Still at it..

Although I'm uncertain as to when I'll be getting back to updating regularly I'm certainly not lacking for games. Expect some talk of the following games in the future:

Activision Anthology - I used to own this compilation but I think it deserves a second look. Essentially it compiles nearly 50 games that were originally released on the Atari 2600(or at least developed using that hardware). As expected these are very simplistic games but many of them are still quite entertaining.

Sega Classics Collection - This was Sega's aborted attempt at releasing their PS2 Sega Ages titles outside of Japan. Due to their low budgets these remakes are pretty dire-looking but some of them turned out quite alright when it comes to the game itself. That said this still isn't a popular compilation due to housing one of the worst versions of Golden Axe to ever exist.

New Zealand Story Revolution - I'm not sure what prompted this sudden interest in remaking Taito's older titles but I guess I can't complain too much. The original game was an action-platformer for the arcades that starred a kiwi and his equally cute friends. Just from flipping through the manual I see a double-jump has been adding along with touchscreen minigames and whatnot. Hmm...well at least it was cheap and I can't imagine it being that bad.

Onechanbara: Bikini Zombie Slayers - I still say this game has among one of the best concepts in history. A woman in a tiny outfit slashes up zombies and after getting bathed in enough of their blood she goes berserk and well...kills the undead more quickly. The story never makes any sense and the games have a history of not exactly being good but who can hate a concept like that? Anyway I have put a few hours into this one and it's definitely an improvement over the last game I played(which would be Onechanpon(?) the fourth PS2 game). I'll get more in-depth on this one....eventually.

I've also been playing Way of the Samurai 3. There's little else to say right now aside from that it is much better than the first game.

Videogame looks to uh...look forward to

Since the Wii isn't exactly the greatest thing around for updating blogs I'm continuing to buy and play games. By the time I finally get a working PC I'll be able to do dozens of updates, clean up some of my messier ones, and generally make up for a lot of lost time.

As I said before I'll get to looking at these titles eventually:

Castlevania III - Tough game. Dunno why I've been playing Castlevania again. I guess since I've talked about that game's particular style of action-platforming I should take another look at it.

Super Castlevania 4 - Not so tough game. There's somethings I'd like to discuss about this game but I'll save it for when I can start doing regular updates again.

Ninja Blade - From the Nightshade look one would assume that I'd be moving on to Ninja Gaiden. Well that ain't happening just yet. If and when I do get around to that series I'm going to start with the NES games. Besides this game happens to be by From Software. This is nice as I have been playing quite a few of their games lately.

Sega Ages: Fantasy Zone DX - I saw a good deal on this fab compilation so I immediately snapped it up. Aside from containing almost every Fantasy Zone game there's a very nice remake of Fantasy Zone 2: Tears of Opa Opa. I'm really looking forward to this one in particular as I loved the Master System version.

Way of the Samurai 3 - I ordered this earlier but as I predicted there's been some delays and between that and Amazon's free shipping I'll be lucky to have this in my hands by November. Regardless I'm excited.

PS2 look - Nightshade

Shortly after the events of Hotsuma and the end of the Oboro clan a corrupt government(big surprise) sends in a super sexy Kunoichi(female ninja) named Hibana to retrieve the soul-sucking sword Akujiki. Rival forces like an evil robot and her former ninja clan get involved as well. This is essentially all you need to know about the story of Nightshade, Sega's followup to the excellent Shinobi.

For those who have already played Shinobi PS2 this game will be quite familiar. Some basic changes have been made to the structure though as the Stage 1A-1B style is chucked for a more standard Stage 1, 2, 3, etc. There are also more stages and they're longer to boot. The basics have gone unchanged as they revolve around the TATE system though the game offers a large number of additional moves each with their own particular uses.

Rather than bother with explaining every little detail I'm going to skip ahead to what's wrong with Nightshade. This is more important I think because for all intents and purposes it covers all of the necessities for a good game yet in the end the problems are so critical to the core game design that they ruin everything. This may be construed as an overly negative view of the game but I assure you that with every facet of the game there is at least one serious issue.

