Chit-Chat: Back to the Grind(stone)

[Pinkie-Dawn]

I'm honestly conflicted about the whole absence of the MyCastle feature in FE: Fates if the rumors are true.

On one hand, I'm getting continually irritated with the censorship in the localisations. On the other hand, the whole "FE-Pokemonamie" feature wasn't in FE: Awakening and we got by fine without it, so I don't see how taking it out will make much of a difference.

Plus, the petting mini-game was what got FE fans clamouring about how the franchise is "ruined forever," because it's becoming more of a waifu simulator than a strategic RPG no thanks to that feature. But now those same fans are complaining about its removal and want it back in the game.

What gave you that idea? I'm not wholly against remasters; I would rather play a good remaster than a bad new title at the very least. What annoys me is when people confuse or mislabel them as remakes. The current generation has become the remaster generation, yes, but that was mostly because a lot of developers didn't have faith that the current generation was going to last for very long. We're always hearing about how the console market is dying out in the face of PC gaming and mobile gaming and all that other crap. Hence the ridiculous number of episodic titles and screw-ups we've had recently, along with the remasters. Hopefully, going forward, more original titles should start to come out. I won't hold my breath, but we'll see.

I got that idea based on how strict you are as a gamer and how the majority of the gaming community reacts negatively towards remasters of games that were released last gen, as they view them as nothing more than quick cash-ins.

I am sticking with Sony consoles because, in the short term, they have a larger pool of titles coming out that appeal to me, and they have greater long-term prospects for appealing to me, because one thing I can be fairly assured of is that a lot of JRPGs are going to be localised and released for the Vita and PS4 in the future. I have my favourites, you have yours. Deal with it. I don't see why you feel the need to emphasise that Nintendo are failing to meet my expectations. Yeah, it's my opinion. Stop trying to invalidate and undermine it just because YOU don't agree with it by drawing attention to the fact; I never disputed that. Nintendo are failing to meet my expectations on multiple fronts. So why should I give them anything but a hard time for it? You don't like it? I'm not asking you to agree with me, am I?

It's gamers like you why I believe JRPGs are getting too much praise from the gaming community, when people in the west are starting to avoid them after getting sick and tired of modern anime, and shun a company whenever their system lacks any of them. Considering that you're a well-respected user in this forum, yes, I have this feeling that you're asking me to agree with you. As someone who is trying to gain respect from other veterans, I would accept your agreement, but your claims go against everything else I've been reading and hearing outside of PC regarding the game industry, causing me to go into this internal struggle of whether I should agree with you or not, I do not wish to create a rivalry between you and I, as it would tarnish both of our reputations as gamers.

Also, you have to consider that the Xbox isn't that popular in Japan and barely gets any exclusives. Also it's region-free, now. The region-lock is, bluntly, a dumb feature that does very little in the way of functional pros and does a lot more to harm a system and its fanbase than it does good. It's 2016 and this **** really needs to stop. I love Nintendo, I really do, but **** this. Because it goes farther than just Japanese exclusives. It's not uncommon for a game to be released in a language you speak in a different country and you can't play it because of that. Sometimes, it's the case of waiting a few months (We see this right now with Paper Jam). Other times, you have to wait years. Such was the case of Chrono Trigger, which didn't come over for almost 15 years for Europe. And, more recently, a case that's very near and dear to my heart, Inazuma Eleven. In North America, we waited 5 years to play only the first game, and we haven't seen another one of the 6 since. We can't even play the ones released in Europe, in English because of the region lock, and the only way to bypass that is through hacking or importing another whole 3DS. The DS had it right. Import the game. Put the game in. Play the game.

This isn't that. This is inane nonsense that aims to make games wholly inaccessible to other groups of people, which should never happen. It needs to stop. Meloetta, and anyone, really, is right to be mad about this sort of thing. It's antiquated, it's disgusting, and it has no place in gaming today. Or ever, really.

Again, other companies are practicing region-locking too, not just Nintendo. Former PC member daigonite had explained to me on Skype the importance of region-locking and why such a practice exist. She doesn't take the liking of people's reasons for wanting region-free just so they could play their "weeaboo" games that will never get an oversea release.

 

[Satoshi Ookami]

consoles because Nintendo isn't meeting YOUR expectations.

I wouldn't say there IS someone who AGREES to region locking policy.
It's not about having expectations or something, it's about the simple fact that region locking IS BS.
There's no better word to describe it. It's simply BS. It helps no one, it's not because of any limitations, it's just relic of past that Nintendo does not want to let go.

