Wii Keep the Pace

I haven't had much to say this week: I've been on a Mass Effect 2 binge - brought about by obtaining all the DLC available and getting access to a High-Def TV.

Anyway, I recently heard that Nintendo's profits have taken a turn for the worse. Yep, the company that wrote the rulebook on gaming, traveled with many gamers from childhood and beyond is now in a rather uncomfortable position - the type of which is quite surprising considering the near untouchable nature Nintendo has enjoyed.

Sure the Wii has sold well and done a lot to introduce people to games, but what Nintendo do now is indeed a good question. With regards to the Wii, Xbox and Playstation have now embraced Motion Controllers, the console itself is being outclassed by it's technological superior rivals, first-party games like Super Mario Galaxy and Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess have yet to drop in price, many of the 'hardcore' crowd are unimpressed and defecting to Microsoft and Sony, and one potential ace-in-the-hole, I am of course referring to the Virtual Console, seems to have been abandoned.

I do admire that Nintendo were trying to come up with new ways to play games than compete in the technological race. I give credit to the efforts Nintendo put in to grab attention of people who don't normally play games. However these two feats may have ended up working against Nintendo. The problem I find with Motion controls is that it essentially removes the connection between player and console. People play games as a leisure activity - you know, to relax - and incorporating motion controls takes that away through demanding the player to be off their seat and active.
Also, whilst I despise the distinction between the 'casual' and 'hardcore' gaming, I must grudgingly admit that it's inescapable with the Wii. Sure it may have tied up the casual crowd nicely, it has however lost a lot of the hardcore crowd to the PS3 and Xbox 360 - many of whom would've been weaned on the NES, SNES and N64.

Another problem with the Wii is the Virtual Console. One of it's major selling points, I myself was one of many sold over, it now seems to have been abandoned by Nintendo. No updates have appeared in a while and many longed-for titles have yet to show their face. I myself have championed the Virtual Console for the longest time and felt it was a real advantage for Nintendo. It's just a shame the idea wasn't taken to it's full extent. I would like to see more previously exclusive titles appear on the Virtual Console (Chrono Trigger for example) and more from obsolete consoles (I can think of more than a few Sega Saturn titles I would like to see dusted off). Come on Nintendo, it's not too late to turn around!

At the end of the day, the Wii may have managed to keep Nintendo financially stable, but ultimately, I'm not willing to deem it a successful console. Call it a combination of ideas not pushed to their full extent, ideas that just didn't work and being outpaced by Nintendo's rivals.
So what can Nintendo do from here? Company survival may well be the order of the day. Whilst Nintendo may have been unstoppable in the past, in recent years things have taken a rather uneasy turn. Indeed, one too many wrong moves can prove fatal in this business - just ask Sega. Of course, now Nintendo are investing a lot into the DS and it's successor - does this mean they're giving up on the home console business altogether? Abandoning what they've built a business around?

But, as history has a tendency to repeat itself, one would think that Nintendo may do what Sega did all those years ago: Introduce a new console thus inspiring a new generation just to remain ahead.

Hottest 100

Well, well, well, I've made it to one hundred posts. I had no idea that this blog was going to last longer than a handful of posts. Still a milestone like this is as good as any other so I might as well take the time to ponder on what this blog has accomplished and what may lie ahead.

This blog essentially is an excuse for me to rant about games. I've explained what games I've liked, I've been keeping track of the games I've been playing and downloading, I've exercised caution in the dangers of following majority opinions and made countless of observations about gamers and gaming in general.

All of this however marks me as one voice in amongst many: Anyone can set up a blog in this day an age and anyone who can put fingers to keyboards can use a word processor just as easily as a game. This is ultimately one gaming blog in amongst many - the only difference is that no one is paying really much attention to this one.

Should I be bothered? Don't think so: I'm writing becuase I want to and if someone is willing to sit down and waste so much of their precious time listening to my ramblings then good for them. I have views forged from many years experience playing computer and video games. I know what makes a good game and what can grab my attention from the word go. Indeed, I think the late comedian George Burns said it best:

Too bad that all the people who know how to run the country are busy driving taxicabs and cutting hair.

So maybe it is true: Those who know what makes a good game are those are standing on the outside of the development process. You know, the consumers who hand over dollars for games that are churned out by people who need to make a profit and not taking the time to figure out just what the hell they're doing. Personally I'd be naive in the extreme to think that anyone from Valve or Blizzard stumbled across my blog and took notice but still.....

