October 28, 2011: What Next?

So I finally beat Final Fantasy VIII, and my review is up. Overall, it was a very enjoyable RPG. The final boss was absolutely pathetic (I didn't even have to use Squall- Irvine's limit break took her out), but the ending was nice.

For now, I'll probably work on finishing up Final Fantasy V is my spare time, but I'm trying to decide what my next console playthrough will be. I already decided that I don't want to start the next game on my backlog, what with the school semester growing more hectic and the upcoming holiday season, so I've been deciding on an older title to replay. I was fiddling around with Dark Cloud today, which was a game I've never actually beaten. It's Level 5's debut title, and it's a fun little game with randomly generated dungeons and a town building minigame, sort of like Zelda mixed with Harvest Moon. I found a new copy for $3 at a CD Exchange, so I might try to actually beat and review the game. If I don't do that, I'll probably replay The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, since lack of a Wii means I'll have to wait a while to play Skyward Sword (not that I'm bitter or anything).

As far as upcoming titles go, I probably won't get War in the North or Skyrim as soon as they come out (hopefully I'll have the chance to try them soon enough, though). I plan on preordering Final Fantasy XIII-2 at some point, though.

Right now, Dark Cloud is in the 'Now Playing' header, that might change in the coming week.

My Review: Final Fantasy VIII (PS1)

Finally, I have a brand new review up! Well, here it is. A review of an imperfect but still enjoyable RPG from the 32-bit era.

My Review: Final Fantasy VIII (PS1)

You’ve really got to respect Square for being so experimental with their key franchise. Even when following up an enormous hit, they always end up reinventing the wheel with each of their games, when so many other companies would simply release more of the same. When the game you’re trying to succeed is the world-famous Final Fantasy VII, though, you’re going to have a hard time no matter what you do. Square stuck to their guns with Final Fantasy VIII, implementing numerous stylistic and gameplay changes. The important question, however, is not if Final Fantasy VIII can live up to its predecessor- rather, is it a great game on its own?

Final Fantasy VIII- Almost There!

So, after stocking up on spells from the Heaven/Hell Islands, I managed to get Bahamut. Thanks to Squall's new 100 Ultimas and a timely Limit Break, I defeated him in three moves. So, I'm going to start progressing through the story again. I've got a three day weekend, so I might as well make the most of it. We just got the Ragnarok, and are heading to Edea's house to pick up the next quest hook.

That means that I'll hopefully have a new review up soon. It's about time I wrote a new one.

Quick Update!

So I finished the Ragnarok section of FFVIII and am now on my way through the Disc 3 sidequests before proceeding any further with the story. I already got Cactuar, so next on my to-do list is the Deep Sea Research Center, home of Bahamut and Ultima Weapon. I'm still looking for advice on how to go about beating Ultima Weapon (aside from Junctioning resistances to Quake and Meteor spells), but hopefully I can pull it off. The 100 Ultima Stone bonus is pretty nifty.

In V, I'm still grinding away, trying to master a few more jobs before the final dungeon. Hopefully I'll have the game finished and a review up in a week or two.

New Reviews! Eventually.

So I'm FINALLY in the home stretch for Final Fantasy V. The game isn't particularly long by RPG standards, but playing multiple RPGs during the school year made it take twice as long as it should have. I just need to master a couple more classes, then I'll head into the Rift for the (obscenely long) final dungeon and fight Neo Exdeath. As for Final Fantasy VIII, I'm farther in the game than I though I was (I just found the Ragnarok and am about to do that stupid monster-hunting minigame), so that review will be a little longer away. I plan on trying my luck with Ultima Weapon, so hopefully that goes over well.

I'm not sure what I'll be playing once I'm done with VIII and V. I've already decided to save Dragon Quest VI for after the holidays (trying to play a Dragon Quest game during midterms and semester exams would be a BAD idea). I might give Vagrant Story a shot after VIII (I've heard great things about it, and it's relatively short), but otherwise I probably won't play anything else until Christmas as well. Granted, my backlog will grow much larger, but at least I won't be neck-deep in a game when the holidays roll around.  I might use any free time I have to finally read the second Song of Ice and Fire book, though. If I do end up playing anything, it'll most likely just be a replay of Zelda: Twilight Princess. I've kind of has a Zelda itch for a while, and with no way for me to play Skyward Sword right now, I'll have to settle for replaying an old favorite. :)

Final Fantasy VIII/V Progress

Made it to disc 3 in Final Fantasy VIII. I'm kind of punching myself for stupidity, because I forgot to draw Alexander from Edea. -_- Going to have to work harder at Junctioning, I plan on taking on Ultima Weapon for Eden and the Ultima Stones you get from him, which should make the game considerably easier. Of course, beating Ultima Weapon is never easy. Right now I'm in Esthar.

