A Look Back - Legacy of Kain (Part 1)

I had intended to make this post at an undisclosed, later date when I'd re-familiarized myself with the Legacy of Kain series (Read:  Went through the Screenshot LPs of them in the SA Archives) but the series has been on my mind a lot lately, and with good reason.  It's Halloween, after all, so if there's any time to be thinking about Vampires, it's now.  And it's only appropriate that I capitalize on this prime opportunity now while the getting's good, but I still want to leave it open for myself to write on it again, hence the (Part 1) you may have noticed in the title header.  I thought it would be rather neat to do a post on the series as it is in my memory now (As in, I don't remember a whole lot), and then another when it's fresh; not only so I'll be able to be more clear on some of the more interesting aspects, but so that I'll be able to properly tell what was reasonably awesome and what's more nostalgia than anything.

It's worth noting that my only exposure to the Legacy of Kain series has been in fact only to the Blood Omen games and Defiance.  This is the first thing that I enjoy so heavily about the series in that it was told over two different protagonists and told in an incredibly smart way.  The Blood Omen games revolved around Kain, a Vampire who changed the world, where the other side to it, the Soul Reaver games,  followed Raziel who was more or less collateral damage in Kain's ever-growing acquisition of power.  The last game, Defiance, was a hybrid of both game types and, over the course of the story, changed you from controlling one character to the other.  It was, and remains to be, honestly brilliant to this day, in my opinion.

I hadn't even owned a copy of either Soul Reaver game until I happened upon them both at a garage sale for an exceptionally modest price and picked them up.  Being for PSOne and PS2 respectively, there wasn't a lot of chance that I'd actually play them, especially considering the latter portion of my collection of the games (Blood Omen 2 and Defiance) are both for the original XBox which I have no desire to plug back in anytime soon (and if I started the series, I'd likely want to play through them all again) but it was nice to actually have them.  Though, it's not as if I put a heavy amount of playing into the games of the series I had owned prior to that; in truth, I've only ever finished Defiance.  Which I find a little funny, considering that does nothing to prevent me from loving the series from nearly all aspects.

It's hard to tell whether or not that ignorance has made LoK better for me than it has a right to be, or if that devotion is well-earned; personally, I would swing towards the latter.  It's honestly the whole concept of the series that I love so much, the two-pronged approach (in a way that isn't a money-grab) and that the writing, direction and character work is all fantastic.  Should you have any reservations to accepting that at a base level, this would be the part where I bring up the fact that Amy Hennig, Head Writer and Creative Director of the Uncharted series, had her hands about that deep into the LoK series.  It's no wonder that the only game I don't see her listed in as Director and/or Writer for in the LoK series is Blood Omen 2, which I seem to remember being the, er, 'black sheep' of the games, if you will.  What I'm saying here, basically, is that the LoK series has the pedigree to back up my words, which could have been seen as mindless praise without something like that being brought up.

I imagine it is a bit unfortunate that my only time with Raziel was spent in Defiance, since at the point in which I started playing him in the game it was all so alien to me that I wasn't quite sure if I enjoyed it or not.  While the mechanics of both characters are somewhat similar, they're quite different as well and take a lot of getting used to, as I remember it.  That Defiance basically incorporated two entirely different games* into one for the finale is nothing short of really, really amazing to me, and one of the main things that really really blew me away when I first played it.  Of course, I was always a bit of a Kain fanboy, as I always embraced the philosophy of enjoying the good Bad Guy, so I really don't think I allowed myself to be properly introduced to him in all honesty.  Though I've inferred it, I should state right here that Kain, insofar as the overall series went was always the 'Antagonist' where Raziel was the 'Protagonist', despite the fact that you played as both of them (not only in both series, but in Defiance) and fought the other a lot.

I've strained and thought of it, but I can't really think of another game that's effectively done what the LoK series did, in letting you play as two characters that were 'fated' to go against one another as Kain and Raziel were.  I could suggest one game, but it would likely be a non-related spoiler, so I won't state it directly.  (But the clue would be a Capcom RPG in a series that has, unfortunately, fallen off the face of the earth)  But regardless of that, such an epic (and I use the word literally here, since that's what I would consider the overall story of the series to be) undertaking in this style hasn't been done since that I know about and it's honestly a damn shame.  To use an over-exaggerated idea, it would be akin to Nintendo making and releasing a game where, rather than Link, you play as Gannon(dorf), fresh off a recent defeat and aiming to regain his lost power.

Who wouldn't play that?

