Episode #50 - RF Generation Playcast (Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure)

[singlebanana]

COMING 6/19/18

[Disposed Hero]

Congratulations guys!  Good job keeping the show going after all this time.  While I wasn't here for the very beginning of the playthroughs themselves, I was here for the beginning of the podcast, and it's been great not only listening to you guys all these years, but being a part of it myself for a little while.  In hindsight, it's hard to believe that I was co-hosting the show with you guys for 1.5 years, a time I look back on fondly, but even harder to believe that it's been two years now since I stepped down.  However, listening to the shows since then, you guys have really developed a great chemistry together that I think would be hindered by a third host now.  Congratulations on the awesome milestone, and here's to 50 more episodes!

Spoiler (hover to show)

[img width=700 height=332]https://media.giphy.com/media/Xl6MM0lOHGkSY/giphy.gif[/img]

Coincidentally, I actually just finished Rhapsody last night, so I'll post some final thoughts on the game here after I listen to the discussion.

[Pam]

Congrats on episode 50, guys! I have enjoyed the show over the last few years, and appreciate being asked on as a guest from time to time. I really appreciate the games you choose each month. I find the more offbeat, imperfect, less well known games are the most interesting to discuss.  I should have submitted an audio clip saying so. I am the worst.

Anyway, I enjoyed this episode. This playthrough is even going to give me my first ever JRPG video review on my channel, which will go up whenever I find a time to edit it.

I don't think my copy of Rhapsody included a soundtrack disc... I will need to check when I get home.

I also thought at least one of Marjoly's henchwomen was guy. It's very hard to tell with those anime-styled, Sephiroth-like designs. I was a bit confused by all the calling of Marjoly an old maid by all the characters in the game. She's hot and she doesn't look that old. But I guess when the protagonists in JRPGs tend to be teenagers that 30? is comparatively ancient. Looking back on the PS1 RPGs, I find it so strange that character descriptions (in the manual, of even in game in this case) would always include the characters' height, weight, age. And the women were generally 5'6 and weighed 100 lbs.

One thing I really liked about the game was that Cornet (and the other characters) were allowed to be really girly and they were allowed to be flawed. So many games with female protagonists do not present their heroines as enjoying anything stereotypically feminine.

[MetalFRO]

I'm in the same boat, Pam. I totally forgot to get an audio clip submitted, and I feel like a doofus. But congrats to the PlayCast all the same, and here's to 50 more episodes!

[Disposed Hero]

Some comments while listening:

- Interesting to hear that the DS version has a minimap.  I was thinking that the game really needed a minimap while I was exploring dungeons.

- I had no idea how Cornet's special attacks worked and that you needed to use the horn to activate them.  I used a couple of special attacks during a more difficult battle and wasn't able to use the attacks for the rest of the game.  At the time I was thinking they were expendable items...

- Despite feeling like I was very thorough with exploring, I feel like I didn't find very many puppets throughout the game.  I didn't have very many monsters ask to join me either.  I used Sharte and L-kun for the entire game, and went from Kid to Terra and finally settled on Flare for that last spot.

- I used magic a ton in the game.  For the early parts, Sharte would usually start the battles, and I would just use her AOE attack to usually clear the field in one turn.  L-kun became my starter later on in the game.  All three of my puppets had AOE spells so I could usually end the battles in one or two turns.

- While the dungeons were definitely repetitive, I didn't use a walkthrough and didn't have much trouble making it through them.  Most of the dungeons were on the shorter side, and I felt like I could keep them sorted out without too much trouble.  Other times I just found my way through sheer blind luck.

- I also felt the difficulty spike near the end with the Marjoly fight.  I think that was my first and only game over for the entire game.  I went back and level-grinded a little bit and then came back and beat it without much trouble.  You can also heal between the Marjoly and Ancient Weapon fights by checking the statue of the Prince.

Overall, I really enjoyed the game.  I think my thoughts are the same as when I posted previously.  Loved the humor and the charm of the game, but wish the mechanics were a bit more fleshed out.  I do think the game has a bit of a rushed and/or low-budget feel to it, especially since I felt like I was flying through many of the later areas and story segments with very little exposition.  I don't really mind that sort of thing though and actually prefer it over something that is overly bogged down with exposition.

Great pick guys!  Glad to finally get around to this game.

[singlebanana]

Thanks for the love you all!  You guys and your great comments about these games are what keep us going. Hope that we can keep this thing going for at least 50 more.

[Duke.Togo]

I really had never heard of this game before, so it was interesting to hear you guys talk about it. It seems like a lot of unique RPGs got a chance to show up on the PS1 and PS2, which I suppose shouldn't be surprising due to the size of the library.

Great job on hitting #50, and here's to many more.

[singlebanana]

Thanks for all of the support and advice over the years Duke!

[Crabmaster2000]

Great episode guys. That Cartridge Club roast was unreal. I was laughing my ass off.

The "Man" song you guys were trying to place (you guessed maybe South Park or Team America) I'm pretty sure was from Orgazmo. Haven't seen it in forever so I could be wrong though.

I played Rhapsody (the DS version) a few months ago and it's still somewhat in my mind. It was a big miss for me in nearly every department unfortunately. Like everyone else has said I wish the combat mechanics where far more fleshed out. This game is so easy to the point that all combat just felt tedious and inconsequential, like I didn't even have to participate unless it was a boss and in those cases just using the "Pancakes" would finish those super fast. Like in any jRPG you spend a huge amount of  time in battles so that's a pretty important part of the game to make interesting and I can't think of any games in the genre off the top of my head that have done it worse. Outside of combat what's the next thing you spend the most time doing in a jRPG? Running around in dungeons! And very similarly, as nearly everyone pointed out, the dungeons in Rhapsody are super bland, occasionally just palate swaps and just uninteresting in every way.  

The art style and general vibe of the game are up my alley. I love me some cutsie quirky styles and Rhapsody did not disappoint in that department.

I don't know if it was the short length or the writing, but I didn't find myself invested with any of the characters either. No one seemed all the interesting to me and the "twist" with your mother at the end wasn't very impactful because of that. None of the comedy got me either. You guys mentioned a couple moments that you called laugh out load hilarious, but I thought they were incredibly flat.

I had some hopes coming into this game with it being an Atlus published title as well as having a focus on music I thought was intriguing. Ultimately this is by far one of my least favorite Atlus games and also way down on my RPG list. Not something I'll likely revisit.