2nd May 2004, 9:52 PM
d20, a weird name for a system if ever I heard one, is very annoying to me. The name apparently is from the fact that it randomly generates a number from 1 to 20 for EVERYTHING you do. Some people seem to find this the fun part of it, but I certainly don't. Having it be COMPLETELY random whether or not you completely overkill the enemy or do NO damage at all while they overkill you is NOT my idea of fun. Now, after getting to the really high levels, thus getting stats with high enough numbers that a variable of 20 no longer has a very major effect, things depend on your strategies rather than randomness, so it's fun again. It's that that every game with that d20 system I've played so far has just annoyed me to no end. It's not that I'm not playing well or that I have too weak a character that killed me, oh no, it's just that the game RANDOMLY decided to give me weak "throws". Now, in an RPG, I expect just a tad of randomness. The average RPG I play tosses in a little bit of randomness just for spice, and only a few moves depend TOTALLY on randomness, like instant death attacks for example. However, when the ENTIRE battle system depends on randomness and randomness alone for the first 3rd of a game, that's not fun at all, it's frustrating. I'll play black jack if I want random elements to totally control my gameplay. Now, KOTOR and Neverwinter are fun games, don't get me wrong, but not because of d20. It's the REST of the way the games play that make it fun, and generally when playing my main goal is getting to a level where a variable of 20 really doesn't matter much. It's just those levels getting TO that point where it's just plain annoying. I suppose that's another reason playing D&D never appealed to me. Randomness, as I've ranted before, just is NOT my idea of fun.
d20 does use rather small numbers compaired to the average RPG anyway, which is nice. It's a bit simpler that way. If you want to know what RPG has such massively large numbers, play FF8 and beyond. They tend to break the 4 digit damage limit with the most powerful attacks.
You know ABF, you also raise a very good point. Getting that last super attack when it's only going to be used on the final boss tends to be somewhat anticlimatic from a gameplay point of view. In the case of the super powerful move you get DURING the final battle, it's generally fine because that's just specially designed FOR the final boss, and hey there wouldn't be a point in getting the Hyper Beam before Mother Brain. It's those moves you get a few rooms before that you'd like a huge challenge with. That's why I enjoy games that give you hidden super bosses even stronger than the final boss. Super Mario RPG's Culex for example was stronger than Smithy and REALLY provided a great challenge for those who want to test out those amazing things they got in the final level on something else. The more hidden super challenges, the better. Final Fantasy 1, 5, 7, 8, 9, and 10, and maybe some others (not 6 though, well maybe some mini-supers for certain parts of it, like Intangir), and Chrono Trigger with Nu-Spekkio, and Chrono Cross with Ozzie Slash and Flea reborn, all had one or two super bosses far stronger than the last one. Really nice to find some amazing challenge that lets you use all that stuff on something ELSE for a challenge. FF6 and 7 were the two easiest FF games (though of course hard enough the first time through when you don't know exactly what you are doing just yet), but it was nice to have super bosses like Emerald Weapon and Ruby Weapon for when you REALLY wanted some amazing challenge, or in the case of FF6, Intangir a creature far stronger than anything else at that point in the game (that will vanish before you have the strength, normally, to battle it without some good strategy).
I thought in Fusion you could go back anywhere in the game form the last save spot. I tried running about and seemed to have free reign at that point myself. Now, thing there is, the music is that same "just about to beat the game, final mission" music no matter where you go. Sorta ruins the mood of the individual areas really, which is why it's more fun to explore BEFORE that part of the game and get everything.
d20 does use rather small numbers compaired to the average RPG anyway, which is nice. It's a bit simpler that way. If you want to know what RPG has such massively large numbers, play FF8 and beyond. They tend to break the 4 digit damage limit with the most powerful attacks.
You know ABF, you also raise a very good point. Getting that last super attack when it's only going to be used on the final boss tends to be somewhat anticlimatic from a gameplay point of view. In the case of the super powerful move you get DURING the final battle, it's generally fine because that's just specially designed FOR the final boss, and hey there wouldn't be a point in getting the Hyper Beam before Mother Brain. It's those moves you get a few rooms before that you'd like a huge challenge with. That's why I enjoy games that give you hidden super bosses even stronger than the final boss. Super Mario RPG's Culex for example was stronger than Smithy and REALLY provided a great challenge for those who want to test out those amazing things they got in the final level on something else. The more hidden super challenges, the better. Final Fantasy 1, 5, 7, 8, 9, and 10, and maybe some others (not 6 though, well maybe some mini-supers for certain parts of it, like Intangir), and Chrono Trigger with Nu-Spekkio, and Chrono Cross with Ozzie Slash and Flea reborn, all had one or two super bosses far stronger than the last one. Really nice to find some amazing challenge that lets you use all that stuff on something ELSE for a challenge. FF6 and 7 were the two easiest FF games (though of course hard enough the first time through when you don't know exactly what you are doing just yet), but it was nice to have super bosses like Emerald Weapon and Ruby Weapon for when you REALLY wanted some amazing challenge, or in the case of FF6, Intangir a creature far stronger than anything else at that point in the game (that will vanish before you have the strength, normally, to battle it without some good strategy).
I thought in Fusion you could go back anywhere in the game form the last save spot. I tried running about and seemed to have free reign at that point myself. Now, thing there is, the music is that same "just about to beat the game, final mission" music no matter where you go. Sorta ruins the mood of the individual areas really, which is why it's more fun to explore BEFORE that part of the game and get everything.
"On two occasions, I have been asked [by members of Parliament], 'Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?' I am not able to rightly apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question." ~ Charles Babbage (1791-1871)