Messages

31

General Discussion / Re: 7 Billion People... So Why Do We Feel So Alone?

« on: June 06, 2018, 11:27:39 pm »

I just want to put a little note here to say I will be commenting At Length* on this topic later. I simply don't have the time to do it justice today. So let the Hype Train begin!

* Yes, a Lord J Special "At Length" Feature Post HUZZAH!

32

General Discussion / Re: Stuff you LOVE, baby

« on: June 06, 2018, 11:23:08 pm »

I fucking love Whisper of the Heart. I empathize very much with Shizuku in that she struggles to balance a guaranteed future with a potential future of passion...

WotH (you have to read the whole name when I type that; I'm just super short on time!!) to me is the greatest coming-of-age movie ever made that captures what it actually feels like to come of age. It's amazing.

I only first saw it when I was roughly 30 years old, but if I'd seen it when I was their age...it would have become a foundational part of my worldview.

I wish I had time to really do one of my Novel-Class Posts on this, because there are so many intricacies of that film that resonate with me. <3 <3 <3

Regardless, when I was growing up in North Dakota (the first time I could get around with my own transportation; prior to this I grew up in Ohio and other places), I found the ages from 16 to 18 to be the most formulative of my life. More so than my early teens.

That's because you weren't fully "you" in your early teens, yet! For most people, the high school years are when their identity truly coalesces, which includes the self-awareness to understand oneself as such. That's why it's the age that characters in most coming-of-age stories are set. Most people know their high school years (whether or not a "high school" was actually involved; maybe I should just say Ages 14 - 19) were special, but they can't put their finger on why. Those are the years when most people truly bring their will to bear on the world for the first time. Self-assertion and declaration! It's beautiful.

It was here I discovered that there is this dichotomy within me, one I haven't yet managed to ride to conclusion. I love love LOVE the country and the quality of life it offers: serene landscapes, slow pace of life, generally good people, a sense of community. I grew up with this in a small farming community in Ohio and even now there are times I miss it.

The other side of that dichotomy is that longing for meaning in the hustle and bustle of the big city. Proving one's value amongst the sea of other heads is the penultimate valuation of worth in the human race. And it's incredibly vain and inaccurate. That proto-hipster (or is it pseudo-hipster) aspect of my personality longs to have the loft, forego my car in favor of public transportation, the constant stream of strangers entering and leaving me life, so on and so forth.

I have a the same dilemma, probably for somewhat different reasons.

I have a great desire for vast open spaces, peace and quiet, sweeping vistas, and simply being left alone. My years on a remote mountain in the middle of nowhere decisively pushed the needle of my preferences in favor of living far away. I miss being able to take walks on the Ring Road and have the whole world to myself. I've attached an image of our view in one direction; there are no cities or towns anywhere in the picture. Of course I had a person living with me, so I don't mean I want to be completely alone, but rather to have a place where I turn off the rest of the world when I wanted to. Absolute splendor and silence.

On the other hand I am a true cosmopolitan. I love the city. I love that, currently, I live in the downtown of an arts city of 80,000 people. My car lives in a big cute parking garage; one of my favorite cafes in the city is right next door; there are a zillion restaurants nearby. When I lived in Seattle a decade ago I loved the same; loved being able to walk to get my groceries, walk to the post office, walk to the bank, walk to all of it. I love the cultural melange; the conflux of voices and worldviews. Cities are more tolerant and enlightened. They have to be, because you get to see the faces of the people you'd otherwise talk smack about.

I wish I had a home in the country and one in the city.

That's not really something that is touched upon in Whisper of the Heart, but I say that in that when I lived in ND I found my Shiro's antique shop there in the cold wastes of North Dakota. You see, during that age I had discovered my artistic side and was practicing film photography, and I spent MANY nights going to downtown Bismarck (which in hindsight hardly constitutes as a downtown) and would walk around late into the night listening to shitty emo music and taking pictures.

