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Like a lot of gamers out there, my first console was a Nintendo Entertainment System. But while I loved playing that Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt dual cartridge, it didn’t completely entrance me. There was still a chance that I’d grow up to love something else, football perhaps. Who knows?
But then I got my hands on a black original Game Boy and my fate was sealed. I was a gamer through and through.
My portable devices still demand the majority of my gaming time and with those hundreds (probably closer to thousands) of hours of mobile entertainment experience, I learned a few things:
- A Game Boy cartridge can withstand just about anything.
- Just because a game was good on a console does not mean the portable equivalent will be as up to par. And…
- Role-Playing Games for mobile devices absolutely HAVE to be turn-based.
The first two are quite possibly common knowledge, but the third deserves some explanation.
When I say “turn-based,” I mean something very particular. I don’t consider Square Enix’s “Active-Time Battle” system to be turn-based. Argue semantics with me all you want, but my definition of a turn-based RPG is one allowing me infinite time to choose my next action, like Pokemon or Golden Sun (two of my favorite RPG’s by the way.)
What reason do I have to dismiss all portable versions of every Final Fantasy after Final Fantasy 3 and what is generally considered the best RPG of all-time, Chrono Trigger? The answer is quite simple: I’ve got shit to do!
When I’m playing my PSP or DSi XL or iPod Touch, I’m either sitting on a couch watching TV or I’m travelling. In either case, I’m unable to devote my full attention to the game, looking up quite a bit to peek at the score of the baseball game or to have a conversation with my travelling companion.
When I do take that glance, that chimera beast in Final Fantasy 5 will usually decide I’m taking too long and blast my entire team with bubbles, crippling me. In a game like Chrono Trigger, I must constantly be “on” during combat. Unfortunately, I’m not always in a secluded room, devoid of distractions.
With Golden Sun, I can basically look up at any time, even during my opponent’s turn, without fear. Not only do I have the proper time to craft a winning strategy, but I can also be as social as I want to be (or more accurately, “as I have to be.”)
I understand why Final Fantasy and Chrono Trigger have the combat they do. They actively engage the player more than a game like Pokemon ever could. It makes perfect sense for their original platforms, consoles, which bank on their players being constantly engaged. But it also makes them sub-par portable games in my opinion.
Agree? Disagree? Let me know.
As for the writing challenge, here were my scores for this, my first and only draft:
Reading Ease: 86.567
F/K Grade Level: 5.529
Gunning Fog: 9.95