Most of the stages compare favorably with the first game. Hibana has to go through a linear stage where combinations of enemies get dealt with, power-ups are collected, and occassionaly locked doors must be handled through spilling blood or hitting floating objects. With such simplistic level concepts the focus should be on creating strong enemy layouts and providing good environments for the battle to take place in. Most of the time this isn't the case. Enemies are rarely arranged in any kind of order and their placement feels very clumsy. To compare if you were to make a Call of Duty game would you put the bad guys behind cover or out in the open? Given the chance I'm guessing the designers of Nightshade would do the latter. There's no sense of transition from foe to foe and even though they fall easily the occurences where the player is left scrambling to find other foes to finish the TATE are too often. This has no real bearing on the combat itself(which has issues we'll go into later) but the player should never have a problem reaching enemies.

While I'm on the subject of level design I'll point out that the stages are simply too long. The average stage can take anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes. Shinobi has stages like that as well but let's consider this: In Shinobi it took me 10 to 30 minutes to complete a stage because I died multiple times. Nightshade on the other hand I got through a stage without dying or running into serious problems and it still took me closer to 30 minutes to complete it. Like the first game Nightshade is very linear so it's not like I was getting lost. How did Sega manage to pull this off? I'm guessing it's due to the new structure adopted for most of the stages. While breaking each stage into sections is a good way to make the game more accessible to beginners it tends to ruin the pacing. Like with most other action games there's a gradual build-up of intensity through enemies and platforming(if the game has it) before the player contends with the boss. It takes Nightshade much longer to reach this highest level, which just leads to boredom.

If that wasn't enough there are some stages that take place on top of moving vehicles. While these stages are a little bit shorter they also aren't broken up into sections. This means that if the player dies towards the end of the vehicle-based stage that means they get to do the entire thing over again. This kind of flies in the face of that whole "more easily-accessible" stuff as these particular stages tend to be the hardest in the game. It doesn't help that they're rather repetitive and consist almost entirely of jumping between vehicles while killing vehicles for so long.

The combat in this game is a chore. I can't put it any more bluntly than that. The first game worked due partly to its simplicity as the player could cut down enemies with a single slice. In Nightshade it's not nearly that simple as while Hibana has a ton of new moves at her disposal they seem to be there just to accomplish the same effect. Thanks to the rather absurd enemy placement there are times where enemies are located too far apart for a single dash to reach them. Hibana has access to a flying kick to cover that extra bit of distance but that means pressing another button just to get to the enemy. Furthermore as the game progresses armored enemies will start to appearing. Removing this armor is typically done with a kick. This gets old very quickly as taking down a single foe requires several button presses. This isn't even considering other factors like multiple enemies, fights over bottom-less pits, and other potential problems that could crop up because the player is too focused on doing what amounts to a QTE for every little foe.

I also have to go into more detail about all of these additional moves. For one reason or another bosses have half the foes or less assisting them in battle. That means a fully-powered TATE is out of the question so the only possible way to kill a boss in one stroke is apparently through a special attack. This special attack is charged by performing a lot of hits. Getting more hits is accomplished via Hibana's twirling knives as they are incredibly weak. It seems that Nightshade trades effectiveness for style at every opportunity. Rather than having Akujiki and simply building a TATE to destroy foes the player must somehow build a full meter for this special attack over the course of the stage just to have a chance at wiping the boss out instantly. This isn't even considering that the boss will be doing more than just standing around waiting to be killed.

Oh but it doesn't end here. The bosses in Nightshade are just plain garbage. They're so bad that it's difficult to point out their faults. It's impossible to point out what could be improved to make them worthwhile. The developer would have been better off starting from scratch in all honesty. They're bad jokes compared to the incredible bosses of Shinobi.

The worst part about all of Nightshade's flaws is that they're interconnected. The nonsensically-long stages are compounded by the terrible enemy placement which highlights Hibana's ineffective abilities and culminates in some absolutely terrible bossfights. Usually there's one or two bad elements that ruin games but here it's a number of bad elements that come together to completely bury whatever quality Nightshade might have had.