One of those nights I found a little art shop; to this day I swear it had the most serenely beautiful window I'd ever seen. Small lit trinkets, old fashioned bulbs, and a thousand pieces of prismatic beauty decorated that window from sunset to sunrise. Eventually I befriended the woman who owned the small art store and she even showcased a few of my photographs (which never sold). I loved going to her store and just looking at all the trinkets that she sold. Something about it sparked that creative bone deep within me and never let go.

That's a beautiful story. I can't do justice right now, in the words available to me in my tired and hurried state, to how deeply I felt that story when I read it.

Soon I moved away for college and haven't been back since. I never did find my baron, although the memories of the place still haunt me. Haunt me in that it was beautiful, that feeling never quite recaptured. I miss it.

When I watch Whisper of the Heart I think of that woman and her shop. I'm sure it's closed by now, as Bismarck, ND was not a very creative city. The people were as cold and isolated as the city itself.

I hope you're wrong. Go back there and check. =]

33

General Discussion / Re: Babylon 5 Roleplaying Discussion.

« on: June 06, 2018, 11:01:47 pm »

Babylon 5 has lost a fair number of actors for a 15 year old show. Jerry Doyle, Richard Biggs, Andreas Katsulas, Michael O’Hare, Stephen Furst, and Jeff Conaway, may they rest in peace.

Right? The B5 curse.

I've noticed that myself over the years. In contrast the various Star Trek series have always featured remarkable longevity on the part of their principals. When you compare Babylon 5 with its closest Star Trek contemporary, DS9, all the DS9 main cast are still alive, but with B5 it's like a brutal 50 percent death rate.

Poor Zathras.

One thing I remember about learning the truth about Michael O'Hare's passing was that J. Michael Straczynski originally promised to "take it to the grave" in regards to his mental illness, but O'Hare insisted "take it to my grave" instead.

Also JMS had offered to put the show on hiatus for him.

That was incredibly generous of JMS to offer to halt production, and very gracious of Michael O'Hare to want his story to be shared. I knew of O'Hare's mental illness when the story came out a while back, after he died, but I hadn't known those two details.

I am sorry to interrupt the thread! I just wanted to chime in.

34

General Discussion / Re: Other RPGs?

« on: June 06, 2018, 10:51:49 pm »

The Old Ones (aka, Legends!):

Eternally Dueling for First Place:
Chrono Trigger
Final Fantasy VI

My First RPG:
The Secret of Mana

Zelda! (Because it's totally an RPG and anyone who says otherwise is a lying liar who lies)
A Link to the Past
Ocarina of Time

The New Ones:

What I always liked best about RPGs is, nowadays, mostly contained in the walking simulator genre. They're like RPGs but with none of the hassles of combat. What I'm getting at is that I know there's an argument that the following games are not RPGs, but up your nose with a rubber hose!

Life Is Strange
The best game made in the past ten years.

Oxenfree
To date the greatest psychological horror game I've played.

Finding Paradise
Not terribly interesting for much of the game, then goes to an INCREDIBLE place; it's part of a series so if you want to do the series maybe don't start with this one.

35

General Discussion / Re: Banner and/or Wallpaper Help?

« on: June 06, 2018, 10:38:56 pm »

What's your computer screen resolution, and which social media platforms would you like to set it as your profile image on?

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News Submissions / Live Performance: A Chrono Fan Composer Is Teaming Up with a Live Orchestra

« on: June 06, 2018, 10:35:22 pm »

By chance I saw this video on YouTube today:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIZCJA5Z3d0

• Live performance of a Chrono medley this summer!
• In Florida.
• It's a benefit designed to help out the orchestra that will be performing it.
• The orchestra has suffered due to slashed public arts spending. (It's FL, after all.)
• They're also doing a kickstarter if you can't go to Florida.

The person doing the arrangement is a prolific YouTuber who's done video game arrangements for many games! I've heard her work before; it's not bad!

This is a great opportunity to support not only the arts but a fellow fan who has been able to succeed with their fan-based art.

37

General Discussion / Re: Stuff you LOVE, baby

« on: June 03, 2018, 12:28:06 am »

The most underrated Ghibli film, in my opinion. That or Porco Rosso, but at least people talk about Porco Rosso. Whisper of the Heart, since it's not from Miyazaki, does not get the love it deserves.

