/vr/ - Retro Games

[Anonymous No.4596948]

I-it's been a while now. Where is she now?

[Anonymous No.4596953]

hopefully dead
stupid waifu-ass character

[babbage's gramps !RATGzMALLY No.4596967]

Still right there in your save game

[babbage's gramps !RATGzMALLY No.4596969]

It's kind of like having a girlfriend who's in jail. I know from experience

[Anonymous No.4597332]

Illusion of Time was better.

[Anonymous No.4597368]

>>4596948
She's dead, just like everyone in Crysta. Since Dark Ark fused himself with Light Ark, he's able to reincarnate and come back to Lightside Elle as a stork or something, it's vague on purpose. But Darkside Elle is dead for good.

>>4597332
Illusion of Gaia was more aesthetically polished, but Terranigma had more passion poured into it and was more ambitious. I prefer Terranigma, even though the level balancing is ridiculously broken.

[Anonymous No.4597374]

>>4596948
>stutter posting
I thought this meme was dead

[Anonymous No.4597976]

>>4597368
>But Darkside Elle is dead for good.
You did not understand this game at all.

[Anonymous No.4597982]

>>4597976
Epic
You sure showed him with that deep and informative post of yours.

[Anonymous No.4597986]

>>4597982
I suppose you would just write two solid paragraphs without ever knowing whether the other person would read them, clicking refresh over and over into the deep of the night, just because you have that much to prove, right?

[Anonymous No.4598138]

>>4596948
died from breast cancer

[Anonymous No.4598139]

>>4597368
>Illusion of Gaia
>polished in any way

Does. Not. Compute.

[Anonymous No.4598428]

>>4597976
Darkside innhabitants are copies created by Dark Gaia out of crystal blue. They do not have real souls, their "souls" are crystal copies of their lightside counterparts. The devil cannot create, just copy fake things. That's what the game conveys and what I understood.

[Anonymous No.4598432]

>>4597368
Ark unfuses at the end and dies for good too is what I thought

[Anonymous No.4599125]

[Anonymous No.4599143]

>>4598428
There is no Devil you idiot, the "Devil" is half of God's identity and exists inseparably from him/her, just as Dark Ark and Light Ark aren't really separate people.

The actual antagonist in the game is -science-, Dark Ark and Dark Elle are not "copies", but "reflections" or more appropriately "memories". The world is destroyed but it still remembers itself, and it is resurrected through it's memories. Dark Elle and Dark Ark aren't dead, they exist where they're supposed to, in the subconscious mind and dreams of their counterparts.

[Anonymous No.4599185]

>>4599143
How can one person be this wrong? Everything you said is wrong. Everything in Crystalholm is made out of thin air (crystal blue) and is gone at the end. Scarequotes and insults don't make you more right. Reread >>4597368

[Anonymous No.4599196]

>>4599185
If he's the devil why did he create you and save the world huh?

[Anonymous No.4599216]

>>4599185
If Dark Ark is made of "thin-air" how come he's able to do all that shit and eat real food and be a completely regular person in the Light world long before he ever fuses with Light Ark like, way at the end of the game.

Because he exists. Gaia made him exist. He exists exactly as much as Gaia exists, because both Gaia and Dark Gaia exist in the hearts and minds of living creatures, just like God in real life exists as a thinking conglomerate of all physical matter. Light Ark and Dark Ark are not separate beings, just like Gaia and Dark Gaia are not separate beings.

[Anonymous No.4599432]

>>4599143
The Devil is Dark Gaia. Dark Yomi, who is an agent of Dark Gaia, says

>By the hand of the Elder, nay Dark Gaia, the earth will be reborn.
>Ark: Dark Gaia?
>Yomi: That's right. Humans call him the Devil, I believe.

Dark Gaia exists. You see it under the guise of Elder during most of the game, and you battle and defeat it in the end. Light Gaia also exists. It isn't seen on-screen, but it does talk to you:
>I am Light Gaia, the soul of the surface world.

They are inseparable because the underworld and the surface world are both parts of Earth, so in that sense they're halves of one another. But Dark Gaia itself outright says that
>Earth has cycled through growth and decline to two opposing wills...