There are only two people regularly following this blog (one of which being my partner) but in a way that's all I need. It doesn't bother me that my followers have reached double figures or so many more people have no idea on what they could be missing out on - what matters is I'm saying something becuase I want to. After all, the worst I can do is to remain silence when all around is collapsing into bullshit.
And sometimes the outsider's view can sometimes make a whole world of difference.

So the summarize, I've been adding to this blog becuase I have something to say and its fun saying stuff like this. Sure not many people may read this but I see no reason to be bothered by it.

Nor any reason to start.

All Your Base Are Belong to Meme

It's January 26th- Happy Australia Day! Woohoo!

Anyway, I find the All Your Base meme a curious fascination. Aside from the popularization of bad Engrish and that seemingly nonsensical combination of those three words, what I find most interesting is that it gave the seemingly forgotten game Zero Wing a new lease of life (I say forgotten in that it was never released in the US).

Could it thus be possible for another forgotten game to be resurrected as such? Of course what may have been impressive in a previous era can easily come across as down right cheesy (hence the success of the meme) but seriously, if a new life can be given to Zero Wing, then there's no reason why it can't happen to another video game.
That being said, I have a challenge in mind:
Anyone remember Impossible Mission? Not to be confused with the similarly titled TV series (and game tie-in), IM was released on the Commodore 64 and then other 8bit computers and featured an athletic secret agent ransacking a building of many rooms and dodging malevolent robots to find pieces of a puzzle. Finding said puzzle pieces ultimately leads to cracking a secret code to thwart a mad-scientist. For it's time, IM was hailed for it's then innovative combination of compelling puzzles and action platforming. But for many the major selling point was the use of synthesized voices. Although primitive now, IM's voice acting (if you can call it that) had some cool moments: The death scream when the protagonist falls down a hole, the villain's taunt: "Destroy him my Robots!" and the classic introductory line of "Another visitor! Stay Awhile! Staaaayyy Foreverrrrrr!"

My challenge is for someone to make a dance remix using those samples. That's right remixers: Someone take the six voice samples making up IM and turn them into a dance track.
I mean if Bill Bailey and Pendulum can make dance remixes out of TV News Themes then anything can be posisble...

Final Round: Fight!

Last year I made a post describing what I would like for the sequel to Final Fantasy Dissidia. Now that more information has come to hand how do I feel about it?

Well, the presence of Yuna and Gilgamesh is pleasing - The addition of Laguna is a nice surprise too. However I am disappointed by (as yet) no sign of Seifer, Freya, Cid Highwind and Shadow. No doubt these fighters would be reduced to 'support' roles which comes across more as a wasted opportunity.

And then there's the presence of Aerith - only as a support character. Good Lord, has there been any other contentious issue than whether or not Aerith should stay dead? Having the Flower Girl has a support character really just adds to the never-ending debate. Personally, I can see both sides of the issue: Credit must be giving to Square for sticking to their guns and keeping Aerith dead out of undermining the impact of her death scene. But on the other hand, ignoring the fanbase is never a good business move: After all you can only ignore them for so long before they start refusing to hand over their dosh.

First In, Best Dressed

They say you always remember the first game you ever played. I however beg to differ: I started gaming at a young age and, as a result, it is difficult to pinpoint WHAT was the first game I ever played.
So, whilst I can't recall exactly what the first game I ever played was, I do however have some likely candidates:

(treasure game)
This may be the very first game (computer or console) I ever played - but I am reluctant to count it as I've forgotten it's name! Still, I do remember it well: I played this game on the Commodore 64 and it, although basic, involved the player exploring a series of islands to find a treasure chest. Along the way, a great deal of exploration is involved, with the player discovering items - some necessary to solve problems - and evading a sea monster. Again this sounds incredibly basic but, for a young lad, this was awesome indeed.

Pitfall! 2
I have fond memories of playing this on the Atari 2600 - in retrospect it was everything a sequel should be: outclassing the predecessor in every possible way. Indeed, I found it very hard to go back to the original after playing Pitfall 2. Plus, I do recall Pitfall 2 has having the very first tune I committed to memory.

