Bainick- 8:42 EST

Hey everybody, Bainick here again from the future (for the fourth or fifth time, I'm losing count of them all), to bring you half the answers at twice the cost.

Anywho it's getting exciting in the life of Bainick at the moment, 95 local league AFL games umpired, thousands of new RPGs being released at the same time. Skydiving...no wait, that was my sister, nope you would never catch me at a height above the third rung on the ladder, ohhh the vertigo.

Ohh and the Australian Pokemon tour is coming up soon! Defintely going to that, it's even possible that I won't be the oldest there, which would be nice.

Anywho without further Apu, bring on the questions!

This opening paragraph proudly brought to you by Scum-Rid, good for bathrooms, toilets and the occasional bad date. Scum-Rid, now in all good stores not near you.

>Hey Ouro,

First, THONGwise, I wish to be Sid from Suikoden 2 (if possible). I hope that's character is available to claim. He looks cool!

Second, RPGwise, I have a question for you concerning save transferring from one game to another. You know, like the save transfers for Arc the Lad, Xenosaga, and dot hack? Well, I was wondering which game series makes the most out of this option?

To give a few examples, when you transfer data from Golden Sun One to Two, you get to use the Djinni and higher-leveled characters and rare items from the first game to find secret bosses and powerful items.

With my copy of Xenosaga 2 I got a bonus disc featuring the cut scenes and movies from 1, lucky us the PAL region right!

In Arc the Lad, transferring data from one to two yielded in some kickass bonuses like a complete Romancing Stone and a few playable cutscenes, I think. It has been a while since I played the game.

Bainick Only played that Twilight game, and I didn't really like it that much anyway.

Anyway, in your opinion, what game series makes the most out of this data transfer bonuses? The reason I ask this is because I think if utilized right, this could make more out of the RPG you're playing now. As an example of this, say in game one of an RPG series, you collect the ultimate weapons and armor for each character in that game, you beat the final evil boss, and then you get a save file to use when starting game two in the series. Now, say when starting game two of the series, you play through as the main character from the first game for a little while as a game introduction, then you experience a cutscene where you face down the main villain from the first game after thinking he's dead from game one, he destroys your armor and weapon and throws you off a cliff into the ocean or does something equally dramatic. NOW say you transferred the data from game one into game two, and when you reach the cutscene, instead of being wiped out by the main villlian, your ultimate weapon and armor from game one helps you hold your ground, and you wind up entering a secret battle with this main villain that alters the course of the game and opening up bonus areas and secret minigames that you didn't know existed in the game had you not transferred the save data from the end of game one. I'm sorry for that lengthy example, but what's your opinion on which game series right now make the most out of save transferring from one game to another?

Third, any chance RPGamer has a myspace page or a faceboook club? I'm just curious if you have one or not since social networking sites seems widely popular now, and it might help attract more role playing gamers to your site.

Finally, any chance quickies could make a comeback? I see all these long letters on your column these days ( NOT that's a bad thing), but I'm just wondering what happened to all those quickie letters people would send in. You think someone would offer a challenge to all those who read this column to send in the shortest letter possible asking questions or giving comments on the obscurity of RPGs, but I doubt that'll happen anytime soon. OH well..

That's all I got. I would say I'm 30 seconds to mars now, but that would be a beautiful lie now, wouldn't it?

BLG

To Bainick (and maybe Ouro)

I know your so deliciously evil and i'm wondered what games are you playing at the moment?

Also I hear that the Pokemon Tour is coming to Australia, are you going?

And will you be the oldest one there?

With the sudden amount of RPG's being thrown up onto Australian shores, what games are you likely to be getting in the next few months?

Don't say Kingdom Hearts!

I mean it!

Damn you.

Will your wallet handle the onslaught of RPG titles?

Are you likely to be getting a PS3 or Wii when they come out and if not why?

What's your backlog look like?

And...

That feel better?

Anyway hope you go well in Ouro's new THONG.

Bainick casts confusion on everyone, including himself.

hi im zach ihave a play station2 and i also have kingdom hearts and i would like to know the secret ending to kingdom hearts2 if you do know please tell me im DESPERATE!!!!!!!!! to know its ok if you dont know i just would really love to know my e-mail adress isrdmmlm@shawnee link.net thanks.

Bonjour Josh!

So the mailbox is depleted... well, why don't I do what I can in my small fashion to amend this grievous oversight. I'll probably not go for too long today though. I have to let others get some Q&A space.

I'll begin with a horrid memory of the past I unearthed in my closet today. There is a very good reason I rarely look inside my closet, and every time I forget it gets thrown back into my face. Poking around found me a gift of a well-meaning relative from 8 years ago- that chihuahua of the 'Yo quiero Taco Bell' ads that were ubiquitous in the late 90's. But it gets better - this was a promotion for the Godzilla movie, with the chihuahua saying 'Here lizard, lizard, lizard...' I hope that by forcing everyone else to remember this misbegotten ad program my own pain will begin to fade.