A Look Back - Drakengard

Drakengard is one of those games where I'm going to gush about it for quite a few paragraphs here, but I need you to understand here and now that it is actually kind of a not good game.  In that the actual gameplay of it is like a Dynasty Warriors game (well, the ground portions), but 100x more stiff and wooden and just...not fun.  As a general statement of course, I had fun with it, but my enjoyment isn't a statement of fact and my warning that you will likely not have fun playing it should be enough.  So, how is it that I can sit here and claim that there is something to praise about this game, when in fact I have just said the game is not that good?  Easily.

You see, much like you don't go to an action movie expecting a deep, involved plot, you shouldn't go into Drakengard expecting good gameplay; instead, you should simply go into it expecting to have one of the most....unique story experiences any game around can offer.  It's hard to say much without spoiling the game, and I cannot promise that I won't do that, but if I'm going to, I will let you know first obviously.  But something that can be said for the game without spoiling too much is that it has five different endings, each one more insane than the last.  And the way it's handled is quite interesting, really.

Drakengard's story takes place over chapters and verses, not unlike a book, and once you clear the first ending, new verses open up that eventually lead into new chapters that take the game in entirely different directions.  Believe me, when I say entirely different directions, I mean entirely different directions.  Like, things that make you go "What the Christ?!" loudly and unapologetically.  But not in the traditional "Let's throw shit against a wall and see what sticks", but in a way that's....hard to explain, really.  It's very deliberate and while it doesn't make sense, it does.  Again, this is a lot of talking out of both sides of my mouth here, but short of spoiling the game, that's about all I can do.  I think I'll just do a section here in a few paragraphs about it.

On the same level of the story are the characters which, in stark contrast of 99% of the games out there, are in fact designed to be the absolute worst types of people.  And not in the campy sort of "Haha, he's a killer, but it's okay because he has a rogueish grin" or anything of that sort.  Just in the "These are the worst types of people in the world, yet they're trying to save it because they're not wimps" way.

Take our main character Caim, for example.  At the start of the game, Caim's goal is simply to protect his sister Furiae, who possesses (or rather, -is-) the Goddess Seal, one of the six seals that keeps the world together, from the "Empire" who has gone to war with, essentially, the rest of the world who bands together to form the "Union".  Seems fairly standard, right?  Well, it starts getting a little more involved when you realize (almost instantaneously) that Caim's parents were murdered by an Empire's Dragon, so his fighting against the Empire might not be, and in fact isn't, so altruistic.  He hates the Empire so much that, after being dealt an assuredly mortal wound in a battle with the Empire, he decides to enter into a Pact with a dragon that the Union had managed to capture during the battle. Being a non-Empire dragon doesn't make it any better, as Caim still hates Dragons as a whole (who could blame him), but his need for blood was greater than his hatred of the beasts.

This is where I need to stop and explain the principle behind "Pacts" since they are a central focus of the game.  A Pact, in Drakengard world, is when a human and a beast merge their life force into one for any number of reasons, whether they be that the two are friends or that they're both trying to avoid death.  The latter being Caim and the Red Dragon's reason.  Upon entering a pact, both become bound to one another in such a way that, should one perish, the other will as well.  They also gain the ability to speak to one another telepathically, and on occasion, hear the telepathic conversations of other pact-partners.  Of course, there's a downside (as if the whole 'one life' thing wasn't enough of one) where the Human in the deal pays what is known as a "Pact Price".  It's different for everyone, and varies by the person and the pact-beast, but some notable examples through the game are:  Caim loses his ability to speak, another party member loses his ability to see, and a third party member loses her ability to conceive.  (Also, possibly her sanity.)

As I stated, through the Pact, Caim loses his ability to speak (shown by the pact-mark on his tongue, every pact price has a mark) but gains strength, not only in being healed but in having a new Dragon ally, reluctant as she might be.  Now, able to take it to the Empire harder than ever before, that is exactly what Caim does.  Sure, you end up learning their true motives and the like, but the most important part to Caim is that he burns the Empire alive.  And does he ever.

One of the mainstays of the game is that you'll collect an entire arsenal of new weapons to stab, slice and otherwise maim any Empire soldier, beast or....thing that looks at you funny.  And while this is fairly standard, what makes it so nice in Drakengard is that each weapon has a story attached to it that you unlock as you power it up more and more.  Weapons in Drakengard "Level Up" so to speak, after set numbers of kills.  With the level up, the weapon A) Changes in appearance, B) Gets Stronger (usually), and C) Opens up a new paragraph of the story.  (Each weapon only has four levels, which is worth mentioning, so the stories are ~four paragraphs long.  Just enough to be a neat or, in some cases less neat tale.  And they get worse than that.)