In the end maybe I'm just being overly negative and with enough time the player could work around all of the problems but I don't see the point. Some could also argue that Nightshade isn't meant to be taken as a sequel to Shinobi and shouldn't be compared as such. That's fine and all but when I see a game that bases itself on the same concept, features much of the same game design only expanded upon, and heck for that matter takes place directly after the events of the first game I see little reason not to regard it as a sequel. As far as I'm concerned this is a major disappointment.

However I guess it matters little because Nightshade flopped pretty handily in all markets. It released around the same time as Ninja Gaiden for the Xbox...effectively passing the torch for the future of Ninja action games.

Fried my computer again...

I have a bunch of updates that I need to do but guess what? No working computer.

Updates I need to do:

Gradius V

King's Field: The Ancient City

Crimson Sea 2

Nightshade

Silpheed: The Lost Planet

Midway Arcade Treasures 2

Anyway buy Mushihime-sama Futari for the 360 cause it's region-free.

PS1 Look - Jumping Flash! 2

I think the reason I never got around to playing Jumping Flash! 2 before was due to my fear of heights. It's so bad I get woozy just standing on a step-ladder. This fear extends to 3D videogames which makes it troublesome for me to get through quite a few of them(mainly platformers for obvious reasons). Surprisingly despite the concept and the level design I found myself not at all troubled by heights. In fact I was able to really push myself to make the game more challenging by trying new things.

The concept is very simple. As a Robbit the player must explore 11 massive levels to find four Muu Muus and then reach the exit. What makes this title unique is that everything is handled from a first-person perspective and Robbit is capable of performing three very high jumps in a row. As expected there's a lot of platforms of both the moving and non-moving variety to land on. To mix things up a plethora of enemies and power-ups await robbit. There's also quite a few bosses to contend with though for the most part they go down very easily.

First-person and platforming isn't my kind of thing. To help make it work the game offers a lot of visual feedback. Upon jumping a bar at the side of the screen gauges the player's ability to perform a second and third jump. After the second jump Robbit will automatically look downwards to show the player what's below them. This is especially handy for landing on tiny platforms and bouncing off of enemies. All of this is helped even further by the jumping & falling speed of Robbit. Though it gains some momentum if it falls for awhile it's still slow enough for the player to react accordingly. Even though I didn't so much as flip through the manual I was able to effectively pick up the game as soon as I started the first stage. 

In order to make a game like this work confidence in the level design, controls, and mechanics is required. JP!2 excels at all three by establishing the basics early on so when new objects are introduced they are sensible and give enough room for the player to react accordingly. Thanks to the open-nature of the levels the player can use all manner of short-cuts in order to accomplish goals more quickly. Aside from tilted platforms(which cause Robbit to slide off) and the possibility of nearby enemies there's always enough time to decide where to go next and it's very easy to recover if a mistake is made. 

Course on that same note it might also make the game a bit too easy. There's an additional mode that changes around Muu Muu locations and makes a few aspects of the game more challenging but otherwise there's only so much content to go around. On the bright side this game is at the right length to make it worthwhile for getting high scores and better times. What's also interesting is the inclusion of achievements. By accomplishing certain tasks the player can eventually unlock a mode which allows Robbit to jump six times in a row. These achievements can be simple like beating the game or they can be more complicated like "destroy 1 of every enemy in the game" or "find all of the Muu Muus in order"(since each one holds up a letter that spells EXIT). I find it funny that there are 12 of these achievements, which is the average number of an Xbox Live Arcade title.

In the end like many other games I've talked about on this blog, the future of Jumping Flash! isn't pretty. For one this game isn't even available on Sony's Playstation Network(the first game is though which is just odd). Aside from that the developer behind the game is probably no more or has moved on to something else. I'm not sure why it has to be this way since Sony could easily put together a new game. It could be on the Playstation 3 or even the PSP, feature level creation and sharing, and I don't know a deathmatch mode or something. 