Super Mario Brothers
I recall my brother inviting his friend round with his NES. Along the games he had, was Super Mario Brothers. It must've made quite an impression on me because I'm still playing it now! Which goes to show that a great game shall forever remain a great game.

Why my favourite games rock: The Metal Gear, The Solid Snake and Me

Today i thought I might share with you all my thoughts on one of my favourite games ever: What they do, how they work for me, what they do to my perception of gaming and why I hold them in such high regard
The game I want to talk about today is Metal Gear Solid.



Released in 1997 for the Playstation(1), it has since been recognized as one of the benchmarks of stealth-based games and a highpoint of that system. I myself agree whole-heatedly with the latter. It's strengths lie in some superb action sequences, compelling boss fights, great voice acting and a well-developed cast of characters, not least of which is the protagonist Solid Snake - whom the entire game's well-realized world is built around.
Props indeed must go to Solid Snake himself: Sure he plays the gruff, reluctant (and at times) Anti-hero that has been seen many times before but here it is pulled off in a way that makes him continually interesting. He was a lot of depth being put to him - and seeing as he carries the weight of the game on his shoulders, he still manages to becoming endearing to the player. Additionally, Snake has to think things out for himself, is guided by a support crew whose intentions may not be 100% but whom are ultimately helpful, kills the baddies with ease and uses a variety of weapons (I particularly enjoyed using the sniper rifle) and nifty little gadgets.
Also pleasing is the well detailed setting incorporating well realized rooms and detailed military equipment. The game shows signs of being meticulously researched by the makers and it works incredibly well for it. The action sequences are fun too, in using a variety of weapons and having to run the gauntlet with the bosses, each a different battle from the last.



Sure it has it's flaws: The plot is both complex and absurd in equal measures, the guards are so stupid it's beyond belief, it does get very preachy on it's stance of being anti-nuclear warheads and, in a way, the game is somewhat restrictive in that all the player is doing is just pushing Snake from one cut-scene to the next. But for me all of these are swept aside for one single moment: The conclusion.

At the end of the game, it is a happy conclusion of sorts: Global disaster has been averted, the baddies have been dealt with and Snake has saved the day. But for me the strength of the ending lies solely in the way it is handled and the top notch voice acting that, even to the end, never breaks stride.
Sure the game conclusion provides a sense of achievement (like all game endings should) and it could've settled with that but no: MGS goes one step further.



When I completed MGS for the first time I had hit a new low: I was feeling depressed, through unemployment, lack of progress and rejection. But watching the conclusion to Metal Gear Solid struck me. I felt something. Something different to what I have previously felt upon completing a game.
Really there are a number of magic moments in that ending: Roy giving up his role as Colonel just for the sake of keeping Snake alive; Snake and Roy putting past misgivings aside and agreeing to far more friendlier terms; Naomi reconciling with the memory of Frank and urging Snake to follow her lead in living instead of trying to find a reason to; and Snake finally deciding to live beyond his survival instincts, make every minute of his time left on Earth count and seeking a new path in life (henceforth I'm finding his subsequent reappearances in the MGS sequels rather puzzling).
And all of this is wrapped with the achingly beautiful closing The Best is Yet to Come which plays over the end credits accompanied by footage of the Alaskan wilderness.
Of course, what I've just described may sound cliched but because of the commitments to the writer who writes the lines and actors who read them, it evolves into something far more substantial. Indeed I still get a lump in my throat whenever I revisit it.

So seeing as I was at a low point in my life before I completed Metal Gear Solid, how did I feel after I completed it? Well not unlike the game's protagonist, I did feel lost and without any inkling of self-worth – but upon completing Metal Gear Solid, I came away feeling something else: It was enlightenment. It was the realization that there something else out there and that each minute upon this Earth should be used wisely & lived for one's self. The fact that a game can handle such human emotions and pull it off convincingly is indeed a feat in itself.
Indeed, the beauty of the game's conclusion is that it comes across as being a world apart from the game itself: Viewing it creates the impression I didn't spend so many hours of my life sneaking my way into a Alaskan military installation with the intention of stopping a nuclear warhead being fired. No, it was the impression that I had seen a man finding a sense of renewed purpose where once was nothing and wanting to make the rest of his time on Earth (no matter how limited) count. As such the title of the ending them rings true: The Best is Yet to Come.