The actual gameplay of the game, as I've mentioned a few times, is nothing really to write home about.  The weapons all have their own...'combos' which are, again, akin to Dynasty Warriors and other such hack-n-slash games, but is nowhere near fluid or, really, 'fun'.  At its best, it's tolerable, but at its worst it becomes what can be called with no exaggeration, "a slog", which is unfortunate really.  It does get slightly better, of course, with Dragon-back combat, which takes two forms.  In aerial missions, you have several flying targets and the Dragon controls more like it's in a Star Fox or Panzer Dragoon game than what you'd expect.  You have an aiming reticule, and the dragon has two forms of fireballs:  One standard that you can fire semi-normally, or you can charge that to lock-on to a target and launch several smaller fireballs at it.  The other form of Dragon-back combat is when you can simply jump on the dragon on a normal ground mission and burninate all your foes (provided they don't have a magical shield).  While fun, it does completely neglect your weapons and eventually just feels like you're cheapening yourself out of wholesale slaughter.

It's easy for someone to look at the game and come to the (wrong) conclusion that the game is just being Grim-dark for Grim-dark's sake.  It's not, though, not at all, and there's really not an easy way to say it to you so that you'll know it for true other than just trying to assure you that the game has actual, tangible depth in the story, and it's really not that heavy-handed or poorly done.  And I really mean this; it's easy for me to try and assure you that it's a worthy game since it's a game that is one of my favorites, but I already warned you away from playing it, so there's nothing for me to lose here.

Indeed, the best way, I think, so experience the depths of batshit crazy that Drakengard dips into is by reading the wonderful Screenshot Let's Play of the game by The Dark Id.  He's quick to point out the game's flaws, which are numerous, but he also does a fantastic job of letting the game speak for itself when necessary, even going so far as to let us know some of the details that are exceedingly toned down for the Non-Japan release of the game.  Interestingly enough, he then goes on to do Nier (which I advise you heavily against reading until you yourself have played the game, ironically enough) and Drakengard 2 (which he claimed he wasn't going to do, going so far as to do a whole update at the end of Drakengard to spoil everything about the ill-gotten sequel) which are equally entertaining in their own ways.

I have a lot of fond memories with the game, as well as a lot of not-so fond memories.  One of the latter being that I spent two years trying to beat the last boss of the game.  I don't mean that in the cutesy "Tee-hee, it too me forever" way, I mean that every now and then over the course of TWO YEARS, I put in Drakengard and tried to beat the very last boss, which was jarring not only in setting, but in the fact that it turned into an entirely different game.  Where Drakengard was a Hack-N-Slash, the final boss was....a rhythm game.  Yes, you read that right, and not only was it a rhythm game, but a rhythm game born from the deepest depths of Hell, intent on stomping you over and over until you were its bitch.

The result was possibly one of the most infamous "Trollings" a developer and/or a game has ever delivered unto a player, and again, I won't spoil it for you, but it is, in fact, hilarious.  Whether it was the fact that I had finally beaten it put me in a state of such advanced euphoria that I laughed it off, or because it's genuinely a goddamn good trolling, I could do nothing for ten minutes after finally completely beating Drakengard but laugh and laugh and laugh.

And the truly magnificent part of it, is that that ending is directly related to Nier, which as you may know is one of my other favorite games.  I can't say how, and you might know already, but it's an amazing feat that I can only applaud and appreciate, and it makes the whole experience of both games that much better.

So while Drakengard is definitely a flawed game, to me it's an important one, since it really actually does things with its story and goes places other games dare not go in a way that most games would do nowhere near as well as Drakengard managed.  And that's why I look back on it fondly.

A Look Back - Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

I know it's a bit early to be referring to Uncharted 2 as in the past by referring to it in a "A Look Back" article, but the game was released in October of 2009.  That's like an eternity in gaming years, especially with the year I've had.  Since the basis of "A Look Back" posts is remembering a game fondly after 'enough' time has passed, well, I believe Uncharted 2 qualifies.