In V, I'm in the open-ended third act of the game, where you can go do sidequests and get the Legendary Weapons before going into the Rift to fight Exdeath. I've gotten six of the tablets right now, as well as the Fork Tower quest. I also got Syldra from the Pirates Cave, and the Magic Lamp. I'll go to North Mountain and get Bahamut once I have the rest of the Legendary Weapons. Right now, Faris is training as a Ninja after mastering Samurai, Lenna is finishing up mastering Black Mage, and Bartz has mastered Knight and Dragoon. I'm having him train as a Monk for the extra HP once he masters it (and Counter).

Well, that's where I am right now. I'm not sure what I'll play next, I have a rather large backlog that will only grow larger with time (Skyrim drawing nearer...). The only handheld I have on deck (for after FFV) is Dragon Quest VI on DS. I have five games in my console backlog- Xenogears, Final Fantasy IX, Vagrant Story, Dark Cloud, and Dragon Quest VIII. I want to play something short before the holidays, so if I have time I'll probably try Vagrant Story once I'm done with VIII, but if I don't I might just replay Twilight Princess for the fifth time. :)

Final Fantasy VIII- First Impressions

I've been a huge fan of the Final Fantasy series for years, but I've never had the opportunity to play most of the games until recently. This year has been a blitz of gaming for me, as I've obtained and played through most of the series this year. I got all three PS1 FF games over the summer, and now that I've beaten VII, I've turned my attention to one of the more controversial games in the series, VIII.

I'm about halfway through Disc 2 (out of 4) right now, and I must say that I'm enjoying myself quite a bit. I really love the RPGs of past gaming generations, and the three PS1 FFs so far (haven't started IX yet) are great games. Final Fantasy VIII does have some strange elements to it, though. Like most FF games, it almost completely reinvents the wheel, featuring a number of changes such as a magic-based character growth system and level scaling. Yes, every enemy in Final Fantasy VIII outside of a few rare exceptions will be at the same level as your party. This creates an odd scenario in which leveling up isn't a very good thing, as your stat increases will be minimal and every enemy will have leveled up as well, making things more difficult for you.  Characters also level up every with every 1000 experience points they earn, rather than an increasing amount. In order to combat the level scaling, mastering the Junction System is imperative. I won't go into too many details until I review the game, but suffice it to say that the Junction System, so far, is a massive headache. How it works is that every character stockpiles magic spells (up to 100 of each), and then, after equipping a Guardian Force (the iconic Summons of Final Fantasy), a character can 'Junction' a spell to any of their stats. The amount the stat is increased by is determined by the type of spell and how much of it you have (for example, 100 Curagas are good for HP Junctioning). That's all I'll say for now; the system is almost stupidly overcomplicated at times.

As for the story, Final Fantasy games are known for good stories, and Final Fantasy VIII still tells an engaging tale. I'm really digging the pseudo-modern setting of the game (sort of a cleaner version of FFVII's world, but not as sleek as XIII's), as well as the political situation concerning the evil Galbadian Republic. Having the main  characters be mercenaries (SeeD special forces) is an interesting touch which adds a unique flavor to the typical 'evil empire' storyline JRPGs are so fond of. What I don't like is that, so far, Squall is the only playable character to have a major character arc. Aside from Laguna (a playable who you control for brief flashbacks), the rest of the party has so far been strangely lacking in character development, which is dissapointing for a Final Fantasy game. Hopefully they'll have more to do later in the story.  I'm also rather dissapointed in what is arguably the most famous aspect of Final Fantasy VIII, which is the romance between Squall and Rinoa. Granted, I'm only two discs in, but so far Rinoa has got to be one of the least appealing love interests I've seen. Again, hopefully this aspect of the plot gets better, especially considering that the game's logo is the two of them embracing.

For now, I'm still enjoying FFVIII despite my criticisms. I'll have more on it later.