I like the line that Dr. Hunter says at the end of the game:
"You mustn't allow yourself to be chained to fate, to be ruled by your genes, Humans can choose the type of life they want to live. ....whether you've been programmed or not. The important thing is that you choose life. And then....Live!"
Really, that says a lot about the game and how it made me feel at the end. I couldn't have put it better!

I think at some stage in this life each of us find a sense of self-worth (or at least find something new that provides us with a necessary reminder of it) and I found it in, of all places, a video game. It may be an odd place to find such an affirmation but the effect is still the same nonetheless.

So thank you to both Hideo Kojima and Solid Snake.

Us vs Them

Last week I made a post about World of Warcraft. Since then a friend (who is a WOW enthusiast) pointed out a flaw: There really is no such thing as good/bad in WOW. Thus it is not unheard of for the alliance to do bad things and the Horde to do good things. It's all in shades of grey - which, ironically, was the very thing I was championing in my post.
Well, I certainly feel like an ass but I guess it doesn't matter seeing as no one is really reading this blog anyway.

Still, it is kinda easy to make that assumption of Alliance/Good and Horde/Bad. After all, the titles say nothing of the ambiguity that the factions actually commit through their actions.
True, these factions have been the same since the first incarnation of Warcraft - thus establishing a sense of familiarity - but in the time since Warcraft 1&2, the distinctions between 'good' and 'evil' have become blurred and the mistake of assumption is far from surprising. Maybe such an assumption is why some people find the Horde more appealing than the Alliance.

I don't know: Would it have made a difference if Blizzard just went with 'Those guys' versus 'Those guys'?

Bad to the Bone

(EDIT: Since publishing this post, a friend has pointed out problems with this post. That being said, what may follow may be weird and unnecessary to some readers. So pointing that out doesn't make you a genius...

....Becuase I beat you to it! Ha!)



Had a laugh in watching these week’s Zero Punctuation. Far be it from me to recommend someone away from these words but seeing Yahtzee tear into World of Warcraft Cataclysm was a treat indeed. Somehow, I can’t help but think the declaration of ‘Fuck the Alliance’ may be cause for Blizzard to consider some incentive to make people reconsider joining the Horde.

I’ve never played Wow and I don’t see any reason to start – personally I like games that have at least some kind of goal to make all the hours invested in the game worth it in the end. To do the same thing over and over again (which is pretty much what RPG’s usually entail) but no destination in mind doesn’t really sit well with me.
Of course, this may make me the wrong choice to talk about WOW but sometimes, an outsider’s view can make a whole world of difference (pun most certainly intended).



As is my understanding, players of Wow are divided into two groups: Alliance and Horde. The former are ‘goodies’ and the latter are ‘baddies’. As a result, the Horde commands the larger number of players and anyone in the Alliance is considered a pansy.

Many games these days usually present the option to players, through their actions, be a good guy or a bad guy. But it would seem that no game commands more appeal to be a bad guy than World of Warcraft. Thus the Horde outclasses the Alliance in Warrior Classes, Weaponry and Spells. Seems the Devil really does have the better toys.
True playing the bad guy in a video game is escapism at work offering the player to do things they wouldn’t normally do in their real life but I’m not sure what offering the option of doing either is meant to accomplish: Some games expect you to be the bad guy whilst other games have offered better rewards/power-ups for being a bad guy over a good guy (Infamous being one example). But in WOW, it would seem that being in the Horde means you can cleanly get away with being a prick – being one of the Horde means you don’t have to deal with any moral choices (ie Mass Effect) and you aren’t forced into some guilt-trip bollocks for the things you do (ie Shadow of the Colossus).
Thus it would seem that in Blizzard’s world being a good guy just plain sucks: Diablo ended with your warrior serving as vessel for demonic possession and Starcraft ends with the player siding with the Zerg and destroying the factions they previously worked hard to build up – both effectively ruining the work the player put into the game. Does someone in Blizzard have a prejudice against good guys? Maybe – but it would seem that many WOW players think so.