It's kind of funny; the only reason I brought it up tonight was because, at a gathering we had today, I was talking with my oldest nephew about games and he posed to me the question, "What company do you think makes the best graphics?  Rockstar?  Activision?"  And with a knowing little smirk, I shook my head and said, "No, no.  You don't know good graphics until you've seen the latest Naughty Dog games."  He seemed a little confused, "The Crash Bandicoot guys?  What are they working on."  And it was then that I resolved to show him the pinnacle of gaming graphics and Cinematography so far:  Uncharted 2.

....I'm sure you can guess as to how it went.

My nephew doesn't really show a lot of what he's thinking; he doesn't really react outwardly to things, so a subdued response to things is the most you can ever expect, outside of laughter.  So when he watched the opening scene with the train, I could tell he was a little impressed at how it looked.  "You know I'm actually playing it right now, right?"  He looked over at me and said, "Really?  Oh, wow.  Yeah, you are, aren't you?" when he saw that I was, indeed, moving Drake amongst the shattered parts of the hanging train that served as your climbing tutorial.

"That's really cool."

Yes.  Yes it was.

And it's funny; he wasn't the only person to be surprised by the game.  Even though I've played it at least six times through, and I remember everything about the game, it seemed fresh, regardless.  There was a pure joy from playing, even though I more or less remember every line, the cadence with which the lines are said, and how every scene plays out, simply because it's just that good.  Dare I say that it seems timeless?  I dare.  I dare indeed.

We both marveled at the way the game controlled; him because of how responsive it looked and how a headshot actually is a one-hit kill, unlike some other games, and myself at how relevant the gameplay still manages to be, despite everything I've played since, especially inFamous 2.  It's tight, it does what you want/need it to do, and it looks damn good while you do it.  I did stop a few times to point out things to him, like the dynamic water stuff; how Drake's clothes get wet and dry depending on where he's submerged and for how long as well as how varied the combat manages to be.  And the starting scenes make that perfectly easy to do, if I do say so myself.  Going from stealth to melee to actual gunplay (despite only with tranquilizer guns at first, then real ones) allows for a lot of variation and makes an impressive showing of all your options.

My one regret is that I completely forgot to show him the Iron Fist technique - shooting from the hip while you run up on a guy and finishing him with a solid punch.  And wouldn't it figure, as soon as I remembered the move (Long after my nephew had gone) and did it, Drake yelled out "Kitty Got Wet!" which if you remember back when, was a thing.  I could have explained the whole thing about it too; about how it was a thing Nolan North's son said and he just decided it sounded cool, so he decided to use it.  And it is kind of cool.  It's fun to say at least; I'll have to remember it better this time.

A part of me regrets not having played in the Uncharted 3 MP beta, as Uncharted 2's MP was surprisingly fun even if I was usually on the losing end of things because of my terrible internet.  But I think I made the right choice; that just means when I play the game for myself I'll have that much more to be blown away by.  As always with games that I speak fondly of, I would heartily recommend it to anyone looking for a good game, and folks in PAL-Land do have that Uncharted Twin-Pack coming up soon that includes both Among Thieves and the first game, Drake's Fortune.  (I checked, but I don't know if it's actually coming out in NA.)  Sounds like a perfect chance to get in on it if you haven't so far.

Then again, if you haven't, what the hell is wrong with you.

A Look Back - Rune Factory: A Fantasy Harvest Moon

 

I know I said this would be next week, and last week I said it would be this week, but that was all because I hadn't quite beaten the story yet, and that's really what I wanted to do before I passed judgment.  My latest file gave me reason to think I wouldn't quite make it anytime soon, and then I remembered my first file was rather far, so I checked, and it was just beyond the roadblock I had in front of me.  Perfect, really.  I didn't manage to beat it on the file I was playing the past couple weeks, but it's not like much changed.  Only difference was that I was married to Rosetta instead of Felicity, and I had a better selection of weapons.

So now that I beat it and now that I'm posting about it, I'm not quite sure where to start, as there is quite a lot of ground to cover.  I guess I can start at the story, since that's what I was focused on completing for this exact article.  I have to say, while I'm not impressed (as it's hard to be really 'impressed' with a game story these days outside of the notables, rather, especially after the notables) it's a good attempt.  It's not too deep, not too shallow, things don't necessarily come out of nowhere and it has a proper (if long) build to the final conclusion.  The dungeons each provide a little more and a little more insight as to what's going on until you finally get it.

