Hello! I have a question... what program do I need to use for WAV files to get them to play through V2 DOS? Sound Recorder apparently does NOT work. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Responses through email would be most appreciated, but I'll be happy just to get a response! (:

Thanks!
-Tom

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That's probably the worst help I've ever seen you give :) (and that's saying a lot). It is commonly known that windows sound recorder saves wavs in a format that verge can't use. I'm not sure what or why that is - but it does need to be 8 bit- 22,000 is a good frequency, but others are usable. I'm sure other wav recorders will work. I use Cool Edit Pro, but I'm sure you can find something cheap.
Incidentally, I bet I could record a wav in sound recorder, then resave it in Cool Edit Pro and it will work. Cool Edit has a few 'save as'wav formats - I use Windows (PCM). Sory I don't have the ideal solution (the URL to a free wav recorder/converter) but I felt I had to set you on the right track after the response you got.

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Thank you to everyone that replied -- even that first response was a good one (I had no idea ModPlug could do that!), though for totally different reasons. (:

Quick question for Devon: "Square's making money. We're making art." This implies that you've become disillusioned with Square -- have you? I admit, they haven't been making games as good as they used to, but I'd still say that FF9, for example, is art. With characters like Vivi and Eiko, they DID put a lot of thought into it, even if the game has its problems.

I would, however, have to concur with you if you were to say that FF8 isn't art. I think FF8 is a boil upon the Final Fantasy continuum that Square's never gonna live down. (: But 7 was fantastic, and 9 was pretty cool too.

Also, if anyone here can read Japanese, even slightly (and doesn't mind using a walkthrough to fill in the stuff you can't translate), I REALLY REALLY recommend the Popolocrois series. It's the way the Final Fantasy series USED to be, only BETTER. Popolocrois II is my new favorite RPG of all time. It even tops FF7, Chrono Trigger, etc. It's just THAT GOOD. Sugar & Rockets, the division of Sony that made the Popolocrois series, are friggin' geniuses!

Anyway, that'll be all. (: Thanks again, everyone!
-Tom

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Iz OK, though... we have very different views, it seems, since I HATED Suikoden (I thought it was one of the worst RPGs I've ever played, and COULDN'T finish it), and I got bored with Xenogears (I really liked it, but it just seemed to drag on sooooooooooo muuuuuuuuuch!)... but, ah well. (:

I really thought Square did a fantastic job with FF7, personally, in all respects -- the world, while unrealistically small (good point about that, it IS a major problem in the FF games), is EXTREMELY well-developed, with its own little political intricacies and such... and personally, I REALLY liked Cloud and Sephiroth (Square's best characters EVER IMHO, though I also really liked Vivi and Eiko in FF9).

'Tis all a matter of opinion, I suppose.

Still, I recommend Popolocrois II to *everyone*. Good God, that game is friggin' AWESOME. (:

-Tom

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I actually agree with you, 100%, that FF7 would've made a better anime than a game... I always wondered why Square bothered to make an anime based off of FF5, but didn't even consider making one out of FF7!

As for Popolocrois, it's a series of RPGs for the Playstation by Sugar & Rockets (a division of Sony) that never made it over to the U.S., for some reason. There are three games in the series: Popolocrois Monogatari (Popolocrois Story), Poporogue, and Popolocrois Monogatari II. I have, unfortunately, not played the first two (though I will soon -- the guy who wrote the walkthrough is going to make an exchange with me: the first two Popolocrois games for the first two Lunar games!)... but I've played Popolocrois II, and it's definitely my favorite RPG of all time at this point. (:

For one thing, the gameplay in P2 is amazing... the battles take place on the map, so there's virtually NO load-time, and they're a bit deeper than the FF battles (you can actually move around, and your spells target in different ways (in a line, in a circle around you, etc.), very similar to Chrono Trigger except that you can move around as well. And then there are the characters and story. (:

The game is fully voice-acted, which is a pleasant change from the FF games (especially in Japanese -- it's much easier to understand spoken Japanese than it is to read written Japanese with kanji!)... and the voice actors are VERY, VERY GOOD. The game is 2D, with hand-drawn sprites and tiles that look ABSOLUTELY AMAZING (we're talking the most detailed tiles I've ever seen, with the most thoroughly-thought-out sprites I've ever seen -- there's a frame for virtually every human motion, including such things as pulling the covers aside and getting into bed, tossing and turning in bed, and even clapping and such for when you go see shows).

And the characters are AWESOME. For one thing, Pietoro and Narcia (the game's two main characters) have what is probably the most realistic love I've ever seen in a game. Square has gotten better with having realistic chemistry between characters (i.e. Zidane and Garnet versus, say, Cecil and Rosa), but they have not quite gotten it down perfect yet. You can tell that someone who worked on the story for the Popolocrois series was in a really good relationship, though, 'cause Pietoro and Narcia make sense, and though they refuse to admit their feelings for each other, you KNOW they're there (and so does everyone else in the game!), and you're just waiting for them to finally admit it, throughout the whole game. (:

It also goes back to a lot of old-fashioned things that just aren't present anymore in RPGs, like dragons, forest witches, pixies, gods, kings and kingdoms, etc... and the plot of Popolocrois is VERY intriguing, and also downright hilarious in spots (the main villain of P2 is Maira, the Goddess of Beauty, who has recently gone on a quest to make herself even MORE beautiful, and in doing so, has corrupted herself and become power-hungry, as well as ugly).

Needless to say, I REALLY like this game. (: The characters are as follows:

Pietoro: the hero. He rocks. (: He's half-human and half-dragon, so he has a lot of power in him.

Narcia: a forest witch. As a forest witch, she can't ever come into contact with the sea or it would spell doom for both her AND the sea. Therefore, she was given a golden key by her sister Guilda which, when used, turns her into a human girl named Kai (who also happens to have some shapeshifting powers).

The White Knight: the only character who can pull off being called "White Knight" and not actually having any other name. (: He's the very definition of a strong, courageous warrior, and he's just plain a nice guy. And he has a thing for Leona, but he'll NEVER admit it. (:

Wizard King GamiGami: heheheheh... this guy is HILARIOUS. He's like Dr. Wily. He builds robots to populate his kingdom and worship him. He has a huge ego, is obsessed with Narcia, and has an unfortunate habit of blowing up his fortress whenever he loses a battle. (:

Leona: an archer who can speak with animals. I can't say much more without spoiling a LOT of the game, but suffice it to say, she's really cool. (:

Jilva: the princess of Romana. She's something of a spoiled brat, but really doesn't WANT to be. She wants to leave and go out on adventures, but she has a very strict mother. Of course, she leaves anyway, and develops a crush on Pietoro. (:

Gabo: a baby dragon. He can only say the word "gabo". (: And he thinks the White Knight is his mother. (:

Kimen Doji: a samurai. He's the only character I don't like. He's great in battle, but feels really tacked-on plot-wise. He's unnecessary and uninteresting. (:

And that's the main cast. There are several other characters who play important roles, but only these 8 (9 if you count Kai, Narcia's other form) are playable.

And I'll stop talking about this game now. (: Just trust me... get it. (: It's good stuff. (: Never mind that it's in Japanese. (:

-Tom

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