What I'm Playing (Volume 138): Mario Golf

Mario Golf is a golf game for the Nintendo 64, and the first game in the Mario sports series  developed by Camelot (one of my personal favorite studios). Anyone who has read this blog or spent any time with me at all knows my love of the Mario sports games, and my particular love of the Mario golf games, so it may come as a surprise to some that I'd actually played this entry surprisingly little before tackling it these last few weeks. I had a cousin who had this game, and he would soundly trounce me in it, but that's about all of my exposure to this game. I played Toadstool Tour religiously, absolutely adored the GBA entry, and liked the 3DS one. We desperately need a Switch Mario golf game, by the way.

Anyway, this is just a flat out excellent game. You have a big cast of characters. It still looks nice today, although it's nothing compared to the absolutely gorgeous Toadstool Tour. You get six full 18 hole courses with a wide range of creative hole and course design. All of the staples of Mario golf are here. You have match play, stroke play, multiplayer, Ring attack, time attack, clubs slots, tournament mode, challenging AI characters, etc. The golf mechanics are really sound here, although they definitely get polished up and are more reliable in Toadstool Tour.

The soundtrack is really great. It sounded so familiar to me that I had to look up the composer, and lo and behold, just like I thought, it's the same guy who composed the soundtrack to the Golden Sun games, which are magnificent, by the way. It's not too surprising, given that Camelot makes both series, but it's nice to hear a familiar musical voice.

About the only critique I have to offer here is that Toadstool Tour does everything a little better. But they created this 3D Mario golf experience out of whole cloth for this game, and it really does work about 90% as well as Toadstool Tour. This was, without question, a must own title for the 64 when it was released. But I really don't see myself revisiting this game again, given that I have a copy of Toadstool Tour to enjoy, as well as the GBA and 3DS games for some great handheld options (GBA for the RPG mode, and 3DS for raw golf gameplay prowess). I'll give Mario Golf  a 9.0, but if you have a Gamecube, just get Toadstool Tour. It will satisfy every Mario golf need you have.

Up next on What I'm Playing is a title I picked up on the cheap last month, and I'm almost done with it. I'll almost certainly have a review up next week for this one. Here's  teaser:

-TRO

What I'm Playing (Volume 137): Bahamut Lagoon

It dies! I think this is the oldest member of my backlog, and I finally finished it. This is a game I started many times in high school, but could never get through it before getting distracted by something else, dissatisfied with my builds, etc. It was also one of my gaming goals for the year, so I can check that one off. Here's a quick update for my faithful reader at the quarter mark of the year (roughly):

1. Clear out 30 unbeaten games:

8 so far, which puts me on track for 32 completed games. Check.

2. Buy all the new games I want, as long as it's a good deal. Also, add a really pricey game (more than $80) to my collection just for fun. Maybe Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance or Lufia II. 

Since the beginning of the year, I have purchased 19 new video games, seventeen physical and two digital. I've spent a total of $152.66 on those games. I haven't denied myself anything for the purposes of slowing the collection, only for keeping within my budget. Collecting has definitely slowed down since Covid-19, so this is probably fewer than I would like. I also haven't bought anything super-pricey, so we'll try to get that done before the end of the year. I did buy a really big lot of PS3 games, as well as Super Mario Maker 2 and another game for more than $20 that I don't want to name because I haven't reviewed it. So far, so good. I'm definitely leaning towards a Lufia collection for my pricey stuff, so we'll see how that goes.

3. Replay some old favorites again.

I did my annual playthrough of Super Mario World, and am really itching to run some Mega Man. I'd say I'm on track.

4. I MUST finish Bahamut Lagoon.

Check

5. Finish the main campaign of Final Fantasy XIV once and for all.

I have made absolutely zero progress on this. Seems like an appropriate thing to subscribe to in quarantine, though. Hmmmm.

Anyway, back to my Bahamut Lagoon review! Bahamut Lagoon, released in 1996 on the Super Famicom, is one of the earlier tactical RPGs out there, obviously following trailblazers Fire Emblem and hangers-on Langrisser and the shining series, as well as fellow Super Famicom standout Tactics Ogre. It's a very late release on the Super Famicom, with the Nintendo 64 coming out a few short months after its release.

Due to its late release and the general apathy of the American public to JRPGs, Bahamut Lagoon has never received a western release. As such, if you want to play this game, you'll need to obtain rom hacks that translate the game to English (either on a repro or an emulator), because this is not a game to be explored without some language support.

The basic concept of the game is that you control a lineup of warriors who ride dragons into battle. These dragons obey limited commands (come, go, and wait), but are generally free to target whoever they wish. Developing these dragons to have a wide range of powerful skills will be the key to getting through the game, as your warriors are mostly pointless, save for those who can attack from ranged.

In between battles, you can feed your dragons weapons, armor, and items to raise their stats, in addition to the natural leveling they will get just by battling. These levels seem to raise only the dragons' HP and MP, though, as the other stats seem to be derived solely from your feedings. This is a nice little system that has a logic to it, although I would absolutely recommend finding a guide to feeding them that details the stats you get from each item, as well as what to do if your dragon turns into the dreaded Uni Uni (feed it a heal). RPG Shrine has a good one, as do the fine folks at GameFAQs (didalos' guide).