I guess the weak point would be that, without curiosity on the part of the main character, the game (and the overall plot of it, honestly) would be at a standstill in more ways than just the obvious.  Of course saying why would be spoiling, but suffice to say that the MC is supposed to do it, and not doing it would mean a lot of people sitting on a lot of thumbs waiting for him to do so.  (Obviously it's not that important to keep from spoiling it, but, eh.)  And then the story is done, it's done.  No post-game things outside of, well, just continuing to play the game as is.  You can still mine, still farm, still chat up the girls, get married (if you're not already, and beating the game unlocks one last girl) and do festivals, just live the day-to-day, all that.  Basically, it just turns into a Harvest Moon game with monsters and crafting.  Though, less "turn into" and more, "Shows for sure".  Which, hey, is a-okay, clearly.

The characters offer a nice variety of personalities, as per expected and luckily, none of them really grate on the nerves too badly.  Perhaps a few of them approach it, for me Mist is a bit too ditzy, the resident rich foodie is entirely too one-track-minded, and Camus gets annoying with his "I'm leaving here some day!" talk.  The large amount of characters that can be your character's wife is nice and new and I personally had a hard time figuring out which one I wanted to go for in this latest playthrough.  I actually just threw it out to a couple friends for a vote and it came back Felicity, the Mayor's daughter, so that's how I went.  Though it easily could have been Bianca, the spoiled rich girl, Lara, the nurse, or I could have just waited for the last girl to get unlocked.  Though that would have made for an extra long play that I don't think I could have stuck out.

That would be one of the many, many advantages Rune Factory has over Innocent Life; not only by the sheer fact that there are people you can actually form relationships with that mean something, but the fact that there's so many options and they all need such varied things that you'll inevitably change your play-style just to get where you want to be.  A few of the girls require you to have a lot of Monsters as pets, so you'll have to play a real live-stock heavy game, meaning buying lots of feed, collecting lots of wood for the shacks and building up so you can take the inevitable few hits you'll take between shots with the Friendship Glove.  On the other hand, trying to woo Mei means you'll have to take quite a liking to Fishing and make sure you get a fridge early to store what you catch since only one gift a day raises affection.

Of course, I make it out to be more than it is; you can over-plan anything after all.  But depending on how you play, you might find yourself considering the same things if getting your Amnesiac Hero hitched is important to you.  And the other characters are interesting enough as well, though they are nearly outnumbered by the women you're able to marry, which leaves a lot of room for them to be overshadowed.

It's not all good, as well, as Rune Factory's dungeons turn from fairly interesting, easy to enjoy little jaunts to chores in the very very worst ways.  The fifth one in the game, Misty Bloom Cave, is literally an opening in the middle of a tiny chunk of land surrounded by maybe two feet wide of water.  Suspension of disbelief, naturally skewed sense of scale in a game and all aside, there's absolutely no reason you could not throw a bridge to it or something rather than what the game tells you to do:  Wait til Winter.  Yes.  The fifth dungeon in the game, you have to wait til Winter (when the game begins on the first day of Spring) to get into it when there's absolutely no conceivable reason for you to wait for the moat to freeze over.  Just for a point of reference, in my playthrough that I started with the intention on comparing it to Innocent Life and such, I 'unlocked' Misty Bloom Cave on Spring 28th.

That's right.  I had to piss away two months just to get into the next dungeon.  And when I finally got in, I beat it in under 3 game hours.  Though I wouldn't say that's the most egregious of unnecessary bullshit requirements for a single dungeon.  The very next one, the Kasimir Ruins, just to get in, you have to A)  Farm up 100 Tiles in Misty Bloom Caves (Which would really fucking suck if you waited til Spring to try an get a permit for the ruins) B) Be good friends with Sharron, resident spooky girl who hangs around the Ruins all day (which you likely have done in the three months since the game has started) and C) Befriended (read:  Captured) 10 Monsters.

Only then are you allowed to set foot into Kasimir Ruins.  And then it gets worse.  After about two screens, you're confronted with a locked door and a vague clue about Rune Sprites.  Rune Sprites show up when you plant 3x3 squares of crops (the default size in a bag) and grow them to fruition.  Long story short, is that you have to grow plants in every single plot provided in that room.  There are eight plots.  So not only have you just wasted a ton of time just trying to get -in- here, now you have to wait more to unlock a door.  And then, because you apparently haven't suffered enough, about halfway through, you're confronted with another locked door that needs a key.  After conferring with Sharron about it (which means leaving the ruins, which means resetting all the goddamn monster spawners in the ruins) she tells you that a Golem has it.  Then you have to find it, smash it, get back to the door and open it.

