Feodal Japan\'s Diablo like game ?

[Draksen]

Feodal Japan's Diablo like game ?

Check this :
http://www.throneofdarkness.com

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Kazamatsuri clan
www.geocities.com/draksen

[Ii Naomasa]

Having followed this game through a good chunk of its development, I can honestly say that while I worry that it'll just be another Diablo-clone, I still have high hopes that it will be different enough to warrant a romp through it...not something spectacularly new and unique, but something playable.

A number of the developers are quite knowledgeable about Japanese history and lore (some are even Japanese-descended) and it has reflected in many of their choices (such as their 'prayer' spell system). If left solely on what they know and wanted to initially implement, there would have been quite more depth here than Diablo.

The two things that worry me the most about this game are the control over multiple characters (how it turns out remains to be seen...if the other samurai you're not currently directly controlling behave like the mercenaries you hire in Diablo II, it could get quite annoying, especially if they all have to survive) and the fact that every time I read something new about the game, it seems they have 'dumbed it down' a bit to make it appeal to a larger audience. For example, they got rid of the Japanese spoken, English subtitled version because someone (Sierra maybe?) felt it wouldn't appeal to the average American. They also removed some of the early kanji interface scheme in favor of straight English (given that the game can't be THAT complex, a small number of kanji buttons could have been learned by anyone, especially if they had they had a pop-up 'help' text tab...after all, its no different than Diablo's symbols for spells). Let's just hope they don't break down and include orcs and other Euro-centric mythological creatures or otherwise Westernize any of the actual story or gameplay elements just to appease people. That would just make it Diablo with Japanese armor and weapons.

It's pretty sad that the general consensus is that the average Western gamer needs to have things modified so it resembles something of their own culture before they can accept it.

[Draksen]

"It's pretty sad that the general consensus is that the average Western gamer needs to have things modified so it resembles something of their own culture before they can accept it. "

Right !

I have noticed the same with Shogun...
my friends play STW with english or french voices....
I play ONLY with japanese voices, ALWAYS.
It's a good training for me (lol) cause I'm learning japanese...


"Teki no daimyo no kubi wo torimashita..."
Yeah !

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Kazamatsuri clan
www.geocities.com/draksen

[solypsist]

I'm actually a pretty loyal supporter of Sierra, since so far everything I've bought from them has been pretty right on. Mostly it's just the city-building games like Pharaoh or Zeus, or TBG like Civil War Generals. We'll see how Throne of Darkness goes, but I'm really not that worried...

[Ii Naomasa]

The big difference between, say Pharaoh and Zeus and Throne of Darkness is two fold. One is the developer for the two former games is Impressions, who has always made pretty detailed games (although in my most humble opinion it was only really with the later Caesar games onward did they managed to include really fun games consistently). The other is that strategy games have always had the 'niche' option, which allows them to get away with stuff that the average gamer may not understand/appreciate. Throne of Darkness, being an action/RPG (of the Diablo/Darkstone/Nox genre) has to appeal to a wider group. I will admit, though, that Sierra is still a name I immediately am biased towards, despite all the changes its gone through the past few years (including the decision to axe the B5 game and warp, then axe the Middle Earth Online game).

I'm not really worried about the game. Either it will be done right, as the designers are capable of, or they'll be forced to give in further than they have and it'll be just a Diablo in Samurai Armor, which I'll avoid (unless I feel like my wrist is too healthy and must be stresed). As I'm not expecting much more than a potential diversion, I don't lose much either way.

I do sort of regret the dropping of the Legend of the Five Rings CRPG game Activision was going to do awhile back...some of you may snicker at its completely fabricated Japan-like world, but much of the L5R material I've seen tends to stay true to the cultural aspects, which is more than most computer games based on 'historical' Japan can claim.

[The Daimyo]

Ii Naomasa
I have a fan site almost ready to go for that game, and you sound like someone who would make a great contribution to it and the fan base for it if all goes well. My site will be opened at www.throneofdarkness.org in the next week or two.
I've been holding off on doing it for a long time because I have yet to even see a demo, or a movie of the gameplay. I've kept up on it, but as with most games nowadays the release date has been slipping back further and further. Arg!
Anyways, if you'd like to help out and be a part of it, feel free to let me know.
From what I have seen and also read, official statements and the stuff that just the fan sites have privy to, I'd say it will be more fun than Diablo 2 by a mile.




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The Daimyo
Miaowara "Kakizaki" Tomokato
@ http://www.planettotalwar.com

[Dark Phoenix]

Well it wouldnt be hard to amke it more fun than Diablo 1 or 1.5.

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DoragonPhoenix of the Clan Doragon