class branching, customizable skills, and other RPG-like features such as free battles and grinding seems to be more popular with NA gamers, and I think Nintendo is giving the series one last try in NA. On the other hand, thanks to the 3DS region locks and lack of a 3DS emulator, this will likely be the least played Fire Emblem import in a long time. I'm still considering importing a Japanese 3DS, but it's expensive. If you want more Fire Emblem: Awakening details, check this Serenesforest link.

02/28 [DS] [NA] [P1] [P2] [1] [2] Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2

New Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2 trailer.

Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2 screenshots.

04/17 [Vita] [NA] [P1] [P2] [1] Disgaea 3: Absence of Detention

New Disgaea 3: Absence of Detention Trailer: Do you like that prinny voice acting, dood? This trailer promises 10 million hours of "game time", but I'm pretty sure my graphing calculator has Disgaea beat. I guarantee you Disgaea 4 will make its way to Vita eventually.

Disgaea 3: Absence of Detention Screenshots.



iPhone News:

Long after Japanese developers have mostly abandoned tactics games in NA, indie iPhone developers are still producing decent or even great tactics games.

Toucharcade review of Time of Heroes, an iPhone tactics game.
Toucharcade review of 100 Trials, an iPhone tactics game.
Toucharcade review of Dungeon Crawlers, an iPhone tactics game.
Toucharcade review of Hero Academy, an iPhone tactics game.



Other News:

Civilization V Gods and Kings Expansion Pack Announced.

You'll be able to transfer most downloadable PSP tactics games from the PSN to your Vita.

Phantom Brave Goes Online With Browser Based Game. Trailer.

Pokemon + Nobunaga's Ambition Official Trailer

Pokémon + Nobunaga’s Ambition Extended With Free Downloadable Episodes

Similar to protein folding games, scientists have developed new games based on tracing the neural pathways of the brain.

Determining the mathematical type of complexity of a game or game system or set of game rules.

What else have I been doing aside from inadvertently making people angry on gaming forums? Mostly playing through Super Robot Wars 64. It's a big game with over 100 scenarios. It plays a lot like the older PS and SFC Winkysoft developed SRWs, and tends to be more difficult than your average modern SRW. You can check out my guide's progress here.

Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2 (DS) Preview

Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2 is the sequel to SMT: Devil Survivor, coming to NA on Feb 28, 2012. It's likely to be the last turn based tactics game for the DS and will be a solid end to an excellent library of tactics games.

As I've mentioned before, Devil Survivor 2 plays very much like the original Devil Survivor. The game engine is the same, the menus are the same, and the time based plot progression with multiple endings is the same. It's still a SRPG where two units engaging in combat enter a sub-screen where a typical menu based 3v3 battle takes place to decide combat results. Recruiting and fusing demons to fight with is still central to customization and combat. Combat mechanics are almost identical with a few changes that only hardcore Devil Survivor fans will appreciate. Of course, there are new skills, over 200 recruitable demons, new allies, and new enemies to dig into.

So what's different this time around? There's the Enishi system, where your party members gain in friendship and trust as you make appropriate dialogue choices, granting you combat bonuses and access to more demon fusions. Your party members friendship rating determines whether you'll have access to their ending route(s). That's an improvement over Devil Survivor's ending routes, which required a dozen seemingly random and easy to miss dialogue choices.

The plot is similar to Devil Survivor, featuring the same 7 day time limit, demon summoning, and a device that predicts future calamities that your party must try to avert. It isn't a direct sequel to Devil Survivor, though. There are some oddly shaped beings and shady plot devices thrown into the mix, as well. As apocalyptic as the plot is, it feels lighter and more fanservice oriented this time around, with more jokes, more campy humor, and larger bust sizes.



On to the combat mechanic changes, which only the devoted Devil Survivor fans will appreciate. Skill cracks, the mechanic by which you target an enemy's skill and defeat them to learn that skill, is now easier because the main character and anyone with Enishi level 2 or higher can share their skill crack targets, instead of being limited to one party member per skill target. Instead of end of combat battle results and the magnetite skill swap system, you earn fusion pieces which can be used in demon fusion to add perks like new skills or bonus stats to your newly fused demon. Demon racial abilities can be leveled up to an improved version, giving a bit more incentive to stick with an aging demon or level it up. The 4 main stats have been altered slightly, with STR and MAG providing some physical and magical defense, respectively.

I can't say much about the campaign at this point as I haven't played much of it yet, but the party max is still 4, which I'm a bit disappointed with. There still doesn't seem to be much going on in the non-boss fights. I also think the addition of directional facing would have made the overhead grid portion of combat more interesting rather than a thin excuse to get you into the 3v3 fights. You can also expect the usual optional bosses that require lots of grinding and maybe even some strategy.