Now, I've left something out here, which I should get to now.  To fully explore a dungeon, as in, reach the end of it, you have to destroy all the monster spawners in it in a single go-through.  It's hard to tell why, and thinking on it, the story doesn't really explain why, so let's just ignore that.  There's always at least one in a section, if not two.  And sometimes they're tricky to find, being hidden behind tiles of poison that you have to walk over or behind walls of flame that you have to put out.  So you'll understand if having to leave a cave in the middle to get a goddamn key is a little frustrating.

The dungeon following that is nearly the exact same set up, except the locked door is, of course, at the end, and the key is, again, of course, at the very beginning.  But at least you don't have to go outside of the cave and reset everything.  Still, it's annoying.  And this was the point I made it to in my game; the part where I realized I would have to farm once again just to open a goddamn door.

"Fuck that," I exclaimed.  And, on a whim, I decided to take a gander at my other save file to see if I had made it to that point there as well and surpassed it.  And, in fact, I had.  So it was just a simple matter of finishing up that dungeon and doing the last one to get the game finished.

It's hard to really state that this is, in fact, a Harvest Moon game after spending four paragraphs explaining about the spelunking and combat that proliferates the game as you get more and more into it, but honestly, that's just one side of it.  A brand new side with more depth than one would expect, but only one side nonetheless.  And while there's other goodies, like the crafting system shown above, added, it's still just a Harvest Moon game, which is a good thing or a bad thing, depending on your tastes and likes.  For me, that's a good thing, especially because the game is very good at being a Harvest Moon game.  So, in lieu of having something more 'to-the-roots' available, it's a fantastic substitute.

So, for its flaws, which are little more than kinks to be worked out in the grand scheme of things, Rune Factory proves to be a fantastic game for those of the type to enjoy it, and while it's existence includes elements that may force the 'Simple Farmer' approach to take a back seat for a while, the depth that's put in place offers a lot in terms of enjoyment.  And though the story provides something of a feeling of 'finality' to the game, which is not what you want from a Harvest Moon game, the story can be completely ignored for those that just want to relive the Harvest Moon 64, Harvest Moon:  Back to Nature, and Harvest Moon:  Friends of Mineral Town days of farming, owning livestock and chatting up the locals.

A Look Back - Crystalis

This one, as they say, is an oldie but a goodie.  A gem from, not only my childhood, but plenty of others, I'm sure.  In a time where RPGs weren't the norm just yet, and everyone's top-down fantasy-action fix was covered by an obscure little game called The Legend of Zelda, SNK had the idea to release a game that was somewhat a blend of the two, with a definite focus on the action and give it a (for the time, of course) deep story to tell over the course of it.  That game was Crystalis.

Oh, NES Box Art.  At least the creatures featured on it were actually in the game in some form.

The opening credits tell of a great war that ravaged the land followed by a cataclysm that altered the landscape indefinitely, mutating most of the wildlife on the planet to dangerous monsters.  That, of course, put an end to the war, since it most likely killed more people than the battles had, and the survivors put all their energy to building one last bastion of Technology and Magic, a giant floating tower in the sky from which they could purge evil.

100 years following, technology has become forbidden, though the ways of magic still prosper.  Life has returned to the norm; The mutated creatures still lurk the world, but the humans have rebuilt their civilizations and managed to thrive.  But they still knew fear everyday, and what's worse was that a man, self-titled Emperor Drygon had brought back the old ways of Technology and began imposing them on the world in an attempt to gain control of the Tower and use its weapons the hold the world at his mercy.

But there is one chance left for humanity; one that has slept endlessly to be awakened when he was needed the most.  And thus began the quest of the foretold hero.

The game starts as the protag emerges from this Cryostasis chamber and proceeds to explode through a cave wall.

What follows is a journey where our protagonist (you name him) sets out to meet with the Elders of the remaining villages for information on Emperor Drygon, with the eventual aim of defeating him.  Guided by their wisdom and entrusted with the relics of old, passed down through the ages, the four elemental swords, he meets many interesting characters along the way, as well as his partner in this mission, Mesia, whom he shares a link with that he just can't recall.

Our protag foolishly challenges two Tigermen at level one.

Back in the NES days, this right here was my game.  Everytime I think of those days, this is the one I think of first, simply because it's the one I put the most time into.  Hilariously, I've only managed to beat it twice; the other times I simply played for a bit and then ended up starting over again just because that's what you did as a kid with something you liked.  If it was a movie, you watched it over and over again and me, with games, I just played it over and over again, despite not finishing it.  This is largely due to the fact that once I got the Sword of Water and the Ball of Water, the game opens up dramatically, or at least, way back then it -felt- like it did, and I'd always spend more time moving about than actually making progress.

