Currently Playing: Tactics Buffet

Having just typed the above subject line makes me wish there actually was a game called Tactics Buffet. In fact, if you told me that there was a limited run Atlus game, that only came out in Japan and told the story of the epic Catering War between the evil Hors D'oeuvres Empire and rebellious Four Food Groups Alliance, I’d probably believe you. And, would also really want to play it.

The Buffet Wars Have Begun! Let's Attack Aggressively!

No, Tactics Buffet is my current approach to gaming. As I have alluded to before, I have a really hard time starting new games. Unless I have a good chunk of time set aside today, tomorrow, and for the next week or so, I simply do not have the motivation to launch wholeheartedly into a new game.

For me, this undoubtedly stems from my upbringing on NES and SNES sidescrollers. Back in the late 80s and early 90s, for many games, it wasn’t worth even starting, if you weren’t willing to play it excessively to the point of memorization. Granted skill and experience (which I sorely lacked) aided considerably, but those ball-busting games demanded a huge devotion of time and energy to beat.

I concede that in the current gaming world, games that require this type of mental commitment are few and far between. Occasionally, a game does come along that pays homage to the days of yore by being legitimately crazy hard, but this is by far the exception rather than the rule.

However, my NES gaming boot camp brainwashed me to such an extent that, to this day, I can’t get over the notion that a new game will take me weeks of nearly continuous play to memorize and eventually beat.

Additionally, I have a horrible character flaw: I’m a perfectionist. I have a very difficult time not trying to find every item and discover every secret. Games with branching paths and choices that affect story cause me to struggle because I know am going to miss out on a different part of the story, items, characters, and perhaps even entire levels.

With the above realizations in mind, now consider that I have recently gone through a pretty huge lifestyle change and have seen my gaming time dwindle to almost nothing. Consequently, when I do have time to play, I am inevitably drawn to my old favorites, the ones that are so ingrained in my head, that it seems like my fingers know what buttons to press based on pure instinct. But with U.N. Squadron, Super Metroid, and my other favorites I’m not making any progress. Remember, the point of this blog is to actually work through my backlog of games, not just comment on how nice they look sitting on the shelf.

Enter my favorite genre of all time: the Tactical RPG.

With my free time dwindling, TRPGs may just be my saving grace. Focusing on gameplay over pretty much all else, the TRPG allows me to play for a few hours then walk away for a day or two, perhaps even a month. When I come back, I don’t need to remember where the obscure old man in a hut told me to go to find his missing dog in order to advance the story. I don’t need to re-acclimate to the control scheme or physics engine. Nor do I need to remember exactly where the next fifteen squadrons of space fighters enter the screen. TRPGs are not a test of reaction time or level memorization, but instead rely on an analytical and systematic approach to gaming.

In fact, there is one TRPG that I have been playing fairly consistently for maybe two years without having yet beaten: Final Fantasy Tactics Advance 2: Grimoire of the Rift. Overly complicated name aside, I’m currently clocked in at over 110 hours and that is just from completing all the side missions possible before advancing the story. I have no issues that the story is weak, that’s not why I play it. I play it for the battle system (which I like a heck of a lot better then the first Tactics Advance).

To add to my potpourri of Tactical RPGs, I started Tactics Ogre about a week ago and, while it currently rates above average, it’s taking some getting used to. I’ve also returned to trucking through the Final Fantasy Tactics: The Lion War for the PSP, which of course is awesome, despite the numerous issues I have with it, but I’ll save that rant for another time. Finally, I just started another DS TRPG, the port of the original Front Mission. I played the 3rd one years ago and really enjoyed it and am hoping the first is just as awesome.

So that's where I stand. I'll try and get as much game time in as I can and update as I find the time, or whenever I need to let off some steam.