Choose Your Weppins!
Feb. 4th, 2008 03:13 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dmxratedOkay, this morning, I stated that what I have to explain about the role of weapons in video games and my future fanfiction will have their own LiveJournal entry. Here are how they relate to certain video games and to my RPG-inspired future fanfiction:
Dark Cloud: Each of the six playable characters have their own type of weapons: Toan wields swords and knives, Xiao wields slingshots, Goro uses axes and war hammers, Ruby uses magical rings and armlets that fire balls of energy, Ungaga uses spears and staffs, and Osmond carries guns. Some weapons aren't exactly any of the aforementioned types but are used similarly. Such examples include the Kitchen Knife (actually a meat cleaver that Toan can use), the Turtle Shell (a turtle shell on a big stick, wielded by Goro), or the Cactus (a cactus on a stick, wielded by Ungaga). What's really interesting, though, is that unlike in real life (where weapons have to be manufactured) weapons can "evolve" into better weapons if they're used often enough. For example, the Swallow (a machine gun) becomes the G Crusher and then the Star Breaker if the stat requirements are fulfilled.
As interesting as that idea is, though, I won't be able to apply it into Monster Collection Chronicles, as that ficseries will use more realistic logic (such as one's body, not their weapons, getting stronger as he or she continues to fight).
Anima: I first heard of this game when I came across this pic of a fantasy-style sword collection. The person who drew that pic has other collection pics related to Anima, but that one naturally became my favorite of them all. It's too bad that Anima turned out to be completely life-like. It's not like one can see weapons so closely when playing Grandia III, although one could do so in Dark Cloud.
(On a side note relating to Monster Collection Chronicles: While Dark Cloud, Grandia III, and Anima do provide perfect examples of what weapons and other equipment would look like in Mon World, which represents the past, other games like Contra: Hard Corps or Zone of the Enders: The Fist of Mars would provide equivalent examples of weapons in the futuristic Mech World. Except, of course, that in Zone of the Enders, most weapons are built into mechs, not useable by people.)
Shadow the Hedgehog: Not an RPG, but still worth noting. This game is known for being the first Sonic game where you can use weapons, and a wide variety at that. That's one of the reasons I bought that game, although most useable things usually go unused. Some of the things Shadow can wield include pistols, uprooted signposts, electronic poles found in cyberspace, rocket launchers, ray guns, and more. In fact, even street lights can become weapons when freed from the ground, but of course, it's not possible in real life to swing something that long and heavy.
(This game inspired an entire story arc in Digimon Royale, not only because of its variety of weapons, but also because of Shadow's ability to break things and the fact that what stages you proceed to depend on whether you're good, evil, or neutral in the previous stage.)
Digimon Royale (and related games): I'm still personally debating whether or not I'll enable Digimon to use weapons that can be found or bought. On the one hand, this was an important part of Digimon World 3, and the cover art of Digimon World 4 depicts Agumon (a normally empty-handed Digimon) among several other Digimon carrying a short battle axe. However, being realistic, not all Digimon have arms with which to hold such weapons. On top of that, even though Digimon in the anime series usually digivolve into something quite similar to their current or previous form, this is not always the case (at least according to Digidex. For example, Agumon has a lot of Champion forms that he can digivolve into (including Garurumon, which was Gabumon's Champion form in Digimon Adventures 01). And finally, there are Digimon that carry miscellaneous weapons, such as giant Yo-yos (wielded by the Ultimate-level Yo!Yo!mon*), and even more formal weapons wouldn't look right on any Digimon species other than the one that carries them.
Maybe the weapons that might be bought in stores will be equipable by any Digimon whose anatomy would allow them to carry weapons. Those that can't carry weapons would have their own advantages, such as being able to battle underwater, or to be riden by their master like a horse. There are all kinds of Digimon, and one set of rules cannot possibly fit all of them.
Monster Collection Chronicles: Here it is: my #1 life project. While it is debatable as to whether or not I should apply weapons to Digimon Royale, there is no doubt that they will have a prominent role in this ficseries. Both this ficseries and DR have a combination of game-like and realistic logic (exactly why I plan to write them), DR will have more of the former while MCC will have more of the latter. That means that, unlike in most existing RPGs, one cannot simply buy upgraded weapons in stores, with the best weapons available only in the last few regions explored. Instead, each Knight will have only one novelty weapon (which in this case, is his or her respective Monster Weapon). Those are as follow:
Mondo: Bronze Edge (Fire)
Rockna: N/A (still uses the Rockna Ribbon from the anime; her element is Night.)
Atiqa: Marine Dagger (Water)
Ryan: Thunder Blade (Thunder)
Ellen: Thorn Whip (Grass)
Beginner: Ice Haloes (Ice)
Vince: N/A (Strength; can make his own weapon out of heavy things that most people can't lift.)
