WhyGamesMatter

This is an entry for the A to Z Challenge (see the sidebar for more information).  These are just some of my initial impressions on the Steam, GOG, and other online games throughout the month.  It is not as much of a review as it is a summary of my feelings on the game.

In On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness, you play as Gabe and Tycho as they save the world from Fruit-Fuckers.  No, I’m not kidding about this.  At least, that’s what I gathered from my initial attempt at the game.  Unfortunately, due to the combat engine, I didn’t get far enough into the game to find out the full storyline.  Let me give a little bit of the backstory.

One of the things that I hate about the Final Fantasy games is the outdated combat engine.  The engine can be summed up in the following animation.

My guys smack your guys, then your guys smack my guys, then my guys smack your guys, etc.

I think I’ve mentioned in the past that my first RPG video gaming experience was with Bard’s Tale III on the Commodore.  Bard’s Tale handled this “I smack you, you smack me” with scrolling text, and in doing so demonstrated that graphics are completely unnecessary in such a fighting engine.  When I didn’t know any better, I thought the game was the greatest.

Then I played Champions of Krynn, Pool of Radiance, and all of the other Gold Box games.  I loved the way I could control my characters and actually position my weaker characters (mages, thieves with bows, etc) outside of the main melee of combat.  I felt like I had more control over the experience.  Years later, I this experience was amplified with the Baldur’s Gate games.  Now, not only did I control the characters; I did so in real time.

The “smack you smack me” fighting engine was probably fine back in the days of Final Fastasy I on the NES, but in a post-Goldbox, post-Baldur’s Gate, post-Kingdom Hearts world, I just can’t get much enjoyment out of it.  This was one of the things that turned me away from Costume Quest, and it is the main thing that turns me away from Penny Arcade’s game.

If you enjoy the Final Fantasy games, then I encourage you to give today’s game a try.  If that engine doesn’t do it for you, though, then you should look elsewhere.