While there are tons of 3D platformers out there I believe JP!2 stands well and above many of them. Even without the unique concept this game understands the importance of a solid foundation and makes for a game that's easy to pick up despite the perspective and abundance of tiny platforms. It also helps that the game is at a reasonable length for players who wish to beat their high-scores or simply test out new ways of getting around. 

PS2 look - Wizardry: Tale of the Forsaken Land

Back when men were manly and slimes were slimey there was the Wizardry series. Aside from being one of the most influential RPGs of all time Wizardry also practically created the dungeon-crawl genre. The basics are simple to understand. There's a town troubled by evil forces so the player puts together a party of six characters from various classes to tackle a massive dungeon filled with beasts, traps, and puzzles to hopefully save the day. Over the years sequels, spin-offs, clones, and all manner of similar titles would make their mark in the RPG world. The year 2001 marks the release of the last Wizardry title before Sir-Tech closed their doors. This year also marks the US release of Tale of the Forsaken Land, one of the few Japan-developed Wizardry games to see our shores. While Wizardry 8 took the series in new directions Forsaken Land stuck to the basics but offered up its own slew of differences.

The Kingdom of Duhan was once peaceful but that all changed after a disaster that nearly wiped out the entire population. Now all that remains are survivors who live in fear, adventurers seeking fame, glory, or good karma, and the remains of the castle which hold many horrifying secrets. A hero without a past arrives at Duhan seeking answers and they can only be found in the depths of a dungeon that wants little more than to consume the soul of every living creature foolish enough to wander inside. It's a traditional tale with many shocking twists and reoccuring characters whose lives are affected by the hero's presence. 

The game progresses much the same as similar titles. There is the single town, the single massive dungeon, and the tile-based movement. As soon as the player steps into the dungeon things become much different. While early games consisted almost entirely of walls and doorways the dungeon of TotFL is designed to resemble an actual location instead of just a maze. There are inside and outside areas, variations of walls and floors, and everything else that helps make a dungeon feel developed. While the maze-like qualities persist there are a variety of setpieces and unique objects that lend each floor personality. The next major difference is how enemy encounters are handled. In the past almost all fights were random. Here the monsters actually wander the halls and contact with them will trigger a battle.

The wandering monsters are very much a part of exploration in this edition of Wizardry since learning how they move and how to approach or avoid them is necessary to survival. Each wanderer consists of a ghostly form in the shape of a creature such as a bat, a spider, a humanoid, and so on. The shape determines what the player can expect to fight as humanoids are likely to be orcs, soldiers, ninjas, or even giants. The bats can be all manner of flying creatures or even simply just very large demons with wings. There's no set pattern for the wanderers as they will move and change direction at random. The game has a habit of not playing fair as frequently monsters will take up spaces the player needs to go, group together so the player may have to fight two or more battles in a row, and they'll even turn red and chase the player down if need be. Safe-spots in this game are rare and monsters will even go through doors if they feel like it. To further complicate things how a monster contacts the player can have an affect on the battle itself. If a monster manages to catch the player from behind not only will they get the first strike in battle but also the player's rows will be reversed. This means the fighters get moved to the back while healers/mages get pushed to the front, and since most melee attacks target the front this is a very bad thing. No matter how the player approaches a wanderer this never leads to their rows getting reversed though rarely the player can get a first strike of their own. Again this game is not fond of playing fair.

Combat itself starts off very basic. At this point the player has two other melee-based attackers and a healer so battles are very cut & dry. There's no real strategy aside from slashing things until they fall over and healing when necessary. Before long however the party system is introduced. After getting a tutorial the player is able to build a full-fledged six character party. They also have access to Allied Actions. AAs are the meat of Tale's battle system and it is only by using them effectively will the player survive. How an AA works is that two or more party members will work together to perform a specific task. For example two front-row party members can perform a double-slash which strikes a single enemy for double damage. Two back-row party members can use an AA that allows them to protect two front-row party members from melee attacks. All AAs are governed by a party level system which determines abilities by the loyalty of each party member. Raising loyalty is as simple as winning battles but it can also be raised by performing deeds that suit the party's alignment(Good, Neutral, or Evil) or through specific tasks like learning spells or disarming traps. Party levels take quite awhile to raise but they are very necessary to learning the strongest AAs. Enemies are also capable of using AAs so it's best to respond in kind.