And again, Nintendo's not the only company who is doing region-lock.

Other notable examples?

Just because you won't be able to play Japanese games that will most likely never to reach overseas due to cultural differences or how much of a hassle localization still is (e.g. licensing), doesn't mean you should hold a grudge.

Meloetta and everyone HAS all the rights to hold a grudge.
Region-locking does not only block Japanese imports but also US ones.
Europe gets screwed too often and has all the right to hate that BS.

Oh, and region free. REGION FREE, Nintendo.

Such a vulgar phrase! How can you even say it?

 

[machomuu]

So...Daigonite's not here, and I'll assume that her actual reason is a little more detailed than that because this...

She doesn't take the liking of people's reasons for wanting region-free just so they could play their "weeaboo" games that will never get an oversea release.

...this is pretty shitty. People shouldn't be able to play certain games because they're moe as fuck?

Uhuh...yeah. I'd agree with that. Chrono Trigger was pretty damn moe. Way to kawaii for Europe. After all, people didn't even really like it, anyway, so no loss there.

 

[Pinkie-Dawn]

So...Daigonite's not here, and I'll assume that her actual reason is a little more detailed than that because this...

Yeah, but currently she hasn't been replying on Skype since last summer, but I'll probably try to reach her on Steam, or I could try to find our previous conversation about region-locking and copy/paste it here for full detail.

 

[pkmin3033]

Well, machomuu and Satoshi mostly covered what I wanted to say whilst I was cooking dinner, but you know me...never pass up a chance.

I got that idea based on how strict you are as a gamer and how the majority of the gaming community reacts negatively towards remasters of games that were released last gen, as they view them as nothing more than quick cash-ins.

Well, they ARE nothing more than quick cash-ins. They're usually stopgaps between releases of new titles, and - in rare instances - they're designed to give players the chance to play a game they might have missed the first time around. But they're primary objective is to make money...much like every other game released.

I'm only irritated with remasters in the sense that I think the wrong titles are getting remastered - I can see the sense in remastering hit past-gen titles like The Last Of Us, Uncharted, and God of War III, but I'd like to see more remasters likes the HD collections; Zone of the Enders, ICO/Shadow of the Colossus, etc. Games that are hard to find and have been out for a few years now and that others might not have played. I don't think re-releasing hit titles is a bad thing persay, I'd just like a little more balance, personally.

You're criticising me for having standards? Seriously? Everyone has things they like and don't like. EVERYONE has standards. Mine might be high (or a bit skewed) when compared to yours, but that's just how I am. Why should I buy or support things I dislike?

It's gamers like you why I believe JRPGs are getting too much praise from the gaming community, when people in the west are starting to avoid them after getting sick and tired of modern anime, and shun a company whenever their system lacks any of them. Considering that you're a well-respected user in this forum, yes, I have this feeling that you're asking me to agree with you. As someone who is trying to gain respect from other veterans, I would accept your agreement, but your claims go against everything else I've been reading and hearing outside of PC regarding the game industry, causing me to go into this internal struggle of whether I should agree with you or not, I do not wish to create a rivalry between you and I, as it would tarnish both of our reputations as gamers.

See my post in your topic about JRPGs getting too much praise for my answer to that perspective; I'm not typing it out a second time...for once. Yes, for once I'm not going to belabour a point. Small miracles DO happen.

In all fairness, I suppose I do often come off that way to others, but let me clear this up right now, for the fifty-millionth time: I am highly opinionated. I have strong views. I use strong language to express these views. But I respect people's right to their own opinions as long as I am treated in kind, and I never ask or expect people to agree with me. It's my opinion; nothing more and nothing less. I simply express myself slightly differently. You're free to disagree.

You're making this out to be a very personal thing and it isn't...at least, not between you and I, not in the sense that you mean. Opinions are personal, obviously, but that's it. We're both a little too old to be having rivalries or exchanging insults or whatever over something like this; we're simply having a discussion. A fairly heated discussion, but an exchange of opinions nonetheless. It's not personal unless we start trading insults. It should go without saying that you, or anyone else, is free to disagree with me, and that we can have a civil conversation about this.

...I do find it mildly intriguing and amusing that you'd see me as well-respected, though. I think it's more of a case of most people just can't be bothered to argue with me half the time, haha. I'm surprised we're going into the territory of reputations etc, because that kind of thing never enters the equasion for me when I post on forums. That said, if you want me to be honest, I'd respect you more for disagreeing and holding to your own opinion, rather than agreeing with mine on the sole basis of your perception of me as someone who is more respected...which I would contend, but let's not get into that; we're getting off the subject matter.

tl;dr disagree away.

