How RPGs can avoid descending into early game hell
This is a column by Kat Bailey dedicated to the analysis of the once beloved Japanese RPG sub-genre. Tune in every Wednesday for thoughts on white-haired villains, giant robots, Infinity+1 swords, and everything else the wonderful world of JRPGs has to offer.
Whenever I want to get in some quality procrastination, I turn to one of two sources. Either I while away the hours messing around with my team on Pokemon Online, or I start hitting “random” on Television Tropes & Idioms. The other day, I went in for the latter, and I came across an article titled “Early Game Hell.”
Early Game Hell, as you might imagine, refers to games that are really difficult at the outset, but eventually get easier. Fire Emblem, for example, is even tougher than usual in the early going due to the main characters’ lack of hit points and skills. In fact, almost every entry in the Early Game Hell page is an RPG. That’s not exactly a surprise – every fan has struggled through the early game of an RPG at least once. But I also wonder if an RPG can’t be entertaining and deep without being excruciatingly difficult to get into.
To wit, as you may recall from my previous entry, I’m currently playing Persona 4 Golden – an RPG that is well-known for being a slow starter. It’s a good 90 minutes before anything of note occurs; and when the action finally arrives, it doesn’t pull any punches. For the unprepared, the Avenger Knight mini-boss is quite capable of knocking out the main character in one or two hits. And without the Fox to offer any meaningful healing, it’s not easy to grind.Gallery: Persona 4 Golden (9/18/12)Continue reading How RPGs can avoid descending into early game hellHow RPGs can avoid descending into early game hell originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 16 Nov 2012 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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