7/22/2012 Update

So, in a weekend full of Rising Dark Knights, I've been playing an RPG featuring the original Dark Knight of the RPGverse, Cecil. Specifically, I've been playing Interlude, the brief chapter that takes place between Final Fantasy IV and it's recent sequel The After Years, packaged neatly together in the Complete Collection for PSP (should I ever review the PSP version of IV, I'll probably make an argument as to just how 'complete' said collection really is, but that's not what I'm here to discuss). Honestly, it'd be impossible to recommend The Complete Collection to people who have already played the aforementioned games on the merits of Interlude alone. It's a brief (maybe two hours long) chapter that fills in a tiny gap between the two main games, that takes you through three recycled dungeons from FFIV (including the freaking Sealed Cave).

Meanwhile, I'm still playing Persona 3. While I'm still enjoying the game very much, it is getting a tad long, and I have a feeling I've got a long ways to go. I'm pretty sure now that I won't be moving on to the extra FES content after finishing the main game, or at the least I'll take a break to play Dream Drop Distance for a bit when it comes out.

My Review- Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII (PSP)

I’d just like to get this out of the way; I like Final Fantasy VII. No, it’s not my favorite game in the series by a long shot, but even without taking into account its massive role in gaming history as the game that not only changed RPGs forever but also brought the genre into mainstream consciousness, Final Fantasy VII is a game that has what every higher-echelon Final Fantasy game should have. It doesn’t have any of the questionable design decisions or critical flaws of entries such as VIII and XIII, but rather stands alongside IV, VI, IX, and X as one of the best games in the series. But this isn’t about Final Fantasy VII; this is a review of Crisis Core, part of a series of spinoffs known as the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII. A prequel to the original game, does Crisis Core add a worthy new chapter to the Midgar mythos, or is it another mediocre side story?

Rogue Galaxy First Impressions, Crisis Core, and Updates

This rather large update is on my next couple of games and a change to my reviews. I’ve finally had an opportunity to make some progress (you’d think that school being out would give me more free time), and this is what I’ve been doing for the blog.

First of all, I just started Rogue Galaxy, an action-RPG by Level 5 that’s been on my list to play ever since it came out. Released at the end of the PS2’s life cycle after Squares epic Final Fantasy XII, Rogue Galaxy remains one of the little black box’s RPG classics. In a system known for having a large amount of fantastic RPGs, Rogue Galaxy manages to stand out in a crowded market- it’s arguably Level 5’s best game to date. It’s easily one of the best looking games I’ve seen. Level 5 proved with games like Dark Cloud 2 and Dragon Quest VIII that they were masters of cell-shading, and Rogue Galaxy may end up being their ultimate visual achievement (at least until Ni no Kuni graces us with its presence). Gameplay-wise, while it’s impossible to judge seeing as I’m only an hour into the game, but Rogue Galaxy is a sci-fi action RPG in a similar vein to the Star Ocean games, and features a lot of the item and weapon synthesis elements from the Dark Cloud games (or at least the game’s menu bears a striking resemblance to Dark Cloud 2’s and has similar statistics). What I have played left me with a favorable first impression, and I’m excited to continue.

Crisis Core: First Impressions, and Updates

SUCCESS!!!

The school year is done, graduation is imminent, and this senior project scored 19 points out of a possible 20! I think it's safe to say that PG's Game Room was more than sufficient as a senior project. Now it's time to see how well I can manage it on my own. >_<

Anyways, I recently started playing Crisis Core, the PSP prequel to Square's legendary PS1 classic Final Fantasy VII. Crisis Core was released in 2007 as part of the 'Compilation of Final Fantasy VII', a series of spinoffs and side stories to Final Fantasy VII that had mixed results. The gorgeous yet bland CGI film Advent Children, and the terrible shooter Dirge of Cerberus, certainly didn't live up to expectations, but Crisis Core is easily the best of the Compilation project, and, if first impressions are anything to go by, one of the best games Square Enix has put out in a long time.

For those who don't know, Crisis Core is an action-RPG akin to Kingdom Hearts, where the player controls Zack Fair, Cloud's mentor in SOLDIER, as he performs missions for the Shinra Corporation. Thus far, the story has managed to be engaging; there's a large amount of winks and nudges to the original game, which is to be expected of a prequel, but the main story has, for the most part, stood on its own well, with Zack and cohorts tracking down a rogue SOLDIER 1st Class named Genesis, who is raising an army to take down Shinra.

I'm still playing Xenogears at the moment, and I'll aim to have that done within a week or two, although I can't guarantee anything. Afterwards, I'm going to start a PS2 game. After Xenogears, I'm not sure I want to play anything incredibly long or slow-paced (Persona 3: FES and Dragon Quest VIII being two backlogged games that come to mind), so Rogue Galaxy is probably next on the agenda. Level 5's PS2 action-RPG has been on my to-do list for quite some time, and I'm looking forward to finally playing it. What little I've seen of the game is absolutely stunning.