Again, other companies are practicing region-locking too, not just Nintendo. Former PC member daigonite had explained to me on Skype the importance of region-locking and why such a practice exist. She doesn't take the liking of people's reasons for wanting region-free just so they could play their "weeaboo" games that will never get an oversea release.

Those companies do not release consoles. This is my driving point - in practicing region-locking, which is in no way essential or important in this day and age - on their consoles, Nintendo are depriving me of dozens of games, forcing me to wait, sometimes in vain, for UK release dates. It's impacting on far more than just their titles, and it's ridiculously unjust. It affects everyone else as well, and I don't think it's right or fair.

I want region-free consoles so that I can enjoy and support titles at the same time as our luckier North American counterparts, rather than having to wait ridiculously long periods of time or missing out entirely, and yes, if a Japanese game looks good and I'm willing to brave the language barrier, I'd like to be able to have the choice to do so. Are you seriously going to tell me it's alright for some people to get these games earlier than others, or for others to not get them at all? It's alright for me and others to wait months for what US gamers get? It's ridiculous.

It's got nothing to do with games that won't get localised; I am an English-speaking gamer, just like most US gamers. I have to wait. They don't. It's not acceptable. Explain to me how this is acceptable. Justify the three-month wait for Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon, for example. Justify to me the fact that I had to wait A YEAR for Rune Factory 4, and when I finally DID get it, it was digital-only. It might not even have come to Europe at all! This could have been avoided if it was region-free; I could have imported it. THIS is what I protest against. It's a problem outside of Nintendo, yes, but Nintendo exacerbate it significantly by limiting import options.

For the sakes of all our sanity, I will refrain from commenting on the "weeaboo" statement. You don't want me to go there. Trust me.

Such a vulgar phrase! How can you even say it?

I'm a wicked, wicked person. I deserve to be punished. Upupupu!

 

[Dusk]

Oh lordy what have I stumbled in on here?

Pinkie-Dawn, as the others have said, I don't think the main reason people dislike region lock is so they can access "weeaboo" game on Nintendo consoles. It's just so people who can understand English in Europe and Australia can access games at the same time as North America. Or have access to games that never get released there at all. I think part of why Europe gets games later is because of the different languages spoken in various countries over there, but I think it would be nice, in an ideal world, if the English versions of games could be released in Europe/Australia at the same time as North America, for the benefit of all who understand English.
Imagine if you were in their shoes. We Americans take things for granted. (For example, we Americans have a mere 20 days until the new Fire Emblem. We got a date for Bravely Second recently, but Europe and Australia still don't have a date for Fire Emblem Fates.)
I can't even think of another notable company that region-locks their games. I just know that on Sony consoles, you can play most games from any country on their consoles. Some of Nintendo's games, such as Tri Force Heroes, even region-locks their online play, which really sucked. If Federation Force is the same, then it's as good as dead to me. Not like I was seriously considering looking into it, anyway...
The point is, region-locking is silly, and even if there may be business/PR reasons that I can't comprehend as to why it still exists for Nintendo, it still shouldn't be a thing. (Nevertheless, I should do some reading on this subject. I'm curious about why it is what it is.)

Oh, and about that FE amie thing, the whole issue may not even be about localization/censorship issues, but NoA being lazy with the budget. I think about 70% of the voice acting in Fire Emblem if was in the My Room feature. I... I get the feeling Treehouse didn't want to pay the voice actors to do all the voice work the amie thing would have required. Something tells me most of the English voice actors in the English localization are newbies/no-names anyway, from what I've heard so far...

 

[Pinkie-Dawn]

Something tells me most of the English voice actors in the English localization are newbies/no-names anyway, from what I've heard so far...

Why would they hire newbies over well-known English voice actors like with the last game? It's only going to risk making it sound TPCi's Pokémon dub levels bad.

 

[Dusk]

Why would they hire newbies over well-known English voice actors like with the last game? It's only going to risk making it sound TPCi's Pokémon dub levels bad.

I don't know, man. Have you heard the voices of the new footage? I think the only notable voice actors we can expect to return in some form are Matt Mercer and Laura Bailey (and Yuri Lowenthal, as the freaking Marth amiibo. xD) I suppose most of the voices are pretty decent. Hinoka sounds like Ash Ketchum, Felicia sounds bored, and Nyx is too high-pitched. I appreciate that the younger sisters don't sound all squeaky like in the Japanese game, or too cheesy like in the Corrin Smash Bros trailer.