Now then. I have begun Princess Crown, which no one reading Q&A is apparently familiar with, and can say it would be a definite boon to the PSP game library should Atlus be allowed to bring it over to English speakers. It's a 2D action RPG with some of the cutest graphics I've ever seen, battles taking place in a pseudo-fighting game layout and fittingly the sprites are the size of those in a fighting game. Can't figure much of the story out yet but oddly enough locations on the map and menu options are often in English. So, Josh, have you researched this one yet?

Riviera is being remade for PSP also. I confess it seems a touch pointless to me, but if you haven't played it on GBA a strong case could be made for it brightening the RPG horizons of Sony's portable. Did you have any strong thoughts here?

One more PSP item. Blade Dancer got EGM's Shame of the Month award recently. I don't automatically stand by their reviewers but a unanimity of disgust can't be discounted easily. Additional information is welcome. I stand by my earlier though about blind RPGamers - could anything be done to facilitate their partaking of the experience? I know a woman who for all intents and purposes is blind, the paucity of jobs available for the blind in this area means she gets government assistance for the most part. Is there anything she could do to pass the time in the game world?

Bainick - my experience with Morrowind is limited to wandering about with no idea what to do using a friend's saved game three years ago. I might know enough about it to compare it with Romancing Saga - but no promises! What the hey - I asked this of Matt but your reply would be fascinating also. My Grandia 2 experience of having perhaps 10 people in the room to watch my destruction of the game's Pope - would you have partaken of this showcase also?

Sarge inspired that actually. I'll partake of the additional remixes when able (currently sponging off wireless in a cafe). I reiterate the goodness of some content on http://www.ocremix.org Some of the Chrono Trigger remixes are really good, I find.

I think the underlying concept of Blade Runner could be made into a fine RPG. The underlying concept, mind you, not the specific plot of the movie. But how might it be done? Clearly a standard movie-based game would be utter crap.

A movie that would NOT be any good as a game is Masculine/Feminine. This might be the single weirdest movie I've ever seen, and that's factoring in a lot of competition - but Godard made one oddball, disjointed mess here. Is Zelda: the Minish Cap worth playing? I was in Europe when it was released and somehow forgot to pay any attention to it until recently. Everyone probably remembers my lengthy discourse in the middle of my much lengthier letter describing my family's general aversion to anything game-related. What about your family, Josh? Can you play a title with your parents or must it always take place in another room?

Shining in the Darkness. I tried playing this a few years ago and just couldn't get into it. Shining the Holy Ark I find to be a far better expression of the play concepts tried out in Shining in the Darkness. Are you familiar enough with either title to praise or disparage my action? Odd that Shadowrun's mention didn't prompt a response. I thought it was relatively well-known among the 16-bit players.

Everyone had best believe I have more to say - but what I haven't put down can wait for another day. For now I'll keep my letters somewhat shortened.
For now....
JuMeSyn

Yo ho ho an' a bottle of rum!

Aye! I be speaking in pirate-speak, so shiver ye timbers and watch the yard-arm!

Ooaaargh! I be believing meself to have already sent that scurvy scoundrel, Ourobolus, the characters I be wishing to represent this here terror of the oceans. So draw your cutlass and prepare to meet your maker. Arrrgh!

Whew! It's hard speaking in Pirate-speak when your not actually a pirate. I bet you those blighted sea-dogs spend hours practising their lines, holed up in their piratey pirate ships. Anyways, my plans for the tidal wave of RPGs later this year? Well...considering a lot of the games that were mentioned porbably won't make it over to the UK in time for Christmas, I'm just gonna spend my food budget for the next 3 years on getting whatever does come over. So my question is, does anyone actually know what RPGs will be released on PAL? I had a look, and I couldn't find any confirmation of anything anywhere, although that may be cause I was looking in the wrong places, like in my girlfriend's knicker drawer.

Captain Genjuu just started playing Skies of Arcadia Legends.
Oooaaaarrrrggghhh!!!

Hello there Ouro,

While wasting time on the internet today, I discovered that there is in fact a game for the DS called Chronos Twins, and I had quite the hearty chuckle when a good many idiots thought it was a new Chrono game and were then disapointed because it wasn't so,

which leads me to one conclusion people on the internet don't know the Chrono refers to time, so yeah before any ---hat starts spreading rumors that game has nothing to do with Chrono Trigger, Chrono Cross, Square Enix, anyone connected to the Chrono games in anyway, it isn't even an RPG so yeah just wanted to share that if only so people don't "get fooled" into buying it out of rumors and stupidity like some moron that watched Chrono Crusade because they thought it had something to do with the games only to figure out it didn't ^^;;

Now I'm off to sell my idea of Skies of Chrono it'll crush the dreams of two fanbases waiting for a new game... brilliant, by the way it's about a time traveling jetplane, I am a jerk sometimes

Let's see I uh sorta ran out of questions during the week so...Rehash of an already asked question!!! (it's like a Square PS1 port job only with less lag):

Out of all the quotes for spells and abilities in RPGs which is your all time favorite one? Mine would have to be "Discipline feels good! Ha Ha!" from Lunar 2: EBC ^^ I love that quote

Arros Raikou
*really should play Suikoden ^^;;*

Alrighty! That was quite...a long...column. Hope you guys are ok by the time it's over. Have fun with Matt! Until next weekend!

***Josh is gonna go out...