So at the very least they're opposing halves. I think they're also ment to have separate minds since Dark Gaia is able to plot a bunch of stuff without Light Gaia finding out.

Dark Ark and Light Ark are very much separate people, just like underworld and surface Elle are very different. Dark Ark has to undergo a ritual to fuse with Light Ark, and that's why they become one, but they very clearly didn't start out being the same. Everyone's dark/light existence is linked, but they have very different wills.

>Dark Ark and Dark Elle are not "copies",
The Elder says:
>Ark. Look at the sky. The flowing crystal blue it's beautiful, no? Your body, no all humans here are replicas made of the same material. When used up, the replicas regain their form and float like so.

They do have the memories of what they're reflecting/copying, that's why the mill guy remembers doing his work, the weaver girls remember weaving in the surface world, etc. But they're copies and the entity who makes the copies outright states that.

On a more meta level, this whole plot element is a very clear reference to intertestamental Jewish folklore, where the devil is said to be unable to create anything of his own, and therefore all that exists in his realm is a replica of the real world.

[Anonymous No.4599458]

>>4599196
>If he's the devil why did he create you and save the world huh?

The only reason the Devil created Ark and "saved" the world (that it itself destroyed) is to manipulate him into resurrecting Beruga so that the world does not experience rebirths anymore, allowing Dark Gaia to rule over it forever instead of having to share cycles with Light Gaia.

>Yomi: You still don't understand do you? You were just used Ark. You were just a piece in a game [...] I was ordered by the Elder of Crysta. When Ark has resurrected Beruga, kill him. [...] When I kill you now, nothing can stop us. By the hand of the Elder, nay Dark Gaia, the earth will be reborn.

>>4599216
>If Dark Ark is made of "thin-air" how come he's able to do all that shit
He's made out of crystal blue, just like Dark Gaia, and even though he's a copy he's able to become his own person. The game rips on how the Crysta folks are mere peasants dulled by peace and merely follow the Elder's command. Both Dark Yomi and Dark Elle talk about how his word is absolute when trying to kill you, and in the very same scene as OP's pic, Elle says:
>I tried to kill you as a baby in Storkolm. In Crysta, the Elder's word was absolute... But seeing you grown up, I understand now. We are all individuals...

Dark Ark sees the world and follows his own will instead of his maker's. Eventually, he outright opposes and destroys his maker, even though this means that he and his home are destroyed too. The game is. among other things, about choosing individuality over following blind orders.

>He exists exactly as much as Gaia exists,
True.

>Light Ark and Dark Ark are not separate beings, just like Gaia and Dark Gaia are not separate beings.
This again. See >>4599432

If Dark Ark is able to return as a stork or Light Ark is because they became one at the hero's grave. But this was clearly not their default state.

If you wish to present your viewpoints as facts, please present them with in-game context rather than your own's.

[Anonymous No.4599510]

The ending is left vague on purpose, so there isn't a "true" version. I read in an old interview that the first-draft ending was more conclusive, but they decided to leave it open so people could make their own interpretation, according to what they felt was more fitting.
The way I see it, one of the core messages of Terranigma is that all living things, no matter how small or strange, have meaning and dignity. Ark and Elle were created as tools to fulfill Dark Gaia's plans, but they both grew beyond that (Ark when he awoke his lightside counterpart, Elle when she refused to kill Ark) and became their own entities. So it makes sense they would join the cycle of reincarnation as their own selves.

[Anonymous No.4599662]

Cool, a Terranigma thread
>muh story
Oh

[Anonymous No.4599894]

>>4599662
I mean, it's Terranigma, what else is there to talk about? Gameplay certainly isn't its forte.

[Anonymous No.4599997]

>>4599458
Your problem is that you're viewing the force of destruction as something negative, it's a cycle that exists in a balance which is disrupted by the acts of man. If Dark Gaia wanted the world to end forever all it had to do was never introduce any force that could oppose man's science run amok, this is not what it does. It instead recreates the dead hero out of memories, and sets him to work reviving the world in much the same way.

The reason you destroy Dark Gaia in the end is because that's Dark Gaia's intention, it wants you to destroy it. Life and Entropy are opposing forces, and the Darkness is a necessary existence that must wax and wane in a cycle. The reason that the world of light can be born again from the state of barren destruction and emptiness is because that's how it was created in the first place.

