Jade Empire
Webpages concerning "Jade Empire"
|
The contents has been generating using technology developed by scientec.
Wikipedia-Article "Jade Empire"
| Jade Empire | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Developer(s) | BioWare |
| Publisher(s) | Microsoft Game Studios |
| Designer(s) | |
| Engine | |
| Latest version | {{{version}}} |
| Release date(s) | April 12, 2005 |
| Genre | RPG |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: Mature (M) |
| Platform(s) | Xbox |
| Media | DVD |
| System requirements | |
| Input | |
Jade Empire is an epic action RPG developed by Canadian developer BioWare. It was published by Microsoft and released on April 12, 2005 in North America.
Contents |
Overview
Jade Empire is based in a mythical setting inspired by ancient China, and allows the player to progress through an adventure based on traditional martial arts. Unlike previous BioWare games, Jade Empire does not use a turn-based combat system. As the character progresses through the game they are able to discover new fighting styles (either martial arts, weapon or magic styles) and upon levelling, may enhance those styles. During combat the player can switch between styles by hitting a pre-assigned direction on the D-Pad. Instead of selecting an opponent to attack and watching the character, the player controls how the character dodges and selects attacks, either a Power Attack or a Normal Attack from whichever style they have currently selected. The traditional RPG stats are also done away with. They are replaced with just 3: Body, Mind, and Spirit. These primary stats control the secondary stats of Health, Focus, and Chi, respectively. By entering focus mode the player slows down time for everybody but their character, allowing them to attack at high speeds. Focus is used up whilst in focus mode but replenishes slowly over time. Chi is a character's spirit energy. They can use it to heal themselves, charge up a powerful chi strike that deals large damage, as well as using it as "mana" when casting spells in magic styles.
Jade Empire's dialogue and quest systems are handled in a way that is very similar to Bioware's Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic games for the Xbox and PC. Players can speak to NPC's in the game's towns (and other areas), asking questions for information to learn more about the world, the storyline, and other characters. Many of these NPC's will offer the player quests that can be completed for experience points and items. These quests often have more than one method of completion; depending on whether the player chooses to follow a "light path" or a "dark path" (referred to in the game as The Way of the Open Palm and The Way of the Closed Fist, respectively), they can choose to either respond to questions or take courses of action that are consistent with the philosophy they follow. For example, an NPC might seek the help of the player because he owes a gambling debt and fears for his safety. A player following The Way of the Open Palm would assist the NPC by giving him the money to pay off his debt, or perhaps reasoning with his assailants to get them to leave him alone. A player following The Way of the Closed Fist would simply betray this NPC by either informing his enemies of his whereabouts so they can collect from him, or even kill the NPC and take whatever money he happens to have on his person. The path that the player takes will affect certain dialogue trees, whether or not the player receives certain quests, and ultimately the overall ending to the game.
There is also a little vertical scrolling shooter included in Jade Empire as a mini-game. Once again you have your Health and Chi gauges. Chi is replenished by shooting enemies, and is used for whichever of the 3 special attacks you selected for the game. The yellow "Focus Spheres" will upgrade your primary cannon up to 3 times.
Philosophies
As mentioned previously, much of the game places a certain amount of emphasis on the two major philosophies in the world of the Jade Empire, the Way of the Open Palm and the Way of the Closed Fist. While these can easily be equated to a "Light Path" and "Dark Path", one who follows the Way of the Open Palm is not necessarily good, and one who follows the Way of the Closed Fist is not necessarily evil.
The "Way of the Open Palm" basically states that the key to maintaining the universe is by being in harmony with nature, one's surroundings, and one's station in life. As an effect of being in nature with one's surroundings, one is expected to actively assist in lessening the chaos in the area, through the assistance of lessening burdens. While this seems "Peaceful", the Way of the Open Palm is strict in another form: one should not act outside their station and purpose in life. This in turn, can lead to the dark side of the Way of the Open Palm.
Looking at the aforementioned example, a person with a gambling debt, an evil follower the Way of the Open Palm, judging that the debtor attempted to act outside of his station and thus violated the harmony of the universe, may give the debtor the money - in the form of a gamble the Open Palm follower rigged so the debtor would win. While this SEEMS to have helped out the debtor, it has in fact ENCOURAGED the debtor's gambling problem, only dooming the person to wind up in the same situation again - perhaps even worse next time (Similar to Knights of the Old Republic 2, where you can give a homeless man money, resulting in him being mugged.). The debtor is thus unable to act above his situation, whilst the short-term effects around him contribute to harmony.
On the other hand, the "Way of the Closed Fist" follows the philosophy that the purpose of life is to follow the ways of chaos - to face one's challenges head on, challenge one's station in life, and work to become self-reliant. The emphasis of the Way of the Closed Fist is combat, turmoil, and constantly challenging oneself, which is why many of those who are evil tend to be considered to follow the Way of the Closed Fist, in that they bring about chaos in the universe. However, such people can no more be classed as true followers of the Way of the Closed Fist than common thieves can be classed as revolutionaries.
