I have more to say about Stranger in Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin (Team NINJA), soulslikes in general, and my thoughts about From games in general. We’ll see how much of that I actually get to. I’m guessing probably the first. Then me winding down several other paths before abruptly ending the post. because that’s how I roll! Here is my prior post on this subject and on my review of the game.
Part of my problem is that I keep thinking I should like Team NINJA games. It’s well-known that the Niohs are considered two of the best soulslikes–at least until Lies of P (Round8 Studio/NEOWIZ), and I have tried and tried and tried to like them. As I have mentioned, I’ve played several Team NINJA games and have not been able to finish a single one. The Niohs are too hard for me, and I just lost all interence in Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty after a particularly shitty level.
When I’m playing a From game, there are times when I’m frustrated. I have many bad moments against bosses. I curse constantly, and sometimes, I put the controller down and walk away. I’m really bad at the games and sometimes, I wish I did not like them. It’s not fun to be into games that are not into me (which is pretty much the story of my life, really), and I’m not always happy that I played Dark Souls all those many years ago.
Ian and I have argued about this back and forth for many years. He thinks From games are aimed at people like me. The mere peonz who struggle with every boss, but eventually overcome. I argue that it’s for the superfans who can parry every enemy to death without breaking a sweat.
It’s similar to the argument we have over what is Miyazaki’s aim with the games. Or rather, the argument people in community have over Miyazaki’s intent with the games (Ian and I agree on this). Some fans believe that Miyazaki loves the players and want to break them in order to make them better. Others believe that Miyazaki hates the players and just want to thoroughly crush their spirits. I don’t think either of these are right. I believe that Miyazaki does not care about the players. He’s interested in creating these horrific and heartbreaking worlds, as intricate and elaborate as possible. Whether the players fit into those worlds are not off any interest to him. We are incidental, which is an interesting feeling in these kinds of games. Usually, action adventure games are very heavy on you being the protag and eventually ruling the world/being the hero/saving the world.
In most From games, you don’t matter. Yes, you may end up as the ruler, but the cycle is still going to continue. Whether you link the fire or not, it does not matter. The cycle will continue. There’s something oddly comforting about that, but you certainly cannot believe that you, personally, are important in any meaningful way.
On the other hand, in this game, Jack is THE HERO AND THE ULTIMATE CHAMPION! Yes, in all caps because that’s how he talks. And because he’s ridiculous. I can’t help but want to chuck him under the chin and give him a pacifier. Yes, he’s a big ol’ baby, but he’s my big ol’ baby! There is no doubt that he and his friends are the heroes of this game and of utmost importance. This is not a ding because most action-adventures are set up in this way. It’s more a nod to FromSoft for doing something so fresh and different at the time.
Which brings me to why I like FromSoft games and how I might finally be able to let go of my desire to like Team NINJA games when they don’t just gel with me.
One. Exploration is key. I love wandering around FromSoft worlds and discovering little nooks and crannies I have missed. I was watching someone play an area of the Shadow of the Erdtree that I have gone through three times. They found two things I had mipssed all three times. I went in with my character who has gone through that area, and I found the two things. I have seen Rory find a few little things I’ve missed in the base game, which I’ve been through around ten times. By the way. I have noticed that I will happily zip through the first half of Elden Ring, but once I hit the Mountaintops of the Giants, I lose about 75% oy my interest. The enemies are mostly reskinned old enemies and not very interesting. The difficulty spike is too much. Plus, while I love me snow in the real world, I hate snow areas in games because one thing they (From) do is to reduce visibility. In this case, it’s almost impossible to see in certain areas.
I have yet to see a soulslike that has level design anywhere close to a From game. I will say that the level design in Dead Cells (Motion Twin) is simple, but classic. When Miyazaki designs a level, though, there is no comparison. I think Shadow of the Erdtree has several issues with it (mostly minor), but the level design is exquisite. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gasped at how one area leads to another. One time, I opened a shortcut that literally had tears welling up in my eyes in relief. I haven’t felt that way in a long time in finding a shortcut mostly because I’d become inured to it, I guess.
This is something that other developers don’t get. Or they try to copy it to no avail. I have many issues with Lies of P, and one of my biggest ones is that they truly did not understand the purpose of the shortcut. They had plenty of them, but half of them were pointless. I remember an area in which there were three within a hundred feet of each other (or so). It went from ‘yay a shortcut!’ to ‘why the hell is there a shortcut there?’ And I got so goddamn lost in that game because each hallway looked the same.
I was never into it, and it was in the…fourth chapter I want to say in which I lost all faith in it. There was an area that had a poison pit with ladders going up into rafters that had windmills and big enemmies chucking magicks at you. It’s like throwing all the worst hits of a From game in one fucking room. It really underscored that the devs did not truly grasp what made for good level design. Hint: It’s not just making things a trial to traverse for bogus reasons.
I went off the rails again. More later.