Rather than the darkness being something like the absence of light or the destruction of life, it is instead the neutral state of the universe before creation happened, the light was born from the darkness. The idea is the source of the reality, not the other way around.

[Anonymous No.4600003]

>>4599510
It's mostly shoddy translation combined with typical nip "philosophy" that throws people off.

[Anonymous No.4600321]

>>4599997
Besides destruction being necessary and not inherently negative, there's nothing in your post that's stated by the game in anyway unless you really analyze it. Dark Gaia wants you to destroy it? It's like you're willingly ignoring every single thing Dark Gaia itself says while you're trying to kill it.

[Anonymous No.4600481]

>>4600321
>It's like you're willingly ignoring every single thing Dark Gaia itself says while you're trying to kill it.
It obviously needs you to believe that it's evil or you wouldn't have the heart to kill your dad

[Anonymous No.4600587]

>>4599432
>Using the english translation from an SNES era game to make your arguments and theories.

I'm not the same guy, but this is bullshit.
Retro games are notorious for fucking with translations, and they didn't even need to be heavy on text for that to happen.

It's just like Mega Man 7 "I am more than a robot!! Die Wily!" or the majority of Symphony of the Night, you can't trust them.

[Anonymous No.4600613]

>>4600587
I've played Tenchi Souzou and the English Terranigma translation is literal to a fault. There's no censorship there, and the few changes that exist are minor (prime blue to magirock, big deal).

[Anonymous No.4600781]

>>4599458
>>4599432
There are no devils in japanese buddhism, the concept only exist in christianism. Buddhism is all about birth, death and rebirth, it's all a cycle until the soul becomes perfect.

>On a more meta level, this whole plot element is a very clear reference to intertestamental Jewish folklore, where the devil is said to be unable to create anything of his own, and therefore all that exists in his realm is a replica of the real world.
Given that the translators probably didn't know jack shit about religion in Japan, for the most important parts they will employ terms we are more used here in the west. I would give up trying to find a meaning until you learn japanese and buddhism. The creator of Terranigma knew as much as abrahamic religions as we know about buddhism, and there are concepts that we might think are the same but fundamentaly different. Think for example of how much headache had the first christians when discussing whether soul and body were created at the same time or not. Such a little details prefigure the way we think now.

[Anonymous No.4600784]

>>4600587
As bad as most translations are, the original moon dialogue is rarely much better.

[Anonymous No.4600803]

>>4600781
#1) Japanese are pretty familiar with christianity at a superficial level thanks to its prevalence in the media
#2) trying to universally define buddhism is retarded - buddhist beliefs in different nations, towns, even temples can radically differ from each other because when it was expanding across asia the locals would incorporate it with their existing belief systems

[Anonymous No.4600876]

>>4597332
It's the worst of the trilogy though.

[Anonymous No.4600880]

>>4596948
Within the melody of this song
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acDgcJv7b4Q

[Anonymous No.4601406]

>>4600781
This is such a pseudointellectual post it feels like bait. It also manages to be extremely condescending towards the Japanese. But I'm bored, so I'll bite. I played the game in Japanese, and I also played it in English, and you're full of bullshit.

1. >>4600803 is right, there are so many schools of Buddhism that universally defining it is stupid. Many of these contradict one another fundamentally. And certainly a lot of these schools aren't about "perfecting souls". Shakyamuni even warns against the concept of souls. A basic google search would have told you this.
2. There are devils in buddhism. There's a whole plane of existence dedicated to devils. The Buddha was attacked by devils. Devils are a fundamental part of most buddhist cosmologies. A basic google search would have told you this.
3. Christianity has existed in Japan since the 16th century. Granted, religiously it is a minority, but key elements of its culture are known by pretty much everyone. Basic common sense would have told you this.
4. All previous games written by the "creator of Terranigma" (I'm assuming you mean Tomoyoshi Miyazaki) since he started Quintet heavily involve abrahamic religions. ActRaiser had you play as God (神) and his angels to defeat Satan (サタン). ActRaiser 2 pitted you against the seven deadly sins to defeat Satan for good while he is frozen from the waist down in Judecca.
5. The title of the game is "天地創造" which means "Creation", and is mostly used in reference to the biblical creation narrative (yes, this may shock you, but the Bible exists in Japan, too). Three seconds in Google would have told you this.