 

[Arc]

I don't know, man. Have you heard the voices of the new footage? I think the only notable voice actors we can expect to return in some form are Matt Mercer and Laura Bailey (and Yuri Lowenthal, as the freaking Marth amiibo. xD)

Matthew Mercer (Ryoma), Travis Willingham (Garon), Liam O'Brien (Laslow), Julie Ann Taylor (Selena), Kaiji Tang (Odin), Gideon Emery, and Stephanie Sheh are pretty much confirmed or a shoe-in to return. We have more than enough notable actors coming back. Note, all of these voice actors were in Awakening as well. To add one more to the list, we have D.C Douglas (Albert Mother****ing Wesker) confirmed to cast Gunter.

I suppose most of the voices are pretty decent. Hinoka sounds like Ash Ketchum, Felicia sounds bored, and Nyx is too high-pitched. I appreciate that the younger sisters don't sound all squeaky like in the Japanese game, or too cheesy like in the Corrin Smash Bros trailer.

Well, three characters are only a small part of the cast. We have decent - fantastic performances from Azura (hate this name), Kaden (also hate this name), and Arthur (this name change is wtf) to outweigh some of the bad. Even, then we've only heard a small portion of the lines. Honestly, I still think it's a tad to early to make some hefty judgement on the overall quality of the voice-acting, especially when the most lines we've heard from a character that isn't Corrin, is four.

Something to note, the NA version of Fates is around 253 MB larger than its Japanese counterpart. Make what you will of that. Some more food for thought, Japanese Amie voices are around 520 MB uncompressed.

 

[Dusk]

There were a lot of nice voices, too. Garon has the perfect villain voice. Kaden is probably my favorite voice for a minor unit so far. Arthur's was also deliciously cheesy. I can't wait to hear his critical hit lines. xD Has there been any footage with Gunter speaking yet?
From what I heard, Selenea didn't sound quite like you know who... I know in the Japanese game, those certain characters had their voice actors reprise their roles in the new game. I'm not so sure that each of those characters will receive the same treatment in the English dub yet.

NA version of Fates is larger probably because it will have dual audio like in Awakening.

 

[Arc]

Nothing clear for Gunter, unfortunately. Your best bet would be to listen closely to the Treehouse footage from E3, and somehow ignore the commentators.

I'll admit Selena sounded... off. But, when I heard the "whatever" line, that was enough indication to confirm that was Julie Ann Taylor for me. I've read people thought Odin was off too, but that was 100% Kaiji Tang hamming it up, for some comparison, the performance is very similar to the yelling voice he uses for Gaius in Trails of Cold Steel.

 

[Sir Codin]

You kind of occasionally have to spring for new talent VA-wise.

Those high-end established voice actors ain't getting any younger. Hell, those high-end established voice actors got there in the first place because the firms took a chance with them and it paid off big time. Just look at Lisa Ortiz's first role as Deedlit in Record of Lodoss War. No prior voice-acting experience and she blew all those fuckers in that dub out of the water.

 

[Pinkie-Dawn]

^ Too bad she was a terrible choice to voice Korrina in the Pokémon anime.

Hiring new voice actors could be a hit-or-miss, which is why I see /a/ clamoring how subs are better than dubs, because if those new talents can't act for jack, then it'll hinder the reputation of the game. Just look at Mega Man 8 as a primary example.

 

[pkmin3033]

I think any new voice acting in video games these days should be welcomed...at least until they stop shoehorning the same VAs into the exact same roles every single time. I can only take so many generic protagonists voiced by JYB. I love JYB, don't get me wrong, but I sometimes have trouble distinguishing between the characters he voices because they're always the same character archetypes. He's not the only one, but a lot of great voice actors are having their talents wasted by being put into identical roles across video games...and anime, too.

And sometimes new voice actors can be even better than the standard voice cast. Hell, it payed off spectacularly with Xenoblade Chronicles. As mediocre as Castlevania: Lords of Shadow was, they did a top-notch job bringing in professional actors for that, too. A lot of them were severely underused - I would have liked more of Robert Carlyle - but having Patrick Stewart narrate the whole thing was pure gold. As two recent-ish examples I've taken particular note of.

...and any new blood, no matter how awful, cannot possibly be any worse than Yuri Lowenthal.

 

[machomuu]

...and any new blood, no matter how awful, cannot possibly be any worse than Yuri Lowenthal.