Other improvements over Devil Survivor include the addition of video clips, a demon compendium, and an end of game scoring system that's similar to the Tales of X franchise, allowing you to spend points on New Game+ carryovers. The latter two were added to Devil Survivor: Overclocked, so it's nice to see them included here. I'm not sure if there's an easy mode.  The music is still good, with a mix of rock and some jazzy pieces.

Overall if you liked the original Devil Survivor, you'll like Devil Survivor 2. It's competitively priced at $30 so it's worth the purchase for turn based tactics game fans. Honestly given its popularity they could probably get away with $35 or $40 but I suppose the DS is on its last legs.

Devil Survivor 2 Amazon.com preorder (affiliate link).
Devil Survivor 2 Amazon.ca preorder (affiliate link).
Devil Survivor 2 Play-asia preorder (affiliate link).

Deconstructing the "localize it!" argument

In niche game communities you'll find gamers who are frustrated that the Japanese games that they want to play aren't being localized in a language they understand. Unfortunately, this frustration can lead to irrational arguments as to why the game they want should be localized or why it's not being localized. They start with the conclusion that game X must be localized and build their argument entirely around that premise, regardless of logic, reason, or evidence. Here are rebuttals to a number of their arguments which are frequently found on gaming forums and sometimes even popular gaming blogs or web sites.

1. Blame "lack of marketing" or "lack of effort". If only the world at large was made more aware of the game, it would fly off the shelves! "They didn't advertise or support it" is a popular scapegoat and whipping boy for poorly selling games. On the contrary, the game they want localized isn't unpopular because nobody's heard of it, it's unpopular because it's in a genre very few people care for, using art styles and plot/characters that don't appeal to the majority of the NA market, and possibly the game itself just isn't very good or appealing. Spending money on advertising is not going to expand a game beyond that core audience. Ironically this suggestion is self-destructive as marketing is very expensive and would likely push a proposed niche game further into the red while having little effect on sales. The related argument is that "game companies expect us to do the marketing work for them!" This is called word of mouth, and businesses of all kinds rely on it.

2. Grossly exaggerate the popularity of the genre, name recognition of the developer or series, or promote random obscure and mostly meaningless trivia. This argument is rarely used to promote a game, instead it's used when someone rational points out the reality of the situation and explains why a game would likely sell poorly, or why another game would likely sell better than the one they want. If the game you like is complex, difficult, a turn based tactics game, text/voice heavy, or licensing heavy you're looking at an uphill battle convince a company to localize it. In a recent example, I had Sting fans trying to tell me how popular and recognized the Sting brand name was, how "Dept Heaven" was a known series, or how GBA Sting games being ported to PSP meant that Sting games sell well, all as proof that Gungnir would sell well or sell better than another PSP RPG, Growlanser. Unfortunately, the almost complete lack of activity in Gungnir related threads across the net tell a different story.

Super Robot Wars Complete Box (PS) Review

SRW Complete Box is a remake of three SRW titles using the Playstation F/FF engine: 2nd SRW for Famicom, 3rd SRW for SFC, and SRW EX for SFC. Many issues of 2nd and 3rd SRW were addressed or fixed, mainly being able to choose individual unit response on enemy turn, equippable items, unit upgrades, and a better UI. Animations are still unskippable, of course.

The 2nd SRW remake is very different from the FC original, owing to the evolution of the series. It's so different that you might as well consider it a completely different game, similar to the SRW 2G remake on Gameboy. Yes, this makes 2nd SRW Complete Box the second time 2nd SRW has been remade. 2nd SRW is a fairly difficult remake where you'll mostly rely on your supers, somewhat reminiscent of SRW F. Seishin pools are even smaller than F/FF and your Gundam pilots don't get much in the way of good seishins or robots. Most of the game is spent throwing Getta, Mazinger, and Grendizer at enemies while your Gundams soften up the grunts a bit with underpowered weapons. 2nd SRW Complete Box is the best of the three remakes, owing to the large improvements over the original, and the original's strong campaign.

Gungnir Preview (PSP)

Gungnir is a turn based tactics games that superficially most resembles other speed based isometric games like Final Fantasy Tactics and Tactics Ogre. However, being a Sting game, Gungnir has an above average number of mechanics and systems working in the background to complicate things. Below you'll find a fairly concise overview of how Gungnir plays and what mechanics are involved.

Gungnir's turn order is speed based, similar to FFT/TO, but with one major difference. While enemies and NPCs all have their own individual speed and turn icon, you only have a single icon on the speed bar to issue orders to your entire army (it looks like a yellow P). Whenever it's your turn you can choose from any of your units to act with. This generally means that enemies have a significant turn rate advantage over you, especially in large numbers. Every action your selected unit makes (moving, attacking, waiting, etc.) causes delay which will set your next turn back by a certain amount on the speed bar. Units have a delay stat that subtracts some delay during their actions, and by choosing an Ace unit at the start of the mission some class types will benefit from a further delay reduction bonus.

