T2KFreeker wrote:You know, after reading that letter and the response, I have a stupid question; What would one consider "The Horde"? I know it isn't a traditional RPG and all, but it always had undertones of being one. Example, but different at the same time is that many people consider Castlevania Symphony of the Night and "Action RPG". I don't personally, but I have heard it called that. I would have considered that game a Platformer with RPG elements. If we can say that about SoTN, couldn't we call "The Horde" a distant RPG cousin as a strategy game with RPG Elements as well? I so think it's an overlooked game as it is, sadly. Excellent and well worth picking up.
GamePro called it a "Strategy / Action game". Electronic Gaming Monthly listed it as "Action / Adventure". Sega Saturn Magazine listed it as a "Strategy / Hack Fest". Here's my own opinion, from the opening of
my recent review of the Saturn version:
"The Horde is not an easy game to categorize. It's mainly built on the same principles as city-building simulations like Sim City, but it also has more than enough elements of overhead action adventure and real time strategy to be tossed into either of those categories as well."
But no, I don't consider The Horde an RPG. It doesn't even really have RPG elements; you get new equipment, but it never represents a clear-cut upgrade from your previous equipment. I think Star Control II is the one with the greatest claim to being an RPG. When I saw footage of the game online, I actually thought it
was an RPG. It wasn't until I actually played it that I realized it's basically an action adventure game with RPG elements.
T2KFreeker wrote:It really is cool that the 3DO did get the RPG's that it got, but the system could have had a much richer experience under it's belt. At least it's not in the same boat as the Jaguar though which, technically, only had ONE RPG, and that was Towers II. I wish the 3DO had had more of a traditional, hand drawn game on par with Lunar or even a shining force game. While the 3D graphics of Guardian War are neat and all and Lucienne's Quest surely has it's own style as well, I would have loved to see someone get the sprite power working on the 3DO and really show off what it could have done, especially with some nicely animated cutscenes and the like. It is a look into history too, because that was right on the cusp of when RPG's went from being nerd fodder to becoming mainstream amongst gamers.
I dunno, I've always been quite pleased with the 3DO's library of RPGs, both in terms of quantity and variety. Compared to its contemporaries, it got far more RPGs than the Jaguar, 32X, PC-FX, CD-i, LaserActive, and Amiga CD32, and as many as the N64 despite being a far more short-lived console. The Turbo CD got more RPGs, but most of them are side-scrolling Action RPGs - not nearly the same variety as the 3DO. A sprite-based 3DO RPG would have been nice, but I just don't see how it could have ever happened. The 3DO's first party developers needed to push the hardware, and third party developers working on a sprite-based RPG would have had no reason to put it on the 3DO when consoles like the Sega CD could handle it just as well.
T2KFreeker wrote:Meh, I personally miss RPG's of that era as the ones they make now are usually nowhere near as good anyway.
Indeed... the ones they make now are much better! It amazes me how far RPGs have come since the days of "Attack, Attack, Attack, Attack, Attack, Heal, repeat until enemy is dead".
By the way, why do you always spell "RPGs" with an apostrophe? Just curious.