What's interesting about Allied Actions is that most of the time each encounter can be handled through using a certain combination of AAs. Let's say there's a battle with a row of Ninjas in the front. Ninjas are capable of insta-death attacks so keeping them from performing melee damage is imperative. These ninjas are backed by a few mages who will pelt the party with spells so the player should use an AA that counters spells. The problem here is that using either AA requires two back-row party members so both can't be peformed. There are ways around this and other situations and once the solutions are figured out it becomes very easy to breeze through many encounters without so much as taking a hit. The AAs are the player's primary means of both offense and defense. On that same token however using AAs and backing up party members not protected by them with spells or other variables is just as important. Thankfully it's not usually that complicated and must encounters will be handled without a sweat.

Despite the AA system death is never far away in the Forsaken Land. In fact at times he just might come out and chase down the party. Depending on the location and time the Reaper himself will appear with the goal to possess one of the player's party members. The only way to get rid of this guy is to leave the current level but since that's rarely an option usually somebody will simply end up possessed. This status effect can be very dangerous since if the party member in question gets killed they will turn to ash. In Forsaken Land there are three levels of death. Being dead isn't too bad as the corpse is still around to be easily revived. Ash is another story entirely since if the revive fails the party member will be lost instantly. In fact while in a possessed state a particularly devastating attack could destroy a party member entirely, leaving not even the equipment to be handed off to a new recruit. 

Unlike most other RPGs Forsaken Land isn't friendly about saving the game. While temporary saves can be made in the dungeon the only saves that matter in case something goes terribly wrong are made in town. Shortcuts crop up over time to help the player get back to where they were quickly but for the most part whatever boss that did them in is still quite a ways away. That means having to run to wherever it is they were at least while dealing with whatever encounters they run into along the way. While potions are readily available to return the party to town in case things go sour it doesn't take long to realize what the game is actually doing.

Progress is always held back by fear, uncertainty, and doubt. Everything that happens in the Duhan's dungeon is done in order to provoke FUD in the player. The dungeon, the wanderers, the battles, and the reaper don't mean much on their own. It is through a combination of them that the player finds themselves to be in over their head and retreating to recoup. While this is fine and all going back is not moving forward and that's no way to see the end now is it? Thus in order to succeed the player must deal with the fact that the game simply does not want them to win and that means going for long stretches of time without the comfort of saving, the knowledge of whatever rare item they've uncovered, and what remains of the spells and items they've used to keep their party in a relatively healthy state. Even if everything seems to be in order and the player is handling all of the encounters smoothly it could just as easily end through a bit of bad luck or one too many bad decisions. It's probably all just in the player's head but that just gives the game more to work with. All of the wandering creatures make sounds while they move and in some areas where there are lots of doors opening and closing it can be quite maddening just hearing all of these sounds come together. One other thing that bears mentioning is the fact that the player won't level up and gain stats unless they go back to town to rest at the inn. Sure it's another incentive for going back but again it's at the expense of moving forward. Leveling up doesn't require much in terms of grinding so it's probably best to save that sort of thing for when it's absolutely necessary(like for a tough boss).

To round out the game and give the player some insight into the people of Duhan there are a variety of quests to take on. These usually involve finding somebody or something and are really quite simple. The rewards are worthwhile at least and they're a nice break from the constant sense of impending doom that the dungeon evokes. Then again some quests can trigger especially tough encounters that the player might not be ready for. Regardless the player must complete the quest if they accept it, as they can not be repeated if they are canceled. In the end though none of it will really matter because even after the land is saved another dungeon will open up, one seemingly without end and filled with beasts ever more dangerous. If nothing else the Forsaken Land tests the player's will to continue even when no reward or even a sense of accomplishment awaits them. 