Jamison: Venom Knife (Poison)
Luke: Geoblade (Earth)
Rachael: Winged Katanas (Flight)
Diana: N/A (Psychic; can use both hands to cast two spells at a time.)
Greg: Leech Knife (Insect)
Martin: Diamond Gauntlet (Stone)
Willis: Exor Staff (Ghost)
Katsuo: Cursed Crossbow (Evil)
Drake: Metal Impact* (Steel)
Mary: Blessed Crossbow (Holy)
Tom: Neon Saber (Plasma)
Kevin: Forest Bow (Wood)
Anneth: Gale Flag (Wind)
John: Silver Edge (Blade)
Eric: Golden Edge (Gold)
Davis: Multi-Firearm/MFA (Mech)
Kasumi: none (Time; carries a regular nightstick, but it eventually becomes the Time Sword, long after all the regular Monster Items' weapon forms are revealed.)
Originally, Jake chose his weapon to be the Metal Blade, but the weapon in question can't really be called a blade. Also, I wanted to have his character-equivalent to wield some kind of war hammer, although I do admit that a regular sledgehammer wouldn't have enough novelty. The weapon in question will still have novelty features such as the runes.
In addition to their respective Monster Weapon, each Knight will also be trained to use other weapons and weapon types. Handguns (brought from Man World) are the most noteable example, as they are light, compact, don't need to be charged up (unlike magic spells), and don't require close combat.
Other: So, yeah. Weapons to choose between are a major reason why I play RPGs such as Chrono Trigger and Grandia III, and these RPGs are one of the main reasons why I plan to eventually write Monster Collection Chronicles. Makeruna Makendou Z, however, is a noteable exception; according to the review, there are no weapons or equipment to buy or choose between. In that game, that's actually a good thing, because it saves me quite a bit of translation work and allows me to have a break from all that dice rolling I normally do when customizing my characters. I played Grandia III because I previously enjoyed Grandia II and, at the time when I ordered it, I needed a break from playing Sonic Adventure 2: Battle for so many weeks on end. On the other hand, the reason why I want to play Makeruna Makendou Z (even though I still have quite a bit left from Pokemon Pearl) is because I've been fond of Mai ever since I played Kendo Rage, and I want to spend some time with her in particular.
Finally, the title of this blog entry was (not by coincidence) also the title of a certain episode of Popeye. I purposely saved it for the end so that only those that actually bothered to read this entry would find out (assuming they didn't already watch that cartoon before).
Dark Cloud: Each of the six playable characters have their own type of weapons: Toan wields swords and knives, Xiao wields slingshots, Goro uses axes and war hammers, Ruby uses magical rings and armlets that fire balls of energy, Ungaga uses spears and staffs, and Osmond carries guns. Some weapons aren't exactly any of the aforementioned types but are used similarly. Such examples include the Kitchen Knife (actually a meat cleaver that Toan can use), the Turtle Shell (a turtle shell on a big stick, wielded by Goro), or the Cactus (a cactus on a stick, wielded by Ungaga). What's really interesting, though, is that unlike in real life (where weapons have to be manufactured) weapons can "evolve" into better weapons if they're used often enough. For example, the Swallow (a machine gun) becomes the G Crusher and then the Star Breaker if the stat requirements are fulfilled.
As interesting as that idea is, though, I won't be able to apply it into Monster Collection Chronicles, as that ficseries will use more realistic logic (such as one's body, not their weapons, getting stronger as he or she continues to fight).
Anima: I first heard of this game when I came across this pic of a fantasy-style sword collection. The person who drew that pic has other collection pics related to Anima, but that one naturally became my favorite of them all. It's too bad that Anima turned out to be completely life-like. It's not like one can see weapons so closely when playing Grandia III, although one could do so in Dark Cloud.
(On a side note relating to Monster Collection Chronicles: While Dark Cloud, Grandia III, and Anima do provide perfect examples of what weapons and other equipment would look like in Mon World, which represents the past, other games like Contra: Hard Corps or Zone of the Enders: The Fist of Mars would provide equivalent examples of weapons in the futuristic Mech World. Except, of course, that in Zone of the Enders, most weapons are built into mechs, not useable by people.)
Shadow the Hedgehog: Not an RPG, but still worth noting. This game is known for being the first Sonic game where you can use weapons, and a wide variety at that. That's one of the reasons I bought that game, although most useable things usually go unused. Some of the things Shadow can wield include pistols, uprooted signposts, electronic poles found in cyberspace, rocket launchers, ray guns, and more. In fact, even street lights can become weapons when freed from the ground, but of course, it's not possible in real life to swing something that long and heavy.