But I don’t: I enjoy playing both the good guy and the bad guy in equal amounts. I prefer to see things in shades of grey as opposed to black and white. Unfortunately for me though, the moral systems that proliferate games these days think otherwise.
And this is the problem I have with moral choices: It’s one or the other. You can either be 100% good or 100% bad with no room for any middle ground whatsoever.
But why not? I like heroes, and villains, to have some depth to them. I like heroes that do more than be heroic just for the sake it (By way of example I prefer Batman over Superman). Thus, the heroes that appeal to me are those who do good things however reluctantly or have some kind of weight on their shoulders, ie Solid Snake and Vincent Valentine. On the flipside, villains that appeal to me are those who show some degree of humanity even with blood on their hands, ie Magneto and Shishio Makoto (Rurouni Kenshin). I mean just because a villain shows some emotion doesn’t make him a pussy – it shows he has some depth.
So yes, the moral choices only work for me when there is some middle ground to add some grey into the mix. Being entirely white or entirely black may be all good and well but ultimately it’s so damn boring! Indeed, I would like to see a Commander Shepard score more than a few Renegade points on their way to becoming a Paragon. It makes for a more interesting character that way.

In the end, I don’t see a point for prejudice against good guys: You need them to keep the bad guys in line, to give an opposing force to add to conflict and, ultimately, a reason for the bad guys to be bad guys.
So perhaps Blizzard could add some more incentive for Alliance players?

Some cheaper thrills maybe?

Keep on Rockin' me Baby

I love the Rock Band series. Singstar and Guitar hero may have had their moments but Rock Band brought all the elements of rhythm/music games together and it it brilliantly. The multiplayer is great - I love how each player contributes soemthing different to the task presented before them and how working together achieves success. The soundtrack is great, even to the point of encouraging the music-geek in me to seek out stuff I haven't heard in years or stuff I've never heard of before. Sure its annoying that Harmonix seems to continually snubbing us Aussies but when Rock Band works, it works well.

What I find is a masterstroke on Harmonix's part is the use of DLC that can be carried on over into the next game. This is indeed a great move as the money spent downloading the songs to use are kept and are used to build a formidable selection for material for the player's use.
Better still, games bearing the Rock Band tag have continually proven to be an improvement over the last, carrying over small differences (count-ins and records in the song selection screen) into the next one to make things even better. It's great to see one conquer a song in one RB incarnation only to see it broken in with the next incarnation. Indeed, this method ensures that the Rock Band games will still be played for a while to come. A smart move and one that, I hope, other companies are taking note. I've said before that as long as a game is great people will be willing to keep on playing it and Rock band exemplifies that belief in stellar fashion.

Seeing as the appeal of rhythm/music games are now dying down, some are saying that this current Rock Band, no.3, could well be the last. If so, that could be a wise move: The game as it currently stands can't possibly be improved upon and continual release of DLC will ensure people will keep on playing it.

If only other franchises will follow suit....

Apocalypse Now!

I've always had an interest in post-apocalypse scenarios. You know, the kind popularized by the Mad Max movies: Civilization has been irrevocably ruined, resources are now few in number, Technological advancements have lost all sense of meaning and the sense that one is left all on their own. I like seeing how the people within these scenarios need to improvise in order to continue surviving using scraps of technology. I like seeing the planet wasted into a desert environment. I like seeing how people try to salvage scraps of pre-apocalypse civilization in order to make soemthing of it. I like the idea of being the only humans for miles, allies are few in number and the baddies are legion. Most importantly, I like the idea that humans are all alone on a seemingly empty world.

Now this post is not to decree my fear and disgust of other human beings - far from it. The post-apocalypse scenario works for me is the idea that identity has collapsed and a new one needs to sought after. Also, it is a challenge to the writer to come up with something using the limits that the scenario demands.

Surely this scenario can provide a challenge for game developers?

Seriously, I enjoy games where the player is placed in a position of isolation. I've found that such an environment can establish an emotional resonance with the player and can create a genuine element of surprise/fear when something unexpected happens. For a game to pull that off is a feat indeed.
I recall particular moments in Mass Effect when you go down to a planet, you find an abandoned encampment (or something) and no sign of any other kind of life for miles. And all you hear in the background is the wind blowing. It's moments like these that create a well-executed sense of unease.
It makes you wonder why someone takes the sense of unease and take it to greater heights

I remember in 2009, seeing the trailer for the as yet unreleased game Edges of Twilight. In the terms of establishing a post-apocalypse scenario, this in my mind seems to push the right buttons:



Sadly, footage of the game itself points to yet another action game in the God of War vein.
Which, to me, represents a lost opportunity.
Personally, I've always felt the post-apocalypse scenario could make for an interesting spin on RTS games. Think about it! You're fighting for continued survival (or delaying death if you prefer), you are out seeking resources on a planet where few may be left, you're constructing buildings and armaments using scraps of materials and, with the sense of isolation, the sense of alarm from being unexpectedly attacked can be pushed to the extreme.