Using the same example as shown before, a good follower of the Way of the Closed Fist would indeed inform the debtor's collectors where the debtor is hiding, but from the point of view of the follower, this is hardly a betrayal. Following the beliefs of the Closed Fist, it would be meaningless for the debtor to get out of the situation through someone else's help - instead, forcing him into a position wherein he is forced to deal with his problems directly allows him to grow, and thus become stronger than he would have been otherwise.
The more extreme variant of this, usually used by the ones who use the Way of the Closed Fist to justify slaughter, would be to kill the debtor oneself, then take the money the debtor had. The claim therein would be along the lines of "if the debtor was not strong enough to survive me, he didn't deserve to live." However, this is not truly following the Way of the Closed Fist, rather simply contributing to chaos for one's own benefit.
Plot
The protagonist of the game (who can be male or female, and freely named, based on player preference) begins their quest in a small town called Two Rivers. Two Rivers is a town on the edge of the Jade Empire, far from the Imperial influence of Emperor Sun Hai. The protagonist (who is referred to as Furious Ming from here onwards, based on a default male character name) begins their story as the senior student of the martial arts school in the town.
After a brief sparring with a fellow student, Ming is summoned to speak with the Master of the school, Master Li. Master Li begins to inform Ming of a destiny which he will soon begin to fulfil, but is interrupted by news of a bandit attack upon Two Rivers. Ming, and companion Dawn Star, deal with the bandit attackers. When the leader of the bandits, a Imperial Lotus Assassin, resolves to kill Ming and Dawn Star himself, Master Li arrives in time to defend them, with impressive results.
It is apparent that the Lotus Assassin is looking for something very specific, and Ming and Dawn Star raise his attention. When Master Li appears the assassin comments "we were expecting an army, your strategy as always is impeccable". It is assumable that Li is, or is connected to, what the assassin is looking for. He does not live to report to his superiors though, and Li makes light work of killing him with his bare hands.
Back at the school, Master Li reveals numerous secrets about both himself and Ming. He seems frustrated that he has been found so soon, but realises that the time has come to teach Ming the truth of his origins.
The first revelation is that Li is really Sun Li 'The Glorious Strategist', the brother of Emperor Sun Hai, and former commander of the Imperial Army. Li tells Ming that he is the last of the Spirit Monks of Dirge, rescued by himself at the fall of Dirge twenty years ago, and taken into his own personal training to ensure that one day he would be able to regain the legacy of the Spirit Monks.
Twenty years ago, Emperor Sun Hai had attacked Dirge, seeking the power of the god, the Water Dragon, that the Spirit Monks guarded. Sun Hai sought to control the power of the Water Dragon to end the great drought which plagued the Jade Empire. The Spirit Monks claimed the drought was part of the natural balance, and that Sun Hai should not attempt to control the power of the gods for his own purposes, and they were wiped out for their defiance.
Sun Li realised that Sun Hai was dealing with power that he should not, and abandoned his brother, escaping with young Ming in the hope that the baby Spirit Monk would one day be able to confront the dark powers Sun Hai had obtained.
The third brother, Sun Kin 'The Hand of Heaven', leader of the Monastic Order, was killed by Emperor Sun Hai when Kin and Li both attempted to stop Hai.
Master Li sends Ming into a secret part of the school called the Spirit Cave, and tells him to return after he has completed meditations inside. Ming confronts several 'Lost Sprirts' within the cave, and disperses them after fierce battles. His reward for this is finding the Dragon Amulet, an item linked to his destiny.
Further inside the cave, Ming encounters a mysterious spirit, she speaks in vague terms, but she tells him that all is not right with the world, and that he will play a crucial role in the upcoming events.
A swirling portal opens behind him, as he enters it, he finds himself back at Master Li's house. Master Li is surprised at this turn of events, he had expected Ming to meditate for several days. A student comes in and reports that Dawn Star is nowhere to be found. Master Li consternates over this fact, then non-chalantly declares that this will be a good test for Ming, to find his long-time childhood friend. Ming questions his callousness towards, but does not press the issue.
Ming ventures forth from the school and finds fellow student Si Pat burnt to a crisp, it seems that the local bully, Gao the Lesser, has kidnapped Dawn Star and killed anyone who dared stand in his path. Perhaps he was jealous of Ming and Dawn Star's close friendship? Ming quickly dispatches some drunken soldiers left behind to by Gao to delay him.
As Ming exits the Two Rivers School into the Bandit Swamp, he encounters a strange, dangerous looking man in the middle of killing a group of soldiers. The man introduces himself as Sagacious Zu. When Ming asks for his help, Zu refuses, stating neutrality. Ming brings up Dawn Star's name, and Zu quickly changes his mind. Together they forge through the bandit swamp, killing bandits and soldiers alike. They come across a cave, a cowardly soldier tells them Gao entered into it with Dawn Star.
