Fermenting Games

I’ve never drank wine, but I understand a little bit about it as a concoction. Wine ferments and needs to age to reach a peak of flavor. Typically, the older the better.  As we know, this process doesn’t work for everything. Try fermenting milk and you’ll just have a disgusting pile of curd. Some things don’t age well, including my topic for today.

Some games age well, others not so much.

You’d think that newer games are going to be better than the old, right? Better hardware offers better graphics, new developing methods help create innovative gameplay, and general growth in the medium allows for more mature storytelling. This is not always the case. Ask any Silent Hill fan and they’ll probably tell you the series stopped being good after Silent Hill 2. Castlevania 2: Simon’s Quest is generally regarded as being worse than the original Castlevania. And I back the claim that there hasn’t been a good sonic game since the Sega Genesis. I’m going to look into two games that I picked up again recently, and explain a bit about how well, or poorly they’ve aged.

We’ll start with the well-aged game, Dark Cloud 2. This is a Japanese RPG developed by Level-5 studios. I’ve had it for a long time (though I still haven’t beaten it) and I really enjoy it. Coming back to it, I am surprised that it is still a fun game. Even after playing many other RPGs and JRPGs, I still like Dark Cloud 2. And there are a few good reasons, I think; the first being the gameplay. DK2 is a sort of hack and slash dungeon crawler. That’s a poor description, but it gives you a basic look. The two characters each have their own signature weapons and secondary fighting styles, but each one has a wide variety of their main weapons, and there are numerous branches to take each weapon upgrade. The controls are easy and streamlined. The randomized map generator works very well in the dungeon system, and makes each play through of a level unique. Oddly enough, the damage system is also a plus. The characters cannot tank damage like many other games, and can only take a few hits before either passing out, or being dangerously close. All this combines into gameplay that stays fresh. The same mechanics work in each level, but still requires the appropriate amount of strategy and forethought to continue.

A second reason for this is the game world. This game world is easy to understand while maintaining a complexity and a liveliness that many other, bigger games, fail to grasp. There is so much you can do in the world. One of the main mechanics is the camera, and the ability to take pictures and find special photos that can help create ideas to invent new items. The creating system is a great blend of that camera, searching for recipes in every town, and good old trial and error. This is available outside and inside the dungeons. Each dungeon has their own sub-goals. Each has a time attack goal that rewards you for defeating all the monsters in a given time. After they’re gone, there is the option to play Spheda, a golfing mini game. This game is frustrating, but still enjoyable, and combining it with the randomized levels, the game is never dull. Fishing is also a big deal. Some levels have bonus rewards for fish caught in the dungeon, while the main city hosts two events, a fishing competition and a fish race. These options are fun and offer different challenges and goals than the standard hit-back-guy-get-xp formula. Catching fish and training them become entertaining distractions, and the fishing mechanic itself is fun. On a final note, another option is the Georama gameplay, which let you edit and add to selected areas of the outer map. This kind of SimCity management system is much like Legos, letting you how you want, while still meeting certain requirements. There is a great deal of freedom that stays smartly restrained by individual desires and an overarching goal for the build. All of these help the game world to feel vast, keeping the player from getting bored, all while working within the limitations of a relatively small overworld.

Finally, Dark Cloud 2 is good because of its character. Not just the player characters and people, but character of the game as a whole. This is in two parts, the people and the places. The characters you play as and meet are incredibly memorable. Max and Monica are the two main characters, and you can change between them on the fly, but each is unique in how they react and interpret the world and its happenings. They make a great team because their similarities are highlighted by their differences. Neither one is a standard, two dimensional, hero. They are full of life and personality. And they weren’t the only ones. The villains, the supporting characters, even the towns folk all had variety and nuance. The towns felt alive and real, not just hallow places with static characters that the player visits whenever they have to unload some loot for cash. This is the other part, the world is full of variety. The main town is this nice city with a homely feel, but the player goes on to see a lush forest, an enchanting ocean, a powerful volcano, and more, in the present, and the future. Dark Cloud 2’s world is believable, not relying on the same old tropes as most other fiction or fantasy, and instead making each setting its own unique take. The story is memorable, and even after having not played it for something like four years, I still remember much of the plot and characters. The personality attributed to the game wraps up the first two points and helps this game be like a fine wine, still good after all this time.

On the other hand, we have Dynasty Warriors 4. This will be shorter, so just stay with me. Dynasty Warriors 4 is a forgettable game for basically all the reasons above. The gameplay is static. It has remained the same since its first incarnation, and hasn’t changed at all, even though it is well into its seventh official game (not counting the various expansions and off shoot games). While hacking through thousands of harmless mindless grunts and a few more interesting generals is fun, it doesn’t have a lastability. The game world is just as dry. The meta-game consists of menus and an annoyingly repetitive theme song. In-game, the landscapes are bland, the camera makes it hard to see, and there is little variety. There is no way to really immerse yourself in the world. Finally, there are the characters. We’ve covered that the world lacks character, but so do the cast. Dynasty Warriors 4 has something over sixty characters, with maybe only 5 that are really interesting. Most others just lack personality and anything that could make them relatable. Its off shoot, Samurai Warriors does a better job in these cases, having fewer characters that are more interesting, allowing for uniqueness in the maps, and at least trying a few new ideas in the gameplay. I still play Dynasty Warriors 4, but it just isn’t like it was when I was younger. It might be better to let it die quietly in my closet.

These games deserve at least one play through. Dynasty Warriors is like a bag of chips, simple and unrefined, but a good way to kill time. Dark Cloud 2, however, is like a multi-course meal. Each level requires time to taste and savor, appreciating the subtleties and looking forward to what comes next. Enjoy them both, but make sure you see just what makes each game what it is.

For a reference, I have over 100 hours in Dark Cloud 2.

Just something to chew on.