Sadly a risk is still a risk - and few are taken in a money driven industry.

Return of the Shepard

I'd sure hate to be in Bioware's shoes right now: Building a sequel to the monumental smash Mass Effect 2. I've said before that the followup to Mass Effect 3 has the potential to fall into the trap the original Star Wars trilogy did with the third installment being confined to the shadows of it's older brothers. Mass Effect 1 was great, Mass Effect 2 was mind-blowing so a lot lies on Mass Effect 3's shoulders.

A lot that can go so wrong so easily.

At this early stage, Bioware have began delivering what they intend to accomplish with ME3. It's a fool's errand to get excited about promises but I have to admit, however grudgingly, such statements have caught my attention. I like how the idea of furthered complexity in enemies, combat and RPG options, I like the idea of 1,000 variables brought up from decisions made from the previous games and how something established in the first game can return and bite the player on the arse in the third!

Yet at the same time, ME3 is already to be made out as a conclusion to the trilogy - meaning those who aren't already on board are going to end up confused and alienated. Also, if Commander Shepard died in ME2 the story will not be continued in ME3? Seems a bit harsh. Personally, i would like to see some degree of ambition and have a new character trying to finish what Shepard started. A risky move true but it may be interesting to see a galaxy altered through Shepard's actions viewed through the eyes of someone else.

Indeed, a lot lies on Bioware's shoulders to see if they can deliver the goods.
Sure hate to be in their shoes - having to deal with an audience like us.

Final Fantasy: A Love Story

As mentioned previously, I prefer western RPGs over JRPGs - which is why I'm far more keen to have a second run through Baldur's Gate 2 instead of getting off my arse and completing those various Final Fantasy games I started but never finished. Perhaps this is due to me playing a WRPG first - in the form of Pool of Radiance on the Commodore 64 - whilst many people played their first RPG with Final Fantasy 7. I guess the first time you encounter something really is the one you best remember.

Therefore, it is only as recent as 2006 that my attention finally fell on Final Fantasy. I knew little of the series beforehand: I knew it was on the SNES as well as the Playstation, and beyond seeing a lot of promos for FF8 upon it's release, inspiring many upon many fans and seeing some figurines of FFX/X2 & thinking Yuna looked kinda hot, my knowledge of FF was limited.

Five years later, where am I at?
I'm not sure but that doesn't stop me writing a retrospective on Final Fantasy!

So today, I'm going to take the time to write about the FF games I have played and share my thoughts on them. It may have been done before but in my mind, I like WRPG's and I encountered my FF games well out of order. Should make for some interesting reading? Let's find out!

-------------------


Final Fantasy X
This is where it all started: This was the very first FF I ever played.
I'm not sure what set me off into the weird and wonderful world of FF: I did know, however, that when I finally got enough money to purchase PS2 I needed some games to go with it. Recognizing Yuna, I picked up FFX and, for a while, I played it at the expense of the other games.
Granted it wasn’t the best place to start explorations with FF but for some reason it was quite an entertaining game. The graphics were gorgeous, the music was equally glorious, the plot was compelling, the sphere grid was fun to use and it was generally fun to go around and bonk some heads. Plus the romance between Yuna and Tidus was actually one that was worth following all the way through. Like many people who played FF7 on the PS1, this game introduced me to the conventions of the JRPG and revealed to me how it was a very different beast than the AD&D rules I had been accustomed to through playing WRPGs.
So does the first time you encounter something leave the greater impression? Not so in this case. Now that I’ve played other FF games, the flaws of FFX become glaringly obvious: The game is awfully restrictive on where you can go, the minigames are horrifically tedious, the voice acting is plain awful, and running back and forth over the same strip of land just to find some baddies to level up is no fun at all.
Looking back, it may have been great at the time, and indeed certainly still holds some degree of appeal, but there’s a lot it’s older brothers did better. But still, ya gotta start somewhere and for an introduction to the series, I’ll give FFX that much.
And to wrap this up before moving on, seeing the rather unflattering things FFX has to say about religion, I wonder if Christopher Hitchins would like this game?