Ming and Zu enter the cave, they watch Gao kill an ogre, but in the process collapses a bridge, Dawn Star runs away with Gao chasing after. Zu and Ming take an alternate route and soon encounter Gao. Gao spouts off in the style of Anakin Skywalker, how Master Li is holding him back because he favors Ming. After his whining, he says that he did Dawn Star a favor by kidnapping her. This confuses Ming and Dawn Star. Gao is quickly dispatched, leaving them pondering over his mad rantings. As they exit the cave, they see a fleet of air ships fly overhead towards the Two Rivers School. They quickly give pursuit in a air ship nearby, apparently Zu has had some experience with flying one.
As they come to Two Rivers, they see a school ablaze in a fiery inferno. After quickly landing, they watch imperial soldiers killing students with imputiny. The soldiers think Ming is another easy target but are proved wrong. A dying student tells Ming that Death's Hand is responsible for the massacre. In the center of the school Ming encounters a Lieutenant that is quickly defeated. After the short battle, Zu shamefully admits he was once a Lotus Asassin.
Zu, Ming, and Dawn Star decide to try to head to a nearby town, Tien's Landing because of the lack of a windmap, a crucial component in attempting to pilot an airship. As they lift off, a masked figure watches from the shadows.
Chapter 2
Chapter 2 opens with a painful crash landing (due to the lack of a windmap) near the town Tien's Landing. As Ming exits he has another vision of the spirit, who informs him that fragments of his Dragon Amulet are nearby. Zu thinks he is crazy, and Dawn Star tells him to tell her if he has any more visions. As Ming heads towards Tien's landing, a masked woman leaps in front of him. She declares that she will avenge Two Rivers, thinking Ming was the one who destroyed the school. Ming quickly defeats her and she stops the fight, claiming that a follower of Death's Hand is not so... "creative." She mentions an oddity about Ming's fighting style, but she could not quite place her finger on it. She escapes, leaving a "til we meet again!" message.
Ming approaches Tien's landing, and finds Zu near an old desecrated building, which they decide to make their camp. As he nears town, a woman and her daughter warn Ming to turn back. They tell him that because of the dried up lake, the sailors are becoming more and more violent, and life in Tien's Landing is no safer then going out into the wilderness. He continues past the entrance into the middle of fight between some sailors and tough looking woman.
One thing leads to another, and soon Ming engages in battle with the sailors. After the fight, Sagacious Zu identifies the woman, naming her as "Hui the Brave". Hui and Zu had a history, it seems. Zu had given Hui a child, a "vagrant waif", who he simply wanted to find a good home. Hui had made sure the child was safe, and, under the orders of Sun Li, had been instructed to wait for his student and aid him or her in their quest. Knowing of the nearby amulet pieces, she went to Tien's Landing and waited for the student of Li. Imparting a bit of training, Hui tells Ming to discuss what he must do inside a nearby teahouse. After chatting up a few locals, Furious Ming heads into the teahouse to resume his conversation with Hui the Brave. Before they could continue, the sailors return, this time with a few of their pals to help. They are easily vanquished, and Hui comments on Ming's fighting.
Criticisms
Although generally well liked by reviewers and players alike (even winning 2005 XBOX Game of the Year from IGN.com) some elements attracted comment. One was the problem of loading screens, a problem shared by Bioware’s Knights of the Old Republic. Some effort was taken to combat this, such as having the “team gathering/home base” areas separated from the main “town/village.” Going there would bring up a mini-loading bar, rather than a whole new load screen. Also, some areas incorporate the use of an elevator device to mask the game loading to a new area; these include the Imperial Palace and the Headquarters of the Lotus Assassins. This serves to remove drag time in waiting for the game to load, but one area of the game that draws constant attention to long and frequent load times is the arena sequence, in which the player must endure a loading screen before and after every match.
Another area that attracted some concern was the ease of the battle system. Even on higher difficulty settings the tactics are rather facile and tend not to change. For instance, the player attacks until the opponent blocks, the player then uses the special attack to break though the block, and the process is thus repeated. Though one could argue that certain enemies being immune to certain styles adds a layer of depth, it is really only a matter of switching to a different style and then adopting the same principle of attack, wait for block, then special attack.
Some have claimed that the game is too short, which can be true if one is to play the game and undertake only the mandatory quests. Several of the game’s quests are optional. According to the developers, the playtime is approximately 26 hours (assuming that no dialogue or cut-scenes are skipped and all the quests are undertaken.)
Others identify Jade Empire as a clear example of cultural imperialism, Bioware having expropriated the folklore of Asia while excising the Asian people themselves. Such critics note that, despite the game having some 350 superficially Asian characters, Bioware employed only one Asian voice actor (Kim Mai Guest); and while media representations, including Bioware's own press releases and interviews, portray the game as taking place in a world based on Ancient China, the official Bioware position is that this game takes place in a fictional universe similar to China but containing no Asian people. Examples of subtle and overt racism feature throughout Jade Empire.
Jade Empire features the constructed language Tho Fan developed by Wolf Wikeley, a Ph.D. candidate in linguistics at the University of Alberta.