The dragons start out extremely stupid, and will frequently heal their foes by using the wrong elemental attacks on them, but they definitely get smarter and smarter the more they develop. The dragons will turn into different forms as they develop and grow in various stats, but for the most part these are cosmetic changes only.

The translation is certainly rougher than an official release. I used the translation by Tomato and dejap. They have a pretty complete translation of most of the dialogue, although some of it seems pretty literal. The biggest problem is with the item names, and that's a BIG problem, especially when trying to use the right items on your dragons to ensure they get the stats you're looking for. It's a fan translation though, so I have to say that it's extremely forgivable. I'd still love an official western release at some point, but that's a big ask for a game that probably wouldn't sell a ton. I think the fan translation is our best option, and for a game with a ton of text in it, it's actually really good for what it is. The online guides really help close the gap, too.

The visuals in the game are extremely good. This game was released after Chrono Trigger, mind, so the folks at Squaresoft were well versed in wrenching the most impressive visuals out of the Super Famicom. It has some of the best use of Mode 7 I've seen in a game, and perhaps the biggest, most detailed sprites on the entire system.

The music is excellent as well, and is emblematic of Square's dedication to musical perfection at the time. There are a ton of very memorable tracks in the game, and it's a really great soundtrack.

The battle, development, and exploration system are just really thin on this one, and it feels like this was a patchwork game between Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy VI and Final Fantasy VII, which was almost certainly in development at this point. The balance between warriors and dragons is nonexistent. The AI for enemies are pretty poor, and they will almost always target your dragons or do other dumb things. You basically just go from mission to mission, talking to a few people to unlock the next mission, shop for new gear, feed your dragons, and then send your dragons out to wipe everyone out in the mission while you trail behind. Your dragons can move unlimited spaces each turn, which means they'll attack every turn, gaining experience, while your warriors limp behind, cleaning up what little the dragons leave in their destructive wake. The story is not really close to as well developed and interesting as its Squaresoft predecessors, and it feels like a first shot for Squaresoft to cut their teeth on a concept that would later be perfected in Final Fantasy Tactics and its quasi-sequel on the GBA. And that's fine! Intelligent Systems had Famicom Wars before Fire Emblem, so every company has to figure this stuff out. And it took Squaresoft three (!) Final Fantasy games before they finally hit on a masterpiece in Final Fantasy IV. But it feels like this game should have been better, given the fact that there were several games that others had produced in the same genre from which they could have learned, and also give the prestige of Squaresoft at the absolute peak of their powers, and with all of their critical personnel still in house. The modern Final Fantasy games take a lot of grief, but the reality is that most of the people who were involved in the development of those games are gone now, and that you now need huge teams of people to make games, meaning that the ability of a small group of people to make a masterpiece is greatly reduced these days. That wasn't true in 1996, though.

Don't get me wrong. Bahamut Lagoon is good. But check out this list of games released by Squaresoft in a 6 year stretch from 1991 to 1997:

Final Fantasy IV
Final Fantasy Legend III
Romancing SaGa
Final Fantasy Mystic Quest
Final Fantasy V
Secret of Mana
Romancing SaGa 2
Front Mission
Chrono Trigger
Seiken Densetsu 3
Secret of Evermore
Romancing SaGa 3
Super Mario RPG
Final Fantasy VII
Final Fantasy Tactics
Front Mission 2

That's right. In six years, this company released at least 5, maybe 7, all-time masterpieces. Of the third-party developers, only a handful can say they've had 5 all-time masterpieces in their entire existence (Capcom, Konami, Enix, Blizzard, Activision, HAL, EA, Valve, Namco, and maybe a few more I'm forgetting). But I really don't think any of them ever had a six year stretch quite like Squaresoft. Maybe Blizzard from the Warcraft II-Diablo-Starcraft-Diablo II-Warcraft III-World of Warcraft run. But that was ALL Blizzard was making during that time! Squaresoft also sprinkled in a bunch of really good games in that stretch. When you look at this list, Bahamut Lagoon is clearly towards the bottom in terms of quality. And that's a shame, because it feels like this concept deserved better execution.

I'll give Bahamut Lagoon an 8.0, primarily on the strength of its visuals, music, and concept. It's a fun game that seemed like a castoff from an all-time great, like a down year for prime Roger Clemens. It will be fun to those who love tactical RPGs, but if you haven't spent time with the true greats in the genre (Fire Emblem, Final Fantasy Tactics), go there first. If you fall in love, you can spend a fun 25 hours with this one. Up next is a game I haven't teased before (finally)!

-TRO

What I'm Playing (Volume 136): Bravely Default

Bravely Default is a testament to the fine line that separates excellent games from dreadful ones. The game is the spiritual successor to Final Fantasy: The Four Heroes of Light, a title I viciously panned on this blog for a few reasons. I hated the visuals. I hated the boring jobs system. I hated that you couldn't select targets for attacks in battles with more than one enemy. Most of all, I absolutely detested the level-up system that leveled up the enemies along with you, making grinding your team almost completely pointless. These reasons combined for me to give the game a dreadful 4.0/10.