Each unit has a stat called WT (wait time) which determines how fast they can act again without suffering a loss of Vitality, which temporarily reduces their max HP. Equipment has weight and equipping it increases the WT burden by a % of WT. Any WT burden over 50% causes a WT penalty. You'll see the "Ready" overhead if the unit is ready to act without Vitality loss. Also, each attack has its own recharge rate, and if you use it before it's recharged, it will deal less damage.



Performing the move action with your units will build up tactics points, 1 point per square moved. Units have a tactics stat that determines how many tactics points they can build by moving. Building up tactics points increases the damage multiplier of some attacks. Tactics points can be spent on reducing delay (overclock), group attacks (beat), support buffs (boost), reducing the weapon recharge rate, and performing certain special summoning attacks. Units can only join into beats if they are directly in line with the target enemy, while boosts have a more permissive radius. Up to 4 allied units can assist the attacker with a beat or boost. Beat and boost activation range can be increased by capturing flags scattered around the map. These flags also increase your maximum tactics point value. In almost all situations, overclock isn't worth burning your tactics points, so you almost never have to choose between "speed or damage".

At the end of a mission you earn up to 3 stars based on certain conditions. You're awarded a star each for not restarting a mission, having 0 allied units defeated, and clearing the mission under a certain time. However, if you take too long, you'll start to lose stars even if you had no allies defeated and no restarts. Earning stars will increase the rank, a multiplier viewable in the upper right corner of the battle objectives screen. On basic difficulty the rank starts at 0.75, on Advance it's 1.0, and on Nightmare it's 1.25 or 1.5. My guess is that rank only increases if you get 2+ stars. For each mission you clear with 2+ stars, rank increases by 0.01 points on basic, 0.02 on advance, and 0.03 on nightmare. The rank multiplier increases enemy damage and HP. I'm not sure what the cap is, but I think it carries over with a New Game+. On Advance and Nightmare modes, enemies have 1.5x and 2.0x HP and Speed, respectively, in addition to the rank multiplier. Nightmare mode is unlocked after clearing Advance mode. You may start a New Game+ on Basic or Advance modes, but not on Nightmare mode.

During intermission you're able to recruit new units, and buy, sell, equip, improve or disenchant equipment. As for Gungnir's plot and characters, it looks very much like a FFT/TO style medieval melodrama, with all the usual JRPG cliches. You're able to make choices during the campaign that alter which ending you'll get, similar to TO.

I'm still not sure why Atlus chose to localize Gungnir. Contractual obligation? Similarity to Tactics Ogre? It's certainly a sales gamble and not in line with their recent attempts to publish more high profile games. It should be a pretty good game for technical minded players, and probably enough plot related stuff to please the FFT/TO fans.

Gungnir Amazon.com preorder (affiliate link).
Gungnir Amazon.ca preorder (affiliate link).

2012 Tactics Game Preview

Let's take a look at the major tactics games announced for 2012 thus far. New: The [P] link will bring you to an affiliated Play-Asia order page.

Fall [PC] [NA] [1] X-COM: Enemy Unknown
X-Com is back! Well, it's X-Com remade and simplified, but still technically X-Com. In X-Com you're tasked with fighting off an alien invasion by engaging in randomly generated levels until you've earned enough resources and power to complete the final mission. I am fond of squad based military tactics games such as Front Mission, Jagged Alliance, or the much maligned Operation Darkness, so I hope they put together a decent game that fixes up the UI and balance issues.

06/12 [PSP] [NA] [P1] [P2] [1] [2] Gungnir
Gungnir is another 2011 release being localized for NA. It's a traditional isometric tactics game, but since it's being developed by Sting, you can expect some complicated underlying mechanics to geek out over, if you're inclined to do so. I like the added depth and difficulty settings, but Gungnir's campaign feels a bit generic.

Masou Kishin II (PSP) Review

Masou Kishin II for PSP is a direct sequel to Masou Kishin I, released on the SFC in 1996. Despite the passage of 16 years, Masou Kishin II plays nearly identical to its predecessor. The developers have added a few new mechanics to try to liven things up, but they end up not having a significant effect. Terrain effects were added, but they are rarely an issue when most of the terrain in the campaign is neutral. You'll very rarely come across patches of unavoidable water or lava with significant terrain effects. Even then terrain effects are largely ignorable as the RPS element chart, unit height, and unit facing is far more important.

Pilots can now equip and swap skills instead of learning a fixed set as they level. Skills can be leveled up as they're used and new skills are learned as you progress through the campaign. There's not much in terms of depth or strategy for skills - the choices in most cases are fairly obvious. You equip damage dealers with damage or critical rate skills, healers with support skills, and fill in the remaining slots with defensive skills like Mirror Image or Sword Cut. In a few exceedingly rare instances you might want to use some movement altering skills, but otherwise you'll just want to stack the damage or critical boost skills. On the plus side, annoying random skills such as Double Attack have been removed.