• 21Sep 11

  Item Progression versus Leveling Up

  Now, before I get into this, I want to say that I like games with both. However, I was wondering what other people prefer.

  Some games, like Castlevania Rondo of Blood, Lament of Innocence, the Legend of Zelda, and Darksiders (to name but a few) use the item progression method to increase a person's power and ability to move forward. This system is very rewarding, when you find heart container peices, or things like the hookshot to further your quest there is a real sense of accomplishment. It also lends itself to things like power upgrades, In DMC or Darksiders you can buy new weapons and skills from the store or upgrade your combos (a la Lords of Shadow). This allows for several variations of the same character from game to game, it also allows for different combat combinations depending on your play preference. For instace in DMC 3, maybe you prefer the guantlets and greaves for the kicks and punches, or perhaps you like the electric guitar for it's ranged electrical attacks and ability to become a scythe. Each of these weapons has specials and combos a person can unlock with whatever currency the game requires (red souls in DMC 3, or human souls in Darksiders for instance). Some issues that could be raised with this system are it's reliability on linear gameplay, you require these items to move forward. You also have to remember where all of the areas that you've seen that require items you currently don't have are, or else you won't collect everything. This creates a lot of backtracking for the player, don't get me wrong the exploration increases the replayability and in the case of Castlevania games it is essential to get full completion.

  Others, like Final Fantasy, and some Castlevania games (SoTN, Aria and Dawn, or Order of Ecclesia) use the level up feature. Now, before we get into this I realize they also use items, such as weapons or armor, however, these items are not always required to move on. In most modern RPGs, weapons are the key items that you will use. For instance, Mass Effect placesa lot of emphasis on the guns and armor you use in combat, as well as the loadouts of your squad mates. In games like Final Fantasy Tactics the job's you choose require specific sets of armor but you gain exp. for both your standard character levels, and your job levels to gain abilities for thatjob. In many games this is a great device to enable your characters growth, and item advancement is difficult for a party of characters. However, this also makes some games too easy as you can grind and Dragonball Z your way to victory. Can't beat ruby dragon in the Nibelheim reactor? Grind five or ten levels per character and take another shot at it. Some games use both though, and they're excellent uses of items that level up as you do. The World Ends With You uses pins as weapons, however, you need to both collect them and level them up to advance throughout checkpoints and defeat stronger enemies. It still retains the character leveling, and exp notions though.

  The last thing I should probably mention before I go is that some of the games I mentioned on the leveling up side still use heavy item progression. Castlevania has always used relics in the games where leveling up exists, you require these relics to move on. Also, some types of item progression game use leveling up as well. Monster Hunter uses tempering and forgeing to create armors with different defense and offensive ratings as well as immunities to different elements, and demon's souls allows you to level up weapons and armor using souls and materials.

  • Posted Sep 21, 2011 5:41 pm GMT
  • Category: Games
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• 25Aug 11

  One more let down from Capcom

  Argh! Megaman Legends 3 was so close! I have to admit the title of this blog may seem like I no longer enjoy and look forward to Capcom games, I still love capcom, but this sudden cancellation of one of my most awaited Capcom games (over a decade in fact) is very sad indeed. After this all I have left to wait for from them is Asura's Wrath. I question Capcom's direction with the Megaman franchises to date, every Megaman game that was announced within the last 2 years has met cancellation (with the exception of Megaman 9 and 10). Has anyone noticed that unless it's DMC, Monster Hunter, Street Fighter, or Resident Evil, Capcom seems to have no interest in giving it a chance. I know I'm mostly venting about a lost chance to play another chapter in my favorite unfinished series, but we seemed so close to bringing Megaman home.

  • Posted Aug 25, 2011 10:20 pm GMT
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• 9Jan 11

  Megaman Legends 3 Project

  Considering the large amount of Legends fans I've encountered on these forums and across the web this should come as no surprise, but the Megaman Legends 3 Project announcement blew me away. Not only is it being made for the Nintendo 3DS, but the project is calling for fan-made content to be voted on for the final cut in the areas of bosses, locations, reaverbots, main characters, and several other things. Not only can you play the game to it's credits, you can see yourself in there too. Keiji Inafune is a genius for this, userbased designs and content for a game that many fans have been waiting for since 2000. I'm so overjoyed for the announcement of this game that I don't care if I have to buy a 3DS just to play it.

  So far, Megaman is still trapped in Elysium awaiting Roll and Tron's rescue plan to retrieve him, Sera, and Luna. Also, the master's system is about to be activated now that elysium has been taken offline. Assuming the game takes place right after 2 we might see the way the world changes in response, or it may take place some years after 2 in which case we may return to a rather different world than we left. Considering all the ancient technology that was sealed away was returned after the Elysium battle who knows what the legends world is like now. Also, who knows how many older Megamen have been freed, there were several by Legends 1 and 2's count so who knows.

  At this point all I can say is that I'm really looking forward to the return to the Legends world, as I'm sure many other fans are as well. So happy hunting and to those of us who were signing petitions, we won baby! Have a good one and look out for this game.

  • Posted Jan 9, 2011 9:45 am GMT
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