Loaded Questions is a new weekly feature at Game Bias. If you have a question you would like to submit, please email it to pressgrove84@yahoo.com or tweet it to @jedpressfate. Questions can cover anything closely or tangentially related to video games or art, including but not limited to criticism, culture, and politics. Questions may be edited for clarity.
Ronaldo Villanueva: Do you think The Legend of Zelda is a role-playing game? The definition of RPG is not clear for many people, which is what makes Zelda’s classification unclear. I also think a problem arises given that A Link to the Past and A Link Between Worlds take a lot of their structure from Dragon Quest and other Japanese RPGs, namely using narrative as a vehicle for linear progression through a world.
Jed Pressgrove: I don’t go around thinking “Zelda is a series of RPGs,” but there is a good argument for that line of thought. Your point about narrative is a good one. Now, if someone counters and says an RPG must give you the opportunity to level up your character, we could argue Zelda II: The Adventure of Link is an RPG, as it allows you to level up your strength, health, and magic through experience points.
I was happy to read this question because a few years ago game developer and theorist Chris Bateman and I exchanged blog letters about this topic, and I mentioned The Legend of Zelda in my letter (here’s my letter, and here’s Bateman’s response). We didn’t arrive at any easy answers for this question about RPGs, but I think you’ll find the conversation interesting.
One thing’s for sure: the definition of RPG has changed a lot since Dungeons & Dragons. And at this point, tons of games use narrative to drive linear progression through a world and offer players the opportunity to level up and mold their characters. And as Bateman pointed out in his response to me, another perspective values more open progression in RPGs. So even if we’re not willing to call games like Assassin’s Creed Origins or Okami RPGs, you could make a convincing case that the RPG is currently the most influential video-game genre.
Daniel Cánovas: What are the worst penalties you’ve seen in video games? And the best? I’m playing Final Fantasy V right now, and you have to redo a lot of stuff (get experience and levels, watch cinematics, etc.) if you die in combat.
Jed Pressgrove: I know many people hate the idea of starting a game all the way over after losing a certain amount of times, but some of the greatest games ever (Galaga, Xevious, and so on) use this penalty. What I hate is being forced to watch a cutscene every time I attempt to defeat a boss, especially if that cutscene is idiotic (and pre-boss cutscenes often are). Even if the cutscene is good, who wants to watch it multiple times when your primary motivation for continuing to play is victory over a challenging foe?
As far as best penalties are concerned, it might be beyond cliched to say this now, but the penalty of losing potential experience points in Demon’s Souls/Dark Souls is brilliant in how it plays with our curiosity, greed, and pride: do you keep exploring this fascinating world, even if dying means you have one chance to survive through a series of enemies again just to regain what you once had in your possession? I also like how if you don’t wait for Shadow at the Floating Continent in Final Fantasy III (SNES), you will never see him again and thus will never be able to use his powerful techniques in battle again. Finally, if you don’t eat the egg (for health points) in Earthbound quickly enough, it hatches, and you’re left with a chick taking up a precious spot in your inventory. That’s just great.
Doggie: What are the best video game canines? And what are your favorite Mega Man bosses?
Jed Pressgrove: The best video-game canine is … not Dogmeat in the Fallout series. While I like him (especially in the first two Fallout games), he can die permanently, and he’s not that versatile. I prefer the dog in Secret of Evermore. He’s with you for most of the game (in one sequence, you get to play as him alone), he changes forms as you travel to different worlds, he’s powerful, and he locates items for you. I also like Interceptor for his random combat behavior in Final Fantasy III (SNES), and Rush in Mega Man 6 is incredible in how he fuses with Mega Man to give you a jetpack or power armor.
It’s hard for me to pick a favorite Mega Man boss from the classic series. I think the best Mega Man bosses are in some of the more modern games. Chill Penguin from Mega Man X is great. I like his little laugh and his variety of attacks. And if you count Mighty No. 9 as a Mega Man game in spirit, I have to mention Countershade, who spews anti-human and anti-government rhetoric as he snipes at you throughout his stage, and Avi, who speaks in an obnoxious news-reporter style.
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