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Chrono / Gameplay Casual Discussion / Re: CHRONO COMIX

« on: June 03, 2018, 12:22:33 am »

NO LIKE BUTTON! ON A FORUM TO REGISTER OPINION WE SHALL COMPOSE MIGHTY WORDS!!!

39

General Discussion / Re: Stuff you LOVE, baby

« on: May 30, 2018, 12:11:10 am »

Whenever I visit the doctor there's a bubble tea shop on the drive back, so I stop there. Today I tried their honeydew flavor and OMG it is real honeydew. Fragrant, pungent, a little bit of that musky melon goodness. So incredible! I previously had only ever tried their taro flavor, and to be honest I've had better, but their honeydew is the best honeydew bubble tea I've ever had (and I've had a few; it's probably my third-favorite flavor).

Also, if you don't get both tapioca pearls AND lychee jellies you're a filthy casual scrub. =P

40

General Discussion / Re: Banner and/or Wallpaper Help?

« on: May 30, 2018, 12:08:38 am »

YAY CATS!!! <3

I used to be the biggest cat lover in the world. Then my sister became an even bigger cat lover and took the title from me. In the years since then I've lost the will to keep cats of my own as pets (I've become very much a "no pets that aren't bugs or sessile kind of human), but I still love cats as objects of affection. My landlord in the place I lived last year got kittens, and they were sooooo cute!!!

It sounds like Boo is on Wallpaper point, but if any extra help is needed let me know!

41

General Discussion / Re: The $%*! frustration thread

« on: May 29, 2018, 03:33:53 am »

Drive down to Chattanooga and you can dine at my table! What'd you make?!?!

Chicken tarragon. Usually it comes out well, but this time...I dunno. Just not digging it. Might be more of a Fickle Tummy thing than anything wrong with the dish. Maybe there's something I got subtly wrong with the seasoning.

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General Discussion / Re: The $%*! frustration thread

« on: May 28, 2018, 04:45:16 am »

When I cook the most elaborate dish I've made in weeks, and from the very first taste I can tell it doesn't agree with me, and now I've got like 90 pounds of leftovers that I have almost no desire to eat.

#WhyMe

43

Chrono / Gameplay Casual Discussion / Re: Chrono Cross

« on: May 28, 2018, 03:02:46 am »

I don't dispute the vast majority of what you just said, but DALTON'S GLORIOUS HAIR IS HIS MOST AWESOME QUALITY!!!

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Chrono / Gameplay Casual Discussion / Re: Chrono Cross

« on: May 28, 2018, 01:13:33 am »

J! Welcome back.

Thank you!

There's one question that's still on the table though - how on earth, with all its flaws, did Chrono Cross receive 10's and praise across the board[...?]

Speaking of Star Wars again, I did the same thing with Phantom Menace. I gave it an A+ when it came out. Looking back, that grade was more a reflection of my excitement for the original trilogy than it was for Phantom Menace itself. Chrono Trigger was such a great game that people couldn't wait to validate it by praising its successor, much as people sometimes validate a parent by praising their children.

I will never forget how I felt when I first played this game. It makes me glad to hear that people used to praise it, though blind praise is never good. I think the hate now is more bandwagon than the praise that used to come with it, but who knows. I'm definitely biased.

Yeah, hating on Chrono Cross, or casually dismissing it, was always the norm. The Chrono Compendium was an exception, and it's interesting to see how much of that support has since evaporated. I think the game is very decent, very playable. By no means bad. And I love how ambitious and different it was. There are many fair criticisms to make of it, but that's like America: still a pretty cool place despite all the bullshit.

Somehow, even though it's 20 years old, the fact the consensus changed makes me sad.

If there's one thing I would share with people, above all else, it's: If you like something, own that! Be proud of it. Haters may hate, but it doesn't matter. Don't let your preferences hinge on popular consensus. The world needs more differences, more individuality. Be yourself, always! (Just so long as that doesn't morph into an excuse to be a dick to others.)