[Anonymous No.4601408]

>>4601406
6. It would have taken you about thirty seconds to read the following text in the Japanese version: "人類はその二つの意志をそれぞれ「神」と「悪魔」という名で呼んだ・・・" The most basic of google searches would have shown you that "神" is the word for god, lowercase, and God, uppercase, just like in English. "悪魔" is the word for devil, and Devil, uppercase, just like in English.
7. The implication that Miyazaki can't open a book and read about Christianity or any other religion is hilariously condescending. Miyazaki clearly referenced the Divine Comedy and was familiar with more in depth elements of Catholicism in ActRaiser 2, and he clearly references the Christian Bible/Jewish Torah in Terranigma right from the fucking title of the game.
8. To think you can be a translator without knowing anything about the culture of the language you're translating from is asinine. Even then, the English translation was done by two Americans and one Japanese guy. To think none of them knew "jack shit" about religion in Japan is stupid. Again, a basic google search would have told you this.
9. Sidenote, but relevant, >>4600784 is right. The English translation is full of grammar mistakes, but the original moon dialogue, besides having better grammar, is mostly the same in content. The translation is very literal.

TL;DR you don't know what you're talking about, at all.

[Anonymous No.4601437]

>>4601406
>pseudointellectual post
>storyfag thread
Color me surprised

[Anonymous No.4601450]

Love this game, was the first RPG I played in my language (Spanish). I might buy a repro version soon.

[Anonymous No.4601458]

>>4601450
The Spanish translation is fucking awful.
They translated stuff like Blue Crystal to "Blue Air"
Spanish translations back then were just awful, like for that shitty game, FFVII

[Anonymous No.4601469]

>>4601458
>like for that shitty game, FFVII
I'm sorry but did a hundred years of being raped by muslims give you shit taste on top of shit skin?

[Anonymous No.4601482]

>>4601469
>shit taste
So not liking baby-tier games is bad taste now? I think you may be list >>>/v/
Most Spaniards suck FFVII's dick btw

[Anonymous No.4601484]

>>4601482
lost*

[Anonymous No.4601510]

>>4601458
>They translated stuff like Blue Crystal to "Blue Air"
Wtf are you talking about? Crystal Blue is translated as "azul cristal" o "azul cristalino" in Spanish. Terranigma's Spanish translation isn't that bad beyond changing names just because ("Berruga" being the worst ofender imo).

[Anonymous No.4601536]

>>4601510
Nah, mate. I just took these screen caps here:
https://imgur.com/a/hDDnc
The first one is obviously painful.
The second is just very unnatural in Spanish (we omit subjects naturally. so instead of saying stuff like "I read", we just say "Read" to mean the same, since our grammar is more complex and just with the verb you can make a phrase; to read = leer, but we wouldn't say "Yo leer", instead "Yo leo". But if anyone asks what we're doing, we can just say "leo", since that pretty much includes the "I" inside "leer".
However, shitty translations like these translate literally and badly from English to Spanish.

[Anonymous No.4601553]

>>4601536
No need to explain things, yo hablo español también.

I don't see anything wrong with the first one. Using "yo" and then "de esto" sounds a bit weird, but it's not by any means wrong. You can use pronouns whenever you want for emphasis.

Talk to someone else in the village. They all call crystal blue "azul cristal". "Cristal azul" probably sounds more natural, but "azul cristal" isn't wrong. Elle/Naomi's sentence there is off because of the "UN azul cristalino".

At any rate, nobody calls crystal blue "blue air".

[Anonymous No.4601567]

>>4601553
It's to make it understandable to other anons.
"sounds a bit weird, but it's not by any means wrong."
Yeah, but literal English to Spanish stuff like that plagues the entire game, I just picked a single example.
You're right, that first mention of "blue air" seems to be an exception. But the game has plenty of typos like that. And yeah, it's (crystal) blue air.