So why put up with it? Well I think it's simply an excellent game. The mechanics of exploration are handled astoundingly well as moving around wandering monsters is very smooth and the dungeons allow for some deviation if it means avoiding a fight. The battle system is open to a few exploitable AAs but for the most part it's extremely well done and offers some variety for players willing to try new tactics. The dungeon design in particular is spectacular. While there are a few randomized dungeons the other eight are extremely well done and feature lots of secrets, traps, and even a few hidden sub-quests and special scenarios depending on the time of day. Learning new spells at first is a bit of a hassle as everything requires materials but before too long a material shop can be used to maximize spell output. The only real complaint I have with the game is that battles can run a bit slow at times since Forsaken Land opts to use full animations instead of still pictures for all of the enemies and attacks. While this can be impressive and atmospheric it can also make some battles drag a bit. Others might not be fond of the way the game handles locks and traps. In order to unlock or disarm something the player must input a series of button presses in a few seconds. At first these start off really easy but they can get pretty complicated depending on the level of the thief or ninja. I guess it's just as well though is that at least in some cases this Wizardry title is more action-oriented than any other since exploration happens in real-time.

Most importantly I think Forsaken Land really nails the importance of a great dungeon crawl. The most important aspect is always the dungeon and through a unique method of exploration and top-class level design this game provides one of the best around. Even non-fans of Wizardry-esque titles should give this one a look as it does enough things differently to create a unique and fantastic experience. Unfortunately fans of everything that Wizardry 8 brought to the table will be left out in the cold. In fact fans of the older Wizardry titles might not be able to get into this one. Maybe they'll be better off with The Dark Spire or something(which I'll look at eventually). It's also unfortunate that the quasi-sequel to Forsaken Land never saw release in the US. If you want to give it a go just look for Busin 0: Wizardry Alternative Neo at your friendly neighborhood import store. Be warned though it looks like a far more advanced game and I bet they balanced out the more powerful AAs. Maybe this is just the kick in the arse I need to start learning Japanese. 

PS2 Look: Crimson Tears

From the makers of Way of the Samurai and The Bouncer comes Capcom's Crimson Tears. In a future where android women wear hardly anything while punching the heads off mutant zombies two teams got together with a bunch of ideas to make something terribly uninteresting. This game is a combination of two genres. It has random levels and loot to collect like various roguelikes and a battle system more akin to beatemups than RPGs. Like with most games that attempt multiple genres rarely do they ever succeed. In fact not only does the game fail on a conceptual level but the execution is not any good as well. It's best to avoid this game entirely.

Still here? Well good because I blew seven hours on this game and I'll be danged if I'm going to devote only a single paragraph to discussing it. Anyway Crimson Tears takes place in the year 2049 and features three androids looking for Abel. I'm not sure what'll happen when they find him but chances are people will die and things will explode. This is accomplished by traversing through 8 areas with 4 or more levels each. 

At the start of the game and in-between areas the heroes lounge around their garage. It's here they can upgrade their combo abilities, swap characters, and store items they've bought or found. Outside the garage is a town of sorts where people whine about everything and a few shops offer various goods. Inside the garage there's also an interdimensional teleporter that sends the players's mech of choice to one of the 8 areas of their choosing.

The game uses randomized levels but really it doesn't matter too much. Each level is broken up into a series of rooms. The typical room may contain enemies, traps, treasure, or the portal to go to the next level. After clearing enough portals a boss will be fought and that's the end of that. You know how the story goes: cue the dull cutscene, introduce the next area, and repeat until the game ends. The game more or less sums up everything you need to know in the first area. Though the enemies hit harder and the areas get larger it's more a test of endurance as the player will go on until their supplies deplete.

Combat is a very simple affair. Like most every other action game of its time problems are solved by a repeated presses of the square and X buttons. The player can mix up the sequence these buttons are pressed to do combos though most of the time it hardly matters. There's a decent variety of weapons to work with at least. Most of the time the player will rely on close-range weapons like gloves, swords, and knives but guns can also be used(which annoyingly is necessary for a few enemies). There's a special attack which is handy for doing great damage but most of the time I didn't find a use for it. Every move that is made(even running around) causes the android to build heat. When heat builds up the android goes into a frenzy, moving very quickly while doing & taking double damage. This is something I try to avoid because it uses up a lot of health. Items can be used to counter the build-up of heat but it can be used to the player's advantage if handled properly.

