Game Updates and Choices

While doing a bit of research on upcoming games I discovered a couple things that required some changes to the list. These would go probably without notice, but in case someone does and wonders why, I'm pointing it out in advance.

First, the next games after Zelda II were two TurboGrafx-16 games, but I discovered the TG-16 wasn't released until August. So, I've pushed these two back to then. This brought Ultima: Exodus closer, so I started a poll (more on that below).

Second, I've been mentioning Dragon Crystal for the Sega Master System, and have come to the conclusion that it wasn't released in the US. I can't find a single copy anywhere; and the rom appears to have a EU (U) designation, as do all SMS games since they're region-free. Luckily this doesn't exclude the game because during the same investigation, I learned it was released for the Game Gear in the US, which brings me to my last point regarding the games list.

Sega had a hand-held? (Source: Wikipedia.org)

I forgot all about the Game Gear. I'm not sure how, but I managed to completely exclude the device. Maybe I thought it too out there to have any RPGs, but whatever the reason, we now have 5 games added to the list. The only one that failed to make the RPG scale is Ax Battler, so all-in-all that's 4 more games to play.

Lastly, I've added two polls up now: emulation poll and Ultima character poll.

The first is the emulation poll. It was pointed out that maybe I've been too draconian in my rule making, and I shouldn't exclude emulation entirely. With the addition of the Game Gear, the issue of taking screen shots is brought to the forefront. Where previously I thought I could ignore the problem until we reached the DS (and hope Nintendo allowed this in some way by then), the Game Gear games are coming up much sooner (estimated in 2 years).

Even though 2 years seems quite a far way away, the matter of emulation is already at hand as I've had to skip one game so far while I try to locate a reasonably priced copy of the Sega Master System. Personally, I'd like to get the physical systems, games, and benefit the developers/publishers that made then all at the same time, but it's just not possible. Getting these used games benefits only second-hand dealers that sometimes double or triple retail prices. So, please express your thoughts; I'm leaving that poll up for a little over a month.

So this is why arcades took such a hit to sales... (Source: Flickr - Doctor Popular)

The last poll is a question of character. I'm really divided between having a Lark and a Thief in my beginning party for Ultima: Exodus. If I get the Thief, I want to supplement his magical inability with the Ranger, who can cast both types of spells. Having the Lark would mean I'd like more healing magic, so the Paladin is an obvious pick. In case anyone cares, the Wizard will be a Fuzzy, the Cleric a Bobbit, the Paladin a Dwarf, the Lark or Thief an Elf, and the Ranger a Human.

What does everyone think about having polls up for character choices? I think I'll try posting more without being overwhelming. I mean with 5 races and 11 professions across 4 characters, we'd have a list of choices as long as this blog posting. So, I'll try to keep it simple while keeping everyone involved.

I figure I'll need to get a final tally to Ultima by next Saturday, so that's when the poll ends. Tonight's session is going to start late, but I'll play later as well. I'd really like to finish up Phantasy Star soon, so if tonight fails to accomplish that, then I'll play tomorrow as well.