Final Fantasy IV
I should at this point stress that my encounters with the FF games are all out of order but this was more or less by accident: It just happened! That being said, it may seem a tremendous cultural shock going from wonderful PS2 graphics/sound to antiqued SNES graphics/sound but I was still willing to take the plunge: I heard IV was one of the best of the series so it would be interesting to see if the game lived up to such claims.
And you know something? It was actually quite fun to play. The graphics were bright and colourful (and in retrospect unusual for a FF game), the characters where charismatic and fun to watch (except, of course, Edward, the patron saint of useless RPG characters), the setting is truly a diverse and well-realised world. Best of all, while FF4 may be ahead of other games, at the time, in telling a story it still is quite aware it is game and requires a degree of interaction from the audience. Furthermore, it’s interesting to see how many ideas this game had – interesting when you consider which ideas have endured throughout the series right to the present day.
Mind you, there were some frustrating moments: Maybe it was me but whenever I wanted to go around trying to level up my party, FF4 seemed reluctant to let me do so: I would be levelling up smoothly for a while before the game would suddenly decide to slow down the progression dramatically. Thus the levelling-up would stop being fun and instead become laborious. It was if the game wanted to tell it’s story so badly, that doing something I wanted to do was simply not on. It’s interesting to note how certain modern games seem to be repeating the same mistake, with placing story over gameplay.
Grumbling aside, FF4 was good fun, being certainly worth coming back to have a bash and a game that has aged quite well. From a historical perspective, it is interesting to note that this game was putting forth a formula that many of the FF games have been utilising ever since. I guess if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.


Final Fantasy VI
Many people deem Final Fantasy 6 as the best in the series – I myself consider myself one of those people. Of course, it will never reach the level of popularity its successor achieved but who cares? If people aren’t willing to take the effort to track down this gem among gems of a game it's their loss. Nothing to do with me
So what can I say about FF6 that hasn’t been said before? What makes FF6 work is that it has a good degree of heart. Playing it now, it strikes me that Square knew that the SNES was nearing the end of its lifespan so they went all out: They drew all the elements that worked in its predecessors together. They had the biggest cast ever assembled for a FF game, each with their own back-story, quirks and personality. They had a story that didn’t hold back, had some surprising twists and really defined the word ‘epic’. They pushed the graphic capabilities of the SNES further than they had ever done before. They ditched the colourful palettes of the previous five games in favour of a grim, dark theme. They got Nobuo Uematsu to produce some unforgettable themes, particularly the haunting Terra Theme. They even achieved a milestone for gaming by writing the only opera ever conceived for a game!

Really though, there isn’t much I can say about FF6 because talking about game isn’t any substitute for actually sitting done and playing the damn thing. All I can say is that if lot’s of people dub a game the best game ever it’s usually for good reason.
I’m not for playing a particular game exclusively, I’m not one to shell out on merch, and I’m not one to canonise the people involved with making games. I’m for talking about a game I think is damn good. And FF6 is one of those games.


Final Fantasy IX
As a newcomer to this game, my understanding was that FF9 is the ‘Forgotten Child’ of the series. Some people may overlook in favour of defending the merits of VII, VIII and X, but that’s more likely to occur in the US. You see, I come from Australia – a land where the underdog is celebrated and anyone who has a go at something is acknowledged as a champion. Furthermore, I live by the principles of exploring and discovering things for myself beyond the influence of anyone else, and to give something to speak to me in it’s own words (acknowledge, whether positive or negative, beats being ignored any day). This should make me an ideal candidate to play FF9, right?
So, having completed FF9, it to me, represents a mixture of the good and the bad. Some heavy complaints have been aimed at FF9 and even I have to admit they are glaring – namely the cluttered script, the annoyingly high rate of encounters and the loading times. Me, I was playing this on a PS2 so the loading time’s didn’t bother me (maybe the game would’ve been more at home on the PS2 rather than the PS1?). As for the encounters, it bother me because I was having fun breaking heads – plus I’ve played worse (Skies of Arcadia being one such example) But yes, the script is indeed a mess. It’s a shame, because the first disc held such promise but the pace couldn’t keep up. There were some good ideas used throughout the game but some were swamped with clutter and/or didn’t live up their full potential.
But you know what? When FF9 does something well, it hit’s the bullseye. The party customising was great, the in-jokes/references were fun to pick, and the characters were an endearing bunch. I particularly liked Freya and I thought the story-book romance of Garnet and Zidane was quite charming. So yeah, Final Fantasy 9 got through to me and to that end, it’s a success.