[Anonymous No.4601585]

>>4601458
I don't really remember if it was good or bad, most probably was awful. I only wish I could play it on its original language but...

[Anonymous No.4601631]

>>4601585
>I don't really remember if it was good or bad
Check this out https://imgur.com/a/hDDnc

[Anonymous No.4601687]

Even if its "4chan tier discussion" the amount of tought this game generate is proof of its greatness.
It has my favorite video game narrative, along with Twinsens Oddisey and Metroid Prime

[Anonymous No.4601709]

>>4597368
>even though the level balancing is ridiculously broken.

*attacks Bloody Mary*
*1 damage*

Uh oh.

[Anonymous No.4601721]

>>4601709
Sure, the game oscillates between "dealing 1 damage to enemies so everything is tedious" and "killing everything in one hit so the game becomes too easy". The level ups are too extreme, it fucks up the balance the game could have had if it didn't have levels. It's hard to stay in a sweetspot.

[Anonymous No.4601729]

>>4601458
Back then, it was common to hand translators an excel or text file with the entire goddamn game dumped into it, no visual cues or directions whatsoever, with shit like the inventory and dialogue all mixed together. The only SNES game with a good Spanish translation I can think of is Secret of Evermore, and that one had the advantage of being originally written in English.
As bad as the translation was, I'm glad I got to play it in a language I could understand back in the 90s. Playing Terranigma as a kid was a fucking blast.

[Anonymous No.4601742]

>>4601721
The level balancing is definitely an issue, but I never found it as game-breaking as most people do. For most of the game, just killing all the enemies you run into as you explore the dungeons is enough to keep you at an appropriate level. Unless you get lost in zombieville for weeks, or get trolled by the stupid Ice Spear (never noticed the enemies in Sylvain suddenly get a lot tougher about halfway through the castle?), you'll be fine.

[Anonymous No.4601746]

>>4601729
Yup, one of the translators had this to say about Terranigma:

>I'm going to blame the hideous lack of text space (meaning I had to write to fit, never mind how awkward and basic it got), and the awful way in which text files were arranged. Rather than doing the logical thing of providing lines in scenes, the text files were by character, so I often had no idea of who was interacting with whom, or what exactly was going on.
>Worse, my NOA handlers took all the translation credit.
>I didn't even get my comp copy (still don't have a copy, either).

If you're really intersted, you can see how the dumped English text looks like here: http://fogu.com/terra/bonus/dais/dais_terranigma_script.txt

For what it's worth, they managed to convey the content extremely well and clearly had fun with it at times ("When it comes to Ark, nothing is scary. A ghost, a toast, a roast, bring'em on!"). It's riddled with grammar mistakes but it's nothing major. It's no Breath of Fire II, that's for sure.

Same with the Spanish translation, it's not terrible by any means, but it's not polished either.

[Anonymous No.4601750]

>>4601742
The big problem is that Bloody Mary is too much above the enemies in Sylvain. You need to either grind the shit out of the huge knights or you need to stock up Elec Rings in advance.

[Anonymous No.4601753]

>>4601729
Damn... I'm using up all of my data over here now.

[Anonymous No.4601757]

>>4601750
Actually it's not her level but rather the properties of the equipment you're likely to have at that exact boss fight.

[Anonymous No.4601758]

>>4601757
Changing back to the Light Rod isn't going to help you do more than a few points of damage at a time unless you're really over-leveled.

[Anonymous No.4601762]

>>4601729
Nah, I'm not glad. Having to know English to enjoy games back then motivated me to learn the language, and now I'm even able to teach English for some cash now (knowing English is also a very useful general skill as you surely know; I can also enjoy being in better communities of old games: I'd die of cringe if I had to deal with most Spanitards in a board similar to /vr/)
Younger people don't even try to play games not in Spanish due to laziness.
>>4601746
This doesn't excuse shit like not omitting subjects, they clearly weren't very good at translating English to Spanish. It's like the one translating wasn't a native Spanish speaker.

[Anonymous No.4601763]

>>4601758
5-10 damage is plenty, if you haven't figured out how to chain invincibility frames and attack at the same time by that point you're bad at videogames

[Anonymous No.4601797]

>>4601758
The main problem is the Ice Spear you find in the castle. Most people automatically switch to it once they find it, but everyone in Sylvain is inmune to it. Just sticking to the Silver/Bronze spear you were using up to that point is a much better option. Or scorch her with magic, there is no shame in it.

