I recently played [[Glory of Hercules IV]] and it got me thinking about the idea of novelty in games. I think "novelty" in general is a word that's looked at negatively in media a lot of the time. It can often be a synonym for "trying too hard," but I don't really agree with that. I think as I play more and more games, novelty can be a deciding factor in my enjoyment. I think [[JRPG|JRPGs]] are a good example of this. Once you've played one JRPG, you've more or less played them all. Obviously there's been innovation, but **Dragon Quest** has been the basis for most games in the genre for decades now. I think novelty is a good way to help games in this genre stand apart, or even reach a new height. **Glory of Hercules IV** is basically **Dragon Quest**, yes. But the novelty of a JRPG taking place in Greek myth was immediately intriguing to me and allowed for some story-telling outside of the norm in the genre. The same could be said for another game I'm looking to try out soon, called **Arabian Nights: Sabaku no Seirei Ou** on the [[Super Nintendo]]. From what I can tell it's a pretty by-the-numbers JRPG in terms of its mechanics. But how many JRPGs have you played that take place in Arab myth, with characters that have names like Shukran[^1]? ![[Something to be Said of Novelty-1740944523750.png|453x319]] Even the screenshots drew me in immediately. It's just not the aesthetic you expect! That novelty is enough for me to look past a game's more obvious flaws - I've heard this game's encounter rate is *rough* - and enjoy it a little bit more. So yeah I guess I'm just thinking about how I am searching for more novel experiences in the stuff I play. By-the-numbers just doesn't cut it for me anymore. The more experimental it is, the more I'll probably enjoy it. [^1]: Thank you in Arabic!