The Promised Time…By Locke on March 29th, 2009
So, a long time ago, in the seventh grade, the guy sitting next to me introduced me to a device I wasn’t familiar with, a gameboy advance. I was familiar with it’s older brother, the Gameboy Color, because my brother owned one, and I spent many hours toiling away at Tetris Attack, as well as trying to speed through Zelda: Link’s Awakening. He asked me if I was good with puzzles, I responded with a “Yeah, I guess” and he handed me the gameboy; the game currently playing was Golden Sun. It wasn’t too long afterward that I spent the summer saving up to buy one of my own, and with it, the game Golden Sun. Golden Sun was something of a grand gift from the gods to me. Much of the time the best RPGs around were on the Playstation, and my Sibling had issued an Embargo on the dang thing, so I never got enough time with it. While I awaited to journey through FF7 – FF9, I walked through the grand world that was Golden Sun. At it really was grand at the time. In fact, I hadn’t seen an overworld that big on a cartridge game since…well, Zelda: A Link to the Past. I feel that’s something that has yet to be recreated in today’s RPGs. While everyone is trying to please with better, more colorful graphics, there has been a lack in originality. This is especially true with handheld RPGs. Few have come out over the years to really get at a brand new take on the RPG. I recently had the pleasure to play one such RPG that changed all that. I’m talking about Avalon Code. It’s an RPG like no other on the DS. The game is set in a fantasy world that is on the brink of destruction. The catch? You can’t save that world. But what you can do is make sure all the good aspects of that world are brought into the next one. Your hero, (being Girl or Boy depending on your selection) is given the Book of Prophecy, a relic that saves aspects of the world to be recreated in the next one. It also allows you to change and modify these aspects as you see fit. The odd thing is, to save an object, you have to whack it with the book. Changing around codes is one of the best parts of the game. By hitting an NPC, you get his or her code, allowing you to change them and take aspects away. You can also modify weapons in the same way, allowing you to change the look and feel of your weapons, as well as their strength. Nice little touches come into play with this. For example, I took an aspect from a person, “Dog-Loving” and used it on my sword. Now, whenever I swing that sword, the blade barks. The game also features a neat juggling mechanic called the Judgment Ring. Knocking an enemy in the air starts a combo meter, as well as a height meter. The goal is to repeatedly hit your opponent with perfect timing, sending the jerk higher and higher before he explodes. Eventually he reaches the atmosphere, and then space. I have a sneaking suspicion that with the right weapon, you can knock him into another Galaxy. This game is pretty deep, but it’s only one of the few new RPGs coming out this year that seem to be this way. This is the Promised Time of RPGs! Sands of Destruction, Knights in the Nightmare, Black Sigil, and The Dark Spire are all games that look like they’ll be making RPGs a main staple with the DS. I was surprised that it took this long for developers to start making more handheld RPGs. Now if only we can get them to start making blockbuster titles for the Wii… -Locke |