And even when I beat the game, I couldn't really appreciate the ending back then.  Unfortunately, I still can't, because, as I've learned in growing up, the ending is rather poor.  I won't spoil it here, of course, but there's a lot of last minute reveals that dampens the feel and throws all sorts of questions into the mix, and it's better to remember the game for the fun it offered; using swords to stab things and shoot Wind, Fire, Water/Ice and Lightning at them.  Also getting the Rabbit Boots and jumping everywhere.  Especially getting the Rabbit Boots and jumping everywhere.

Not flying.  Jumping.  Though, you did gain the ability to fly later.

It'll be hard for you to go out and experience this game yourself unless you look into less-than-savory means, (Or finding the Game Boy Color remake which is awful) so if you'd at least like to see the story of this game play out in a humorous manner, I can recommend This Let's Play if you're into that sort of thing.  Otherwise, you could, of course, search it out on youtube; I'm sure there are video Let's Plays of it out there.

Failing that, just take my word for it:  Crystalis was a great game and would be well worth your time if you ever managed to find it and an NES to play it on.  (Or a miracle occurs and it's put up on the Virtual Console at some point.)

A Look Back - Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy

Way back in the beforetimes of 2004, a wonderfully flawed gem fell from the skies and landed in this realm to be judged.  And, while judged approvingly many never saw this gem.  Many more never even knew of its existence.  Branded with a logo carrying the name of Midway, the title of "Psi-Ops:  The Mindgate Conspiracy" etched in, the gem provided a façade not unusual for the time, but hardly telling of the glory it held.

Gaze upon, ye mighty.

I will go out on record saying that, if you do what is necessary, Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy will afford you one of the most satisfying gaming experiences you could ask for. If, of course, being the cause of controlled mayhem is satisfying to you. This is because Psi-Ops places you in the role of Nick Scryer, a man with no memories of anything, including who he is, stuck inside a facility that he doesn't remember going to, or even what it is. In very short order, you, the player, learn that he is a Psionic Agent who has infiltrated a Terrorist base with the goal, of course, to shut them down. Quite standard, sure, and the story is definitely not the game's finer point, and in fact, could very well be one of it's biggest flaws (though the bigger ones will be discussed later), but at this moment, the game starts you off, and gives you one of the biggest, best tools in it's arsenal: Telekinesis.

Also pictured:  A gun.  You will not need this.

Yes, the ability to move objects, as well as people, with your mind. Also a hand gesture.  As slightly pictured above, we see Nick holding up one of the soldiers up with his mind and his hand.  (I'll stop that now.)  Of course, the main fun with this power is that you do not simply -move- people and objects, should you desire.  Oh, no no no, what you can do is pick up a soldier on one end of the room and, with a simple flick of the control stick and letting go of the TK button, and launch him at a fellow soldier on the other end of the room.  What you can do, is pick up an explosive barrel and launch it with enough force at a group of soldiers that it breaks every law of physics (as explosive barrels are wont to do) and explodes, leaving them a heap of charred ex-opposition.  What you can do, is rush into a fight and simply throw everything not bolted down at whoever or whatever you wish, destroying everything without firing a single bullet from any of the guns you (needlessly) carry.

Sense a pattern?  What Telekinesis offers is the ability to have fun with the game.  One could argue that it is in fact the entirety of the fun with the game.  And is that a problem?  On most levels, no, of course not, fun is the objective, and this carries it out, but the restrictions, as they often do, seek out to spoil your fun.  Unsurprisingly, your Psionic powers are not infinite and every throw of a soldier, picking up of a crate, tossing of a barrel drains from your Psi Energy which can be replenished with conveniently available Vials in small and large sizes, as well as with the use of a power acquired later called Mind Drain.

I don't intend to do a walkthrough of the game here, so I'll simply list the rest of the powers that will become available to you and indicate their usefulness.

Remote Viewing - While interesting, as this power allows you to exit Nick's body and walk about, in first-person perspective, it's fairly useless, offering only one or two points during the game where it's actually necessary, forced even, and the battles are easy enough to win that you'll never need to use it for scouting, although it is certainly capable of that.