Course as much as the game likes to emphasize combat the developers did a poor job of making it work. When it comes down to it the mechanics are competent if rather dull. Problem is of course is that like a lot of early beatemups the enemy doesn't telegraph their moves. While stronger attacks require a bit of charge time most enemies can smack the player out of anything as soon as they get close. Maybe this is supposed to be this way so the player will make liberal use of the block. The bigger problem however is the camera. Quite honestly it's terrible. Now I'm well aware I don't discuss the camera often enough when I talk about 3D games and that's maybe because I hardly notice it. In Crimson Tears however the camera is noticeable and it's godawful. The camera doesn't track enemies and there's certainly no lock-on button to keep dangerous foes within sight. The camera instead chooses to lazily shift around and what you see is what you get. This is especially aggravating with guns because you pretty much have to guesstimate what directions the enemies are coming from in order to kill them. Needless to say the combat isn't just boring but it's also badly handled. 

So with that out of the way let's talk about the RPG elements. This game allows the player to level up, find special items that raise their stats, equip and level weapons through repeated use, and buy goods. There's at least one problem with each feature. Leveling is handy but it's also rather slow. At first the curve is nice but before long enemies start to give little to no experience per kill. This is rectified by moving on to the next area. It's an easy game so this isn't too much of a hassle. Still it is very annoying because some later areas actually have less enemies than earlier ones, so the exp gain doesn't feel like enough. Some of these later areas have very large rooms with hardly anything in them, which just makes them a chore to wander through. The stat-raising items are almost exclusively in one area. Convenient sure but the experience is so lousy that it seems hardly worth the trouble(not to mention the possibility of not finding any stat-boosting items at all). So in the end after spending 30 minutes or more in a single area the player might get one levelup and possibly a stat-boosting item or two. Needless to say this is terrible. The weapon-system is kind of interesting as when the player uses a weapon for a long time it levels up. There's a crafting system as well to further strengthen weapons by building new ones out of them. This is all well and good but not all weapons can be crafted into better ones. It helps to carry numerous weapons at all times since some enemies have elemental affinities and the like. It's also important because weapons can be damaged and even broken. If the player gets hit often their weapons are more likely to degrade. This is a very bad thing because the game does a poor job of warning the player when weapons are close to breaking(a little easy-to-miss status box pops up). Weapons can be repaired at the shop but it gets expensive, leaving little money for buying new weapons or even supplies.

So not only does Crimson Tears fail at the combat that represents the bulk of the game, their RPG elements aren't exactly good either. Why in the name of everything did I bother playing this game for so long? Well it's pretty easy to explain as I am a sucker. I am a sucker for everything that has to do with random loot, gaining levels, and watching numbers rise. I'm the kind of guy who puts thousands of hours into Diablo 2, Phantasy Star Online, and a variety of MMOs. I'm also the kind of guy who falls for all of these action games with RPG elements. Typically they all devolve into finding fancier weapons that behave the same way but look extra cool and do maybe a bit more damage. In the long run none of it means anything but all the same it feels like I'm making progress when I finish leveling a sword I'll never use again. I finally had an epiphany after reading about someone describing their "completed" game of Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams. I thought it was disgusting to see somebody blow nearly 300 hours into a game just to max all of the character levels, all of the weapons, all of everything else and then some. Then I look at myself and I realize that I've been doing pretty much the same thing thanks to games like the Dynasty Warriors series. Sure they might be competent games but the only reason I was playing them was to see numbers rise and watch my guys get really powerful.

I swore I'd never get into that sort of thing again and yet here I am talking about Crimson Tears. I could have just as easily dropped this game at the first or second hour and have learned enough to put together a solid opinion because really there is nothing worthy of merit to this game. Instead I put a handful of additional hours into it just because I haven't been able to kick the habit. I have failed myself by wasting time on this failure of a game and to be honest I'm a little depressed about it.