Final Fantasy V
Another one of the forgotten children of the FF family. Being unreleased in the US during the 16-bit era, FF5 tends to be overlooked in favour of its more popular brothers FF4 and FF6. These days, it’s more likely to be dismissed by those weaned on the big budget monsters spawned on the various incarnations of the Sony Playstation. But for many people, it remains the ultimate iteration of FF’s greatest achievements: The Job System. And that reason alone is enough to play it.
Looking back at now, having played other FF titles, it seems to come across as being somewhat goofy: The script seems less serious and the music, in particular, seems nowhere near as the solemn tunes that came before. Both these elements ultimately contributed to FF finding its own destiny so it’s strange that they should be absent.
However, the real meat of the game lies in the job system: the ability to change Jobs throughout the game, mixing and matching abilities to adapt to situations and building up a team of completely unique characters. It was this formula that kept me going through FFX and, to me, is heaps more fun that going through a pre-determined role for the character (so to speak). It was this formula that made the grinding actually enjoyable and the story a lesser priority. Indeed, the Job system was so successfully pulled off in this game it makes me wonder why they haven’t managed to replicate it in many more recent FF games. Indeed, an emphasis on gameplay over everything else is something that makes you wonder why it doesn’t happen more often (FF12, take your License system and SHOVE IT!).
So, I came into FF5 thinking it had something of it’s own to say and found it be a goofy but ultimately very entertaining game. Chalk one up for the underdogs!


Final Fantasy VII
I’ve already spoken about my thoughts about FF7 so there isn’t much to add. So yeah, once I got past the hype, the intimidation and let the game speak to me in its own terms, I found it quite enjoyable to play. Which goes to show that it never pays to listen to hype.
It does seem a shame though that the phenomenal success of FF7 has kinda left its brothers in the shadows, struggling to reach a benchmark that can’t possibly be reached. And Squee Enix are milking that success for all it’s worth with spin offs. Sure people may shout and scream for a PS3 remake for as long and loudly as they like but will the thrill be the same? More importantly, wouldn’t that time spent wishing and hoping be better spent tying something new?


Final Fantasy I
And here, we reach the conclusion of this journey with, where else, the beginning. I recently downloaded this game for the Virtual Console and having an enjoyable time making my way through it. Sure, it looks nothing like the big budget extravaganzas that its younger cousins are. Sure the 8-bit graphics are hard to take seriously when compared to the behemoths residing on the PS3 and Xbox 260. Sure it had some ideas that just needed that extra bit of polish. Sure it was pretty much figuring itself out but DAMN, this is just a really fun game to play. Will this mood outlast the first few hours (as JRPG’s are wont to do)? Only time will tell…..

Lol

Happy new year! Yes, here we are in 2011. A new year ahead, bringing with it more time to play games and to crap on about them in this waste of web-space.

Anyway, to get the ball rolling, some good news. And what better way to open this year than on a positive note?
Recently I had the satisfaction of striking another game from my Hall of Shame. This one being the Adventures of Lolo 2.

I've had a love for puzzle games, stretching back to such classics like Lemmings and Boulderdash. I downloaded the first Adventures of Lolo on a whim and found it quite entertaining. The puzzles were engaging indeed and, whilst the cutesy graphics and chipper music wasn't to my taste, the challenge factor was enough to hold my attention for a very long while.

So what can I say about Adventures of Lolo 2? It's more of the same. Great puzzles, annoyingly heroic music and a protagonist that looks at you with big eyes wondering what the hell you're going to do next. A minor graphical upgrade, along with a new concluding section, is all it takes to differentiate this game from it's predecessor and strangely, that's all it needs to do. So yeah, Lolo 2, whilst little more than an expansion disk(?) on the first game, is good fun

Anywho, that's another game done - and one less to deal with. And on that note, I did resolve to work on the Hall of Shame this year. True, no one really keeps any new year resolutions for very long but it would be interesting to see what happens in the months ahead.

Here's to 2011!