Mind Drain - This is one of the Holy Trinity of Psi Powers that you'll acquire during the game.  As implied by the name, this power allows you to syphon off Psionic Energy from unsuspecting guards/soldiers to continue your fun.  Unfortunately, the amount gained from a corpse (As is the most common way you'll find you can use this power, since it can't be used on opponents who can resist, as ones who've seen you already) is a mere pittance versus what you probably used to take him out.  This is where stealth comes in handy.  Sneaking up on someone affords you the opportunity to drain them fully, almost always refilling your gauge mostly, if not completely.  This almost always ends with a Scanners-Style head pop because, hey, why not.

Mind Control - This power falls just short of being eligible for the Holy Trinity of Psi Powers, surprisingly, as it does exactly what the name implies it will.  You take control of whomever you target and, from there, use them to flip a switch you can't quite reach or take out a few soldiers with some good old-fashioned gun-play since you cannot use other powers in conjunction with this one.  This is, of course, the downfall as well, as there is simply no satisfaction with the guns.  Sure, they fire, stuff falls, but there's no feedback from it, no impact with it, as other games provide.  If you're particularly sadistic, once you're done with this soldier, you'll most likely run him off a tall building, into one of the many hazards of the game, or (and this is not recommended, as it eats your psi energy like crazy) have him turn his gun on himself.

Pyrokinesis - Our third and final member of the Holy Trinity of Psi Powers, Pyrokinesis allows Nick to make one swipe of the hand from the ground and out to send forth a wave of flame, engulfing and immolating anything in its path.  This really needs no explanation.  You set anything on fire and throw it at a soldier and that soldier will also catch fire.  Or you simply skip the middle man and burn them where they stand!  Or perhaps even a conjunction of the two; I know I used that combo a lot.  Burn grunt, flaming corpse launch, cackle.

Aura View - There is no getting around it; if the devs hadn't implemented puzzles in the last couple levels of the game where you absolutely required Aura View, you would never use it.  What it does is alters your view so you can see things you might not otherwise.  Footprints, writing that's been removed, and, of course, psychic monsters and invisible bombs.  Wait what.  This power, of course, is a sign that you've made it to the point where the fun has definitely ended.

What the Christ?

What needs to be said, and I have made a few references to it, is that Psi-Ops is very very much a flawed game that can offer a solid experience....so long as you're comfortable with not beating it.

What starts out as a third-person shooter set in a military base, ends up being a third person shooter set in a military base with a bunch of bullshit everywhere.  Spoiler alert:  The last level includes a section filled with floating mines that you can't see without Aura View.  That you also cannot disarm through any means besides chucking a body into it.  At least, not that I've encountered.  Your own body will not work, of course, as you need your body and the mine will blow it the hell up.  "So there's infinite guards in that section?"  Why of course not, that would make it easy.  I'm sure you can take from that how things can go wrong.  

If you can't:  On my first play through, I was running about, throwing mans here and there, and just having a fine time trying to win the game until I ran into a corridor and promptly exploded.  Expletives were thrown as I finally managed to make it back there, turn on aura vision, only to see that there was no way I was getting through without getting rid of some of the bombs.  Gunshots didn't work, throwing objects didn't work.  Throwing a body?  Worked like a charm.  "Oh, I just need more bodies, then", I say, and walk about, expecting to find someone.  There was nobody, as, of course, thanks to limited technology, the bodies have to disappear for a while.  This quickly becomes an exercise in frustration in very obvious manners.

So how do you make this game the best experience you can make it?  Well, it's quite easy.

Step 1:  Find the Cheat Codes.  Yes, yes, as proper gamers, most of us have the ingrain aversion to cheating that some games have built into us (For me, namely, the Grand Theft Auto series, since they will disallow you from ever -fully- completing two of the games at least), but these codes are vital to your enjoyment.  You need these.  (For those of you that don't want to look them up, the two you will need are 537893 and 456456.)

Step 2:  Enter them and start the game.

Step 3:  Have fun until you run into our friends pictured above.

Step 4:  Take note of the level you were on, and declare loudly to yourself, "WELL, THAT SURE WAS A CRAZY NIGHTMARE NICK HAD", and start from the beginning again, convinced that what you played before was simply Nick having a crazy amnesiac nightmare.

Step 5:  Stop playing the game before the level you took note of.  Convince yourself that Nick simply won, use the last boss fight you encountered as 'the last boss' hand-wave away the lack of ending, and simply enjoy your fond memories, as well as the fun game you have.

As far as you're concerned, the rest of the game doesn't exist.  Really, it's the best thing for everyone, because, as I've stated several times, Psi-Ops has the capability to offer so much enjoyment.  Why would you want to ruin that for yourself and for the game?