[Anonymous No.4601826]

>>4601758
>>4601763
>>4601797
this as well, I'm pretty sure the silver spear is light element or is equally effective against undead making it a better choice than the light rod

[Anonymous No.4603286]

>>4600876
It's the only one that has consistently polished graphics, great game balance, and an amazing soundtrack to boot. Its only fault is being too linear.

[Anonymous No.4603561]

I finally got around to play Terranigma, had a good time with it and just finished it today. I have a few questions through:

I missed the optional island(s?) to resurrect at the very beginning of the game. What did I miss?

I just noticed I didn't use a single magirock during the entire game. Is using magic in this game worth it, useful or a viable strategy against bosses? Did I do things the hard way or the easy way?

The town that basically is Portugal (was is called Litz or something like that?) didn't change it's appearance even if the guy evaluating towns says it's development is complete. Is this a bug or does this town simply not have an upgraded version of it?

As far as story is concerned did we ever get any information on Royd's or light Ark's backstories?

[Anonymous No.4603571]

>>4603561
>I missed the optional island(s?) to resurrect at the very beginning of the game. What did I miss?

Not much. Mu is a little jungle island that contains one of the four special weapons. Polynese is a place to sleep for free, at the cost of a sunburn.

>I just noticed I didn't use a single magirock during the entire game. Is using magic in this game worth it, useful or a viable strategy against bosses? Did I do things the hard way or the easy way?

You can't use magic against most bosses. Elec Rings are excellent against Bloody Mary, also the Wind Pin is good at sparing you a trip out of Norfest after you reawaken there. Otherwise I don't bother with magic.


>The town that basically is Portugal (was is called Litz or something like that?) didn't change it's appearance even if the guy evaluating towns says it's development is complete. Is this a bug or does this town simply not have an upgraded version of it?

It's supposed to change to a 2nd stage. Sounds like a bug.

>As far as story is concerned did we ever get any information on Royd's or light Ark's backstories?

Nope.

[Anonymous No.4603953]

>>4603561
>I just noticed I didn't use a single magirock during the entire game. Is using magic in this game worth it, useful or a viable strategy against bosses? Did I do things the hard way or the easy way?
The offensive magic rings aren't really worth it, they are only useful against the giant scorpion and the queen. The amulets on the other hand are quite convenient, the Grass Pin replenishes all your health, and the Wind pin cures all status ailments, I pretty much save bulbs and antidotes for the few boss fights that disable your magic.
>The town that basically is Portugal (was is called Litz or something like that?) didn't change it's appearance even if the guy evaluating towns says it's development is complete. Is this a bug or does this town simply not have an upgraded version of it?
Litz only develops once and into a slightly bigger town, it doesn't become a modern city like Loire or Nirlake. Try talking to the NPCs (specially sardine guy and the one that makes the stained glass), maybe you are missing a trigger.
>As far as story is concerned did we ever get any information on Royd's or light Ark's backstories?
You mean, other than what's in the game? I don't think so. There are a couple of novels, but they seem to be just retellings of the game.

[Anonymous No.4603994]

>>4596948
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33eO3Gz6ozk

[Anonymous No.4605472]

>>4603953
>Try talking to the NPCs (specially sardine guy and the one that makes the stained glass), maybe you are missing a trigger.
This is probably what's going on, you have to talk to the guy who you gave the metal sheet to. He'll say something about business doing well, and then Litz will develop.

[Anonymous No.4605895]

>>4603953
>>4605472
Talking to the sardine guy one more time was the trigger to get Litz finally develop. Weird, I was convinced that he didn't have anything new to say. Maybe you simply had to leave and re-enter the town to get the last piece of dialogue?

Anyway I'll probably play through this game one more time sometime soon. Are there any other things one can miss than resurrecting Mu and Polynese?

[Anonymous No.4605908]

>>4605895
>Are there any other things one can miss than resurrecting Mu and Polynese?

Magirocks.

The talking pumpkins in Crysta.