Ohohoh, you. Reminding me how badly Soul Nomad needs to be ported.

I mean seriously, NIS' made updated rereleases and PS2 classics of pretty much every other game they develop. Surprised they haven't done so for one of their hardest to find titles (if not their most rare).

After all, I do enjoy disembodied badasses threatening to defecate down the open throats of giants.

 

[pkmin3033]

Ohohoh, you. Reminding me how badly Soul Nomad needs to be ported.

I mean seriously, NIS' made updated rereleases and PS2 classics of pretty much every other game they develop. Surprised they haven't done so for one of their hardest to find titles (if not their most rare).

After all, I do enjoy disembodied badasses threatening to defecate down the open throats of giants.

If nothing else, NIS should see about getting some of their titles re-released on PS4 with trophy support, yeah...I'd like to see Makai Kingdom again as well. The Atelier Iris trilogy would be nice too, although I suspect KT would be responsible for that, since Gust is now their subsidiary. Although considering they've been bringing out Atelier Plus titles, I'd say an Iris re-release is more likely than Makai Kingdom or Soul Nomad...NIS seem to be out of their updated re-release phase at the moment.

I don't think it's too far outside the realms of possibility for the future, though...I mean, Rogue Galaxy and Wild Arms 3 are both pretty hard to find as well; the former was one of the first to get the PS4 treatment, and Wild Arms 3 is supposed to be coming in the near future. Some of NIS' more obscure and murderously hard to find for a good price titles would be much appreciated...

 

[Satoshi Ookami]

Uhuh...yeah. I'd agree with that. Chrono Trigger was pretty damn moe. Way to kawaii for Europe. After all, people didn't even really like it, anyway, so no loss there.

Ugh, you moefag. Mentioning something like that.

Yeah, but currently she hasn't been replying on Skype since last summer, but I'll probably try to reach her on Steam, or I could try to find our previous conversation about region-locking and copy/paste it here for full detail.

But you can at least mention the other notable region-locking companies since you said it yourself?

Something to note, the NA version of Fates is around 253 MB larger than its Japanese counterpart. Make what you will of that.

More editing needed to actually make the voices hearable? :P

 

[Sir Codin]

^ Too bad she was a terrible choice to voice Korrina in the Pokémon anime.

Yeah, except I think that's more the casting director's fault more than her own. I've met several VA's who regularly work for companies. Sometimes they just haul you in for whatever.

Also, who's to say she was a terrible choice for Korrina or whoever? Is there some universal rule laid out by the VA gods that determines a good casting choice from a bad casting choice? If you're going to argue that hiring new voice acting talent being hit-or-miss should be an excuse for not taking on new talent, you better also be prepared to make the statement that the hit-or-miss tactic of hiring fresh high school/college graduates is also too risky for business firms, laboratories, hospitals, development departments, and other jobs and they therefore shouldn't spring for new talent as well.

That is without a doubt the most frustrating thing about job hirings right now. A lot of companies and firms want people with prior work experience instead of new blood, even if the work is something even a monkey with cerebral palsy could do. Like flipping burgers. Or being a movie producer.

 

[Pinkie-Dawn]

But you can at least mention the other notable region-locking companies since you said it yourself?

Of course, two companies I know that practices region-locking are Apple, from certain iPhone models like the ones sold in China, and Samsung.

Also, who's to say she was a terrible choice for Korrina or whoever? Is there some universal rule laid out by the VA gods that determines a good casting choice from a bad casting choice? If you're going to argue that hiring new voice acting talent being hit-or-miss should be an excuse for not taking on new talent, you better also be prepared to make the statement that the hit-or-miss tactic of hiring fresh high school/college graduates is also too risky for business firms, laboratories, hospitals, development departments, and other jobs and they therefore shouldn't spring for new talent as well.

Not what I meant by "terrible choice." It's important to find someone whose voice is suitable enough to fit a character's appearance. I mean, because of Ross' voice impression as Papyrus from Undertale, every other Undertale videos with voice overs try to either mimic Ross' voice or rip Ross' voice overs, because his voice perfectly fits Papyrus' appearance. It's why Mega Man 8's voice acting was horrendous, because some of the voices didn't fit the characters' appearances.

 

[Satoshi Ookami]

Of course, two companies I know that practices region-locking are Apple, from certain iPhone models like the ones sold in China, and Samsung.

Ah... I see... so no actual other examples from gaming business...
Um... and someone still needs a proof that region locking is an obsolete feature?

Welp, anyway, it's not that surprising since both pretty much use the same core technology.