My Review: Kingdom Hearts- Birth by Sleep (PSP)

My Review: Kingdom Hearts- Birth by Sleep (PSP)

I’ve mentioned it before, but it bears mentioning again: I don’t think anyone could have predicted exactly how dense the Kingdom Hearts series has become. Squaresoft’s little Disney crossover game has spawned one of the most popular video game franchises in the world, and with each game the overarching narrative has only grown more complex and, at times, convoluted. Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep, a game that was teased at the end of Kingdom Hearts II, plays an integral role in the Kingdom Hearts saga: as a prequel to the original Kingdom Hearts, as well as an establishment of where the series will go in the future. Is this portable adventure up to the task?

STORY

Destiny is never left to chance.

As mentioned earlier, Birth by Sleep is a prequel, set ten years before the original Kingdom Hearts. The game focuses on the adventures of three protagonists, Terra, Aqua, and Ventus, who are apprentices to Keyblade Master Eraqus. After a series of events drive the heroes apart, they each set out on their own journey across the myriad worlds, dealing with their own internal conflicts and struggling to maintain their friendship in light of newfound revelations concerning themselves and their Masters, all while combating the evil Unversed, monsters that are born from negative emotion. Ventus is attempting to uncover the truth about his origins and his connection to a mysterious masked boy named Vanitas, who appears to lead the Unversed. . Aqua attempts to bring Ventus back home and watch over Terra, while questioning the morality of the orders from her Master. Meanwhile, Terra is struggling with the dark power inside him, trying to discover its place in him under the tutelage of Master Xehanort, who may have other, more sinister objectives…

It's 2012! Time for a Backlog Update

Well, the holidays are over, and school is about to resume. This means two things- one, my backlog of games has substantially increased thanks to the generosity of my family and friends. Two, my free time is about to be significantly reduced. My to-do list of games may yet expand further as several new releases are around the corner that I am interested in.

NOW PLAYING

Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep (PSP)
Final Fantasy IX (PS1)

UPCOMING
Final Fantasy XIII-2 (PS3) (preordered)
Ni no Kuni (PS3)
Final Fantasy Type 0 (PSP) (coming to the states?)
Final Fantasy Versus XIII (PS3) (pls?)
Xenoblade Chronicles (Wii)

BACKLOG (CONSOLE)
Dragon Quest VIII (PS2)
Dark Cloud (PS2)
Ico (PS2/3)
Shadow of the Colossus (PS2/3) (HD Collection w/ Ico)
White Knight Chronicles (PS3)
White Knight Chronicles 2 (PS3)
Xenogears (PS1)
Vagrant Story (PS1)

BACKLOG (HANDHELD)
Final Fantasy I (PSP)
Final Fantasy II (PSP)
Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII (PSP)
Radiant Historia (DS)
Dragon Quest VI (DS)


So, yeah, I'm going to be very busy. And quite happy. :) With the holidays over, I will return to this blog's primary function, which is to publish reviews and tidbits of news I find interesting (hmm, haven't done that for a while). Happy new year!

Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep- First Impressions

Well, I got a PSP for Christmas! With the Vita just around the corner, it's an ideal time to get a PSP, since there's lots of good games for it and the system is reasonably cheap. In addition to Birth by Sleep, I also got the first two Final Fantasies, and Crisis Core.

Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep is a game I was very excited for since it was announced. It's a prequel to the other Kingdom Hearts games, and fills in a number of plot holes while at the same time establishing the core plotline of future games (such as the much hoped-for Kingdom Hearts III).

Playing it for the first time, I am very impressed. While not quite on the level of the PS2 games, Birth by Sleep animated fluidly and the game looks very good. The environments aren't huge, but they get the job done, and the music is still (so far) fantastic. In Birth by Sleep, you play as three different Keyblade Masters in their seperate storylines. So far, I've only played as Terra, a character who focuses on physical attacks. The game's combat is also much improved over prior entries in the series. You still select commands from a menu, but rather than having to scroll through menus and submenus in order to select an action, all normal attacks are mapped to the X button. Special abilities, spells, and items can be slotted into a customizable menu, and are executed with the Triangle button. This makes combat a lot more fluid than previous games, and allows a greater degree of character customization.

I'm only a couple hours into Birth by Sleep, but so far the game is excellent fun. We'll see if this will last through the game's three storylines.

Also, I started Final Fantasy IX this morning. I haven't played enough to do a full post about it, but so far, the game is very good.

Final Fantasy Type-0- Out in Japan

This post is a couple days out-of date, but Final Fantasy Type-0, the latest entry in the excellent franchise, is out in Japan. It's for the PSP as part of the Fabula Nova Crystallis project that includes Final Fantasy XIII and Final Fantasy Versus XIII.

The game hasn't been announced for a U.S. release yet, due to the poor market for PSP titles in the U.S. (as Square Enix president Yoichi Wada puts it). Recent polls I've seen place Type 0 as one of the most anticipated RPGs over here in the states, right beneath Skyrim. The game looks fantastic- an epic tale of war, with more bloodshed and tragedy in any FF game we've seen up to this point. I know I'm not alone in hoping to play this game soon. Come on, Square: make it happen!