Quintet HQ, but you probably found that.

That poor salaryman who came to expanded Freedom and survived when his family got wiped out in NeoTokio. Sob!

[Anonymous No.4606097]

>>4603561
>the guy evaluating towns
Be more respectful, he's one of the most important economists of the XX century.

[Anonymous No.4606105]

Whenever I replay the games now I actually don't bother with the maxed out economies, or rather, I don't even see it as the best outcome or anything. There's a point with several of them where things don't actually improve in any meaningful way and it might actually be better if say, you don't invent mcdonalds or you just kind of never give them a chance to make a zoo.

To automatically assume that technology and development will improve our standard of living rather than cultural reform and conscientious progress is naive and fails to take account of our history. It's a childish ambition to want to grow simply for the sake of it, without balance and planning and morality.

[Anonymous No.4606202]

>>4606105
>To automatically assume that technology and development will improve our standard of living rather than cultural reform and conscientious progress is naive and fails to take account of our history. It's a childish ambition to want to grow simply for the sake of it, without balance and planning and morality.
That's the point the game tries to make, isn't it? Technology and progress are not inherently bad (most of the geniuses Ark meets don't want to grow "for the sake of it", they have clear goals and motivations, most of them pretty selfless), but they become a problem if they hurt nature or other humans. Ark's mission was never to make a perfect world where nobody suffers, but to guide the world's growth until humans become mature and independent. At the end, it feels like he is forced to leave a bit too early, but Yomi reassures him that things will be fine. Thematically, it feels more fitting to develop all the cities, with the good and bad it brings, and have faith that humans will learn from their mistakes.
That said, I never bother developing Suncoast, fuck that shitty zoo. I also feel bad maxing out Loire, because I know Matis will get depressed and he was really nice to Ark, but I really like buying that apartment.

[Anonymous No.4606203]

>>4606202
>That's the point the game tries to make, isn't it?
A point that's completely lost on most of the people who played it and most of the people in this thread.

[Anonymous No.4607081]

>>4606202
>>4606203
So a videogame that exists because of technological progress and the capitalistic nature of most economies (in this case Japan's) and was made for the sole purpose to keep people busy with it has the message to counter any reason it was made for in the first place? Sounds contradictive to me.

Don't get me wrong, I also enjoyed Terranigma but I think you and most guys in this thread are looking a little too much into the story and characters.

[Anonymous No.4607102]

>>4607081
>So a videogame that exists because of technological progress and the capitalistic nature of most economies (in this case Japan's) and was made for the sole purpose to keep people busy with it has the message to counter any reason it was made for in the first place? Sounds contradictive to me.
The fact that you think this is a problem really shows that you didn't really grasp what was being said in the first place.

Pointing out a contradiction in a person's beliefs is not an argument, every person has contradictory beliefs and actions and ideals. It is the very essence of free will to have opposing forces existing in the heart and mind which one must guide towards a certain path. In fact, the entire subtext of both this game and the conversation in this thread is that opposing forces are necessitated both within our culture and when you consider the existential philosophy of the state of our universe. You can't be stupid enough to say that nature without sentience is inherently infallible or innocent or ideal, and you can't be naive enough to think that science can solve every problem without creating any new ones. You have to make a decision while weathering a state of cognitive dissonance and commit to an imperfect reality that happens to be the best one you can envision. Rather than pissing around like a bitch baby whining about how there are no easy answers and everyone is a hypocrite who says one thing and does another, you need to pull your fucking pants up and make questionable decisions as best you're capable of because the problems aren't gonna stop coming and the world needs a man and not a little baby who doesn't know to keep his mouth shut when adults are talking.

[Anonymous No.4607103]

>>4607102
Greetings, a fedora wearing teenager who thinks he's an intellectual.
Thanks for confirming that you're looking too much into a videogame.

[Anonymous No.4607110]

>>4607103
dude you're not even looking

you're not even thinking

you're worse than stupid, you're cowed

[Anonymous No.4607726]

[Anonymous No.4607742]

>>4607110
That's right, the only person in the whole board using their brain is you, we're all mindless sheep, etc.

[Anonymous No.4608289]

>>4607742
everything you just said is imitated.