(This game inspired an entire story arc in Digimon Royale, not only because of its variety of weapons, but also because of Shadow's ability to break things and the fact that what stages you proceed to depend on whether you're good, evil, or neutral in the previous stage.)
Digimon Royale (and related games): I'm still personally debating whether or not I'll enable Digimon to use weapons that can be found or bought. On the one hand, this was an important part of Digimon World 3, and the cover art of Digimon World 4 depicts Agumon (a normally empty-handed Digimon) among several other Digimon carrying a short battle axe. However, being realistic, not all Digimon have arms with which to hold such weapons. On top of that, even though Digimon in the anime series usually digivolve into something quite similar to their current or previous form, this is not always the case (at least according to Digidex. For example, Agumon has a lot of Champion forms that he can digivolve into (including Garurumon, which was Gabumon's Champion form in Digimon Adventures 01). And finally, there are Digimon that carry miscellaneous weapons, such as giant Yo-yos (wielded by the Ultimate-level Yo!Yo!mon*), and even more formal weapons wouldn't look right on any Digimon species other than the one that carries them.
Maybe the weapons that might be bought in stores will be equipable by any Digimon whose anatomy would allow them to carry weapons. Those that can't carry weapons would have their own advantages, such as being able to battle underwater, or to be riden by their master like a horse. There are all kinds of Digimon, and one set of rules cannot possibly fit all of them.
Monster Collection Chronicles: Here it is: my #1 life project. While it is debatable as to whether or not I should apply weapons to Digimon Royale, there is no doubt that they will have a prominent role in this ficseries. Both this ficseries and DR have a combination of game-like and realistic logic (exactly why I plan to write them), DR will have more of the former while MCC will have more of the latter. That means that, unlike in most existing RPGs, one cannot simply buy upgraded weapons in stores, with the best weapons available only in the last few regions explored. Instead, each Knight will have only one novelty weapon (which in this case, is his or her respective Monster Weapon). Those are as follow:
Mondo: Bronze Edge (Fire)
Rockna: N/A (still uses the Rockna Ribbon from the anime; her element is Night.)
Atiqa: Marine Dagger (Water)
Ryan: Thunder Blade (Thunder)
Ellen: Thorn Whip (Grass)
Beginner: Ice Haloes (Ice)
Vince: N/A (Strength; can make his own weapon out of heavy things that most people can't lift.)
Jamison: Venom Knife (Poison)
Luke: Geoblade (Earth)
Rachael: Winged Katanas (Flight)
Diana: N/A (Psychic; can use both hands to cast two spells at a time.)
Greg: Leech Knife (Insect)
Martin: Diamond Gauntlet (Stone)
Willis: Exor Staff (Ghost)
Katsuo: Cursed Crossbow (Evil)
Drake: Metal Impact* (Steel)
Mary: Blessed Crossbow (Holy)
Tom: Neon Saber (Plasma)
Kevin: Forest Bow (Wood)
Anneth: Gale Flag (Wind)
John: Silver Edge (Blade)
Eric: Golden Edge (Gold)
Davis: Multi-Firearm/MFA (Mech)
Kasumi: none (Time; carries a regular nightstick, but it eventually becomes the Time Sword, long after all the regular Monster Items' weapon forms are revealed.)
Originally, Jake chose his weapon to be the Metal Blade, but the weapon in question can't really be called a blade. Also, I wanted to have his character-equivalent to wield some kind of war hammer, although I do admit that a regular sledgehammer wouldn't have enough novelty. The weapon in question will still have novelty features such as the runes.
In addition to their respective Monster Weapon, each Knight will also be trained to use other weapons and weapon types. Handguns (brought from Man World) are the most noteable example, as they are light, compact, don't need to be charged up (unlike magic spells), and don't require close combat.
Other: So, yeah. Weapons to choose between are a major reason why I play RPGs such as Chrono Trigger and Grandia III, and these RPGs are one of the main reasons why I plan to eventually write Monster Collection Chronicles. Makeruna Makendou Z, however, is a noteable exception; according to the review, there are no weapons or equipment to buy or choose between. In that game, that's actually a good thing, because it saves me quite a bit of translation work and allows me to have a break from all that dice rolling I normally do when customizing my characters. I played Grandia III because I previously enjoyed Grandia II and, at the time when I ordered it, I needed a break from playing Sonic Adventure 2: Battle for so many weeks on end. On the other hand, the reason why I want to play Makeruna Makendou Z (even though I still have quite a bit left from Pokemon Pearl) is because I've been fond of Mai ever since I played Kendo Rage, and I want to spend some time with her in particular.
Finally, the title of this blog entry was (not by coincidence) also the title of a certain episode of Popeye. I purposely saved it for the end so that only those that actually bothered to read this entry would find out (assuming they didn't already watch that cartoon before).