Something I'd never really considered until now: Trigger was a huge team effort by multiple writers, while Cross was a one-man show (or at least it seems that way to me—Kato gets all the credit/blame and no one else is ever mentioned).

I also get the feeling that Kato didn't have to answer to anyone during development.

I don't know if this is actually the case, but if it is then it could explain a lot. Artistic visionaries aren't necessarily the strongest directors. They often benefit from the collaboration of other people in their work. Think Kurt Vonnegut: at his best when he had a strong editor who intruded on Vonnegut's native judgment.

Part of the fun of making a single set of canon, with internal consistency across time travel rules and such, was incorporating Chrono Cross and its dimensional phenomena.

An excellent point.

And, if I may, had we not defended Chrono Cross, it would have tarnished the legitimacy of our entire mission here. To the extent this website is predicated upon the excellence of the series, what would say about us if part of that series weren't so excellent?

(Answer: Diddly squat, but human emotions are fickle and insecure.)

But if you've spent time on other forums, there is a wide audience of "Cross is trash, it should have never been made". Which is fine - everyone is entitled to their opinions. But it's a bit interesting to me that people are still willing to judge a game on what is was never meant to be - a direct Trigger sequel.

I'm actually pretty happy with the consensus here so far (not that it matters, ha). People are honest about their experiences, and while mine felt a bit different, so what? I can't explain why I felt so connected with everything that went on, considering the on-paper qualities, some of which were good, some not.

It's not hard to love Chrono Cross at all! With the right mindset / personality / expectations / reference points / etc., it's a great game.

But to have the online consensus that it's a disastrous monstrosity... not sure if I'll ever be able to see where that's coming from.

Most human hatred comes from pathetic places. When you really dig down deep, the people who actively hate Chrono Cross do so for largely pathetic reasons that rarely have anything to do with the game itself.

(Dalton segments being lame, etc.)

Dalton is so lame! He could have been so much better! Queen Zeal was actually a little bit disappointing too. In the best possible timeline, these two characters would have been a lot more fleshed out and interesting.

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Chrono Trigger Modification / Re: Chrono Concepts - How Do You Picture the Next Chrono Game?

« on: May 28, 2018, 12:48:18 am »

The point of such a game is: Okay, the Entity has died, and its last thoughts were to remember all the seasons of its life, and that was the action of Chrono Trigger. Now there is a new Entity (sort of like the Deku Sprout in Ocarina of Time, and that means another grand time-traveling adventure story as it comes of age vicariously through a mostly (but not entirely) new cast of characters and a completely different story. The point would be to aspire to the action, adventure, high stakes, and epic feel of Trigger without trying to copy or one-up Trigger.

Interesting. So what's your take on the Entity? Clearly not God (unless you're going the His Dark Materials route). Is it the planet? If so, what's your take on the death and rebirth of the planet? Very interesting concept, which could delve further into fantasy/mythology that the Chrono series never got too deep into.

I think, here, "my take on the Entity" is less relevant than "my take on the Dream Team's take on the Entity." Like I said, the Chrono sequel I would do would be very different. But, to try and stay in the spirit of action and adventure, I think, since Chrono Trigger tied up the Entity plotline so nicely, the easiest way forward is generational change. If the Entity is the animate spirit of the planet (which it very likely is), there's nothing to require that the lifetime of the Entity as a spirit has to be the same as the physical lifetime of the planet. So there could always be an Entity, but not necessarily the same Entity. That's why I used the Deku Tree / Deku Sprout comparison, as it illustrates the idea nicely.

Would it be an entirely different era in the far future, to where there is no longer AD/BC but rather a new calendar hierarchy thousands of years into the future and it seems almost like any entirely new planet (but is just that far into the timeline to where the cycle of development respins)?

As far as that sort of thing goes, my main interest in any Chrono sequel is to explore the future. Near or far doesn't matter. Zeal already perfected the trope of "cool lost civilization in the past," so onto the future we look. No game in the Chrono series has truly explored the breadth of possibilities that lie ahead of us.