Suikoden Tierkreis -- RPG Army-Style Goodness

If you haven't seen me on Facebook or responding to my text messages in the last few days, it's because my friend Pat bought me a copy of Suikoden Tierkreis for my birthday.  The last time I played a Suikoden game, I was thoroughly underwhelmed, but I smiled and nodded like I didn't expect it to suck.  "Oh, a sweater?  That's just what I wanted!"  That sort of thing.  But this game has ABSORBED MY LIFE.

Suikoden Tactics may have sucked, but I swear Tierkreis is amazing.

I'm a fan of classic RPGs.  There's something very stimulating to me about a game about math mechanically, but mired in a creative story.  And on the classic elements, Tierkreis does not disappoint.  It even comes with some cliched story points.  Who would believe that your main character would be an orphaned outcast with an unknown past?  That's never been done to death before!

But the story is actually rather compelling, because it starts with your standard cliches, but it moves well past it.  You start on the standard "Eradicate minor pests" mission, but your adventure is abruptly interrupted when an entire forest pops up out of nowhere.  With it comes an ancient relic, a book that gives some people who touch it super powers (read as, "Moves that cost SP.").  These new moves come with a flashbacks and memories of some epic battle that happened in he past.  At first, you just go around looking for more of the books and collecting more powers.  But when you realize the books are linked to the multiverse, things get a little more interesting, mainly because there's not supposed to be a multiverse.  You deal with political struggles, monsters from other worlds, and try to piece together your main character's past.  And the entire time, a group known as the Order of the One True Way plagues you, claiming that the future is predetermined and the only way to avoid pain and suffering is to consign yourself to a world where everyone can see the future.  Apparently, if you know it's coming, you won't get upset when tragedy strikes.  Personally, I think they're sipping too much from the crazy juice, but I'm pretty sure they're controlled by some crazy entity who wants to merge all the worlds in the multiverse into one perfectly structured moment of space-time.  Think of it as purgatory or Neon Genesis Evangelion.  But I haven't finished the game yet, so it's just a theory.

Actual character design. Mine throws knives.

But the interesting part is how well it all flows.  This game has more plot than game play at times.  But it flows so seamlessly that you really won't notice the intrusion.  And there's plenty to do.  You'll ultimately collect up to 108 characters to use in your battle.  Giants, cat-people, squeaky dolphin things, alternate reality clones -- they're all there.  And customizing them is easy.  Each character has a predetermined, but unique set of weapons they can use based on their personal story.  And they get a unique set of moves.  They pretty much stay in archetypical battle roles, but there's enough leeway that you can feel like you've customized every character.  You'll get sexy guy mages, less sexy girl mages, warriors, sword-masters, thugs, thieves, martial artists, healers, rangers, multiverse sages, and even a chef.  Also, for some reason, no male mage is allowed to wear a shirt.  It's gotta be a law or something, but I'm not complaining....  Arcane spell failure maybe?

As the game goes on, you'll outfit your entire army, go on tons of sidequests, and train multiple characters, because the fact is that you'll use most of them.  Even though I haven't touched Logan for a good 15 hours of play, he still gets caught up in the adventure once in a while.  The good thing, though, is that experience is based on level, so your under-leveled characters have to survive only one battle to catch up about half-way.  A few more battles, and suddenly the level 9 guy is up to 27 when your main party is 30.  It really takes a lot of grinding out of it, which works for me.  I prefer to keep the grinding on the dance floor.  Ultimately, it's a great game, and I'm probably going to go back to playing it now.

I have a thing for mages.  And I'm glad Tierkeis agrees with me that their clothing is optional.

PARTY NEWS

My birthday party at Splash was a blast!  And I've got to thank everyone who came out, but moreso for the people who brought me gifts!  I got a copy of Pokemon Battle Revolution, a gift card to Game Stop, and the cutest bottle of Bailey's I've ever seen!  :3  I drank it out of teeny-tiny glasses.

I'm still scheduling the next Gayme Night at Splash, but I'm very happy to announce that I'm revamping and re-releasing my monthly party at Vlada:

Shane Cherry presents Hardcore!
Wed Aug 3 at Vlada Lounge (51st St btwn 8th and 9th Aves)

This time we're teaming up with Misty Meaner and her Viral party, so I'm thinking... ZOMBIES.  This is the party for hardcore gaymers who think they can blow zombies away with extreme efficiency.  If you've got a particular game you want to play, though, comment here and let me know!

I think my favorite birthday present so far this year has been the full page promo Next Magazine did on me.  I always think I look awkward in pictures, but people keep telling me it's cute!  :)  So you can check out the online version right here.