Not really, but it is a cause for celebration for some people. This sound is from Dragon Warrior and this is the sound that they use when someone levels up. That is to me the most beautiful sound. Leveling up to me is like an art. Many people approach leveling up in different ways. Some just skim through levels and beat the boss on sheer luck, others level up normally and adequately to have a fair chance with the boss, and some level their characters to the max. There is no right and wrong in leveling up, but how we level up defines our RPG experience.

            Not all games have the same pattern of leveling up. Some level up very often, some require many battles and others don’t even have levels. Some games that level up very often include Xenogears, Final Fantasy series, and Chrono Trigger. They don’t really require many battles to be equal with the boss but it is recommended that you fight sometimes.  Games that require a lot of battles to level up might include notoriously the Dragon Warrior Series, Final Fantasy Tactics (explain later about the system), and Hoshigami. Some games don’t even have levels such as Chrono Cross, Illusion of Gaia, and Quest 64. These games include an alternative to leveling up such raising stats after a battle or maybe they will increase depending on the usage of an item.  These different styles affect the difficulty of the game as games that level up easily tend to be easy and games that are hard to level up might be hard. Games that don't level up are a coin flip. They can be easy like Chrono Cross or maybe hard like Quest 64.

            Different style of leveling up in games allows different methods to prepare a person for a fight. Some people like to finish the game as fast as possible: therefore would maybe favor the Final Fantasy Series. Others like a challenge and is hardcore might favor Dragon Warrior. As my topic says, it is an art. It can be beautiful or ugly. Finishing the game with level 99 character is beautiful to watch when he or she slays the final boss in one attack. However, watching a level 40 character struggle with a boss is not a pleasant sight. Technically, you should never struggle during a game. If you do, that means you are not leveled up enough.

As I said that there are different methods. Final Fantasy Tactics and Tactical RPG in general might be the hardest games to level up considering that you don’t really have the flexibility to battle when you please. Luckily there are some random battles in Final Fantasy Tactics and that allows them to what we call “Spar”. Sparring is the act of attacking a team in order to raise a person’s level. That is great because it is really hard to balance a group with the same level if that person dies often. So they distribute the levels according to the one that needs it and get ahead of the enemy at the same time. So that is one of the ways.

Some games make it harder to level up and maybe encourage solo play by splitting up the experience points. So you think you are powerful with seven people in your party, but how high is your levels? I am not in favor of splitting because it really encourages people to reap the spoils themselves rather than share or do it together with teamwork.

            Levels are a part of the different styles that are in games. Some like leveling up fast, some like leveling up the hard way. Some will just steer clear of the whole dang thing and just stick to no leveling up. The key is how patient is the player is. Levels may not be an important element in considering a game but whet ever if you are likely to finish a game can depend on how fast you progress, therefore how fast you level up. If you really struggle to level up and pause quite often in the storylines that can cause you to be frustrated and not continue to play games. Leveling up is not the most thing you would consider when you buy a game, but it will certainly wager in your enjoyment factor when you grade a game!

Hobbes Lionheart

Grab Bag
 

Hate Mail on the agenda during this time as we take a look into the emails we have received.