Bravely Default starts with many of the same conceits of Heroes, which drove me away for a long time. It still has a chibi-ish, washed out art style, shown in the screenshot below. It has a decidedly retro feel to combat, lacking an ATB gauge or any sort of pressing time limitations, and preferring a turn-based approach. You have a cast of four playable characters that never rotate.

But darn it all if Bravely Default doesn't absolutely knock out each and every concern I had with the previous game, transforming literally the worst game I've ever reviewed into an excellent one with a few small design choices.

The art is definitely a lot more varied and interesting this time around, even if I am not a fan of the chibi look in general. Look at this beautiful city they created in this game:

The entire thing is based on the concept of windmills, with various gears powering the city. The whole city is a gorgeous steampunk concept that's really well thought out, and executed to perfection. There are tons of magnificent settings in the game, and everything is designed very well. The game takes a gleeful delight in design, zooming out when entering an area so that you can take in every detail of the surroundings. This is a bit of an annoyance at first, but you get used to it.

The game took the battle system from the previous game, the best part of it, in my opinion, and improved on it. Previously, you could boost to save up points and burn it all on huge attacks, but the boost function has been replaced with a command called "default" that reduces incoming damage, and saves a point up (called BP). You can then spend your BP to perform multiple actions on the same turn, or perform big ones. You can also spend into the negative, making it so that you can't default on later turns, but perhaps can put out enough damage to end the battle before you can be killed. This risk/reward function works great, allowing you to act in a riskier manner in battles with smaller enemies or if you think you are close to putting away a boss and worry that you may not have time to finish him if you think he's going to kill you otherwise.

The jobs system is extremely good, rivaling those of my beloved Final Fantasy V and Final Fantasy Tactics. Like in Final Fantasy V, you can bring two sets of job abilities into battle, but also can equip several passives as well. This allows for some excellent mix and matching abilities, with a lot of creative opportunities to make the kind of jobs you desire.

For example, I made a counter attacking ninja/swordmaster. She had the ninja spell to cause all enemies to focus her with any single target attacks, as well as swordmaster spells that take reduced damage from physical and magical attacks, and counter attacking in return. For my passives, I had a skill from the red mage tree that allowed you to gain extra BP when damaged, a skill from swordmaster that increased damage dealt when counterattacking, a skill from dark knight that increased my characters stats when they took damage, and a skill from the knight that increased my physical defense. This allowed me to have a character that would draw aggression away from my big damage dealers, countering hard when hit, and benefiting from the damage I took by building up higher stats, and increasing my BP so I could use my focus aggro/counter combo more often!

The great thing about the job system in Bravely Default is that so many skills from varied jobs could be invested into magnificent combos, even if those jobs didn't seem related. In a typical job-based RPG, you are incentived to spend more time on one class of job (physical, magic damage, magic support/healing, etc.), but in this game, dancing around between classes has huge benefits, and every job has something to bring to the table. In other games, a tanky character would never spend any time as a Red Mage, but it was an absolute necessity in this game to keep my character's BP high enough to draw aggro away successfully.

You can obviously select targets in battle. I have no idea why this needed to be added.

They also made a typical JRPG leveling system in which you can actually get stronger than your foes. I also have no idea why this needed to be added.

So that handles my specific concerns about the game's predecessor. But what about the rest of the game? Well, the story is pretty good, for a JRPG. I don't want to spoil much, because there are actually some great twists and turns along the way. One in particular is some Earthbound-level of JRPG trope shattering, and I fully endorse it.

The music is quite good, with some really excellent tracks throughout. There's a lot of love for the Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy sound here.

The pacing of the game is its biggest flaw. About the time the game is feeling like it's winding down, it's just getting started. What's more, there's a loop in the game (I won't say any more) that gets old very quickly. Unfortunately, to get the best ending, you need to repeat the loop several times, and I'd say that each loop will take you, at a minimum, about 5 hours. I took a lot longer than that. Fortunately, if you finish the game with a suboptimal ending, it will pop you back to before you made your mistake (if you want), and let you continue until the best ending. The pacing was extremely slow, and it made it very hard to want to finish the game. The saving grace of it all was that the grinding was so fun that I felt like there was a lot to do that was different every loop, and it gave me a bunch of chances to experiment with different builds for my characters. In total, I spent about 80 hours playing this game, and most of it felt like a retread. A trim, 40 hour RPG is totally reasonable if that's how much content you have!

In sum, I loved Bravely Default. It brought everything I love in a JRPG. If pacing is a concern for you, though, I'd start elsewhere. I'd recommend it to anyone who loves Final Fantasy V, Final Fantasy Tactics, or just loves classic JRPGs. I'll give it a 9.0/10.

Up next is a game I've already teased before, and that I've FINALLY completed. Stay tuned!

-TRO