Ultima VII--Progress and A Dialing of Difficulty Downward.

I'm not entirely certain that anyone remembers me saying that I'd be posting about my time in Britannia's Age of Armageddon, but I sure do, and it's about time I delivered.

So, the truth is, I absolutely hate the combat. Maybe I'm just not used to it yet, but it's just a little irritating. I'm not saying that it's the core of the experience, because it really isn't, but given that I know that I'm going to have to fight some dragons somewhere in my future, I'm don't feel like I'm going to be ready. However, I dialed down the combat difficulty, picked up two more companions, beat down some bandits, and now I'm equipped for war with the Guardian.

Now for the good stuff: the story is progressing in an amazing way. I'd say spoiler alert, but let's face it, none of you are going to care about spoilers if you haven't played this particular game from twenty years ago. So far, two brutal ritualistic murders have taken place in the wake of two Fellowship members coming into towns. I don't know if it's obvious enough so let me say it: The Fellowship is evil. As are Elizabeth and Abraham. You know...EA...like the vile corporation that raped Origin Systems and destroyed this franchise. Okay, moving on.

Along the way I've found some of the adventurers from previous games, such as Iolo, Shamino, and Sentri. While I've never had Sentri in my party in the earlier games I've played, I have recruited Iolo. Shamino, however, has only met my character in the first Ultima...as it was his castle that I ransacked and ripped through to save a princess who would tell me where his time machine was. Yeah, scroll back a ways and check out my review of that one to see how nutty that game was!

Between murder sites, character recruiting, and begging Lord British for healing, I met a gypsy named Margareta, who told me a lot of what is to come in the game. Apparently I will be fighting Captain Hook, meeting a Time Lord, and even chatting up with some wisps.

Not a screenshot.

I also spoke with another mage who'd lost his mind and was put on the trail of a magic carpet. This is one of my primary objectives right now, because I would love some help traveling around the map. Let's face it: traveling through the swamp sucks with a party of this size, because touching the water poisons you. Well, small price to pay to see greater Britannia. However, I think that it's not so much the Avatar that gets poisoned as it is Spark. The little kid has a death wish.

Yeah, I haven't gotten very far. I have made progress, but it's a beast of a game. I do have some leads, including a serpent knife, and of course the vile EA(!). As long as things keep going this well (yes I think it's going well!), I will post more about my trip through Britannia in the coming Age of Armageddon. I think that I will play Ultima VIII: Pagan and do just the same. If you think I should, drop a comment! Show me that you are reading rather than letting me just look at my statistics and guessing that people give a crap!

Final Fantasy XIII-2, Writing, and Some Other Nonsense

Around twenty hours and thirty fragments into Final Fantasy XIII-2, I realized how much I miss the Chrono franchise. Sure, the Final Fantasy series still holds my attention far more than most RPG's, but the magic isn't quite as strong. At least, not until XIII-2.

Everything about this game screams out for me to dump an inconceivable amount of time into the game. It's too bad that the story, protagonists, and framework of the game kind of hurt it. Serah is an idiot, with ridiculous dialogue. Noel has an interesting past, and is a character I like to follow, but his ramblings about time are repetitive and don't drive the narrative. With all of the melodrama spread like fine butter over this story, it's a surprise to see that there was real potential here.

The antagonist, Caius Ballad (whose name is just as ridiculous as his giant winged sword), actually walks around with the real tragedy of the game. I won't ruin anything, but the things that happen around him are actually compelling, and could have made for one of the best stories in the franchise. There just isn't enough drive to the plot. However, I also think that if they locked the focus on the plot, it would have detracted from the gameplay. There could be a balance to be struck, with a longer story arc than exists, but it's not here just yet. I'm looking forward to the next two chapters, and the finale, because the game is actually quite good. Sure, it's not FFVI or even IX, but it's a sight better than X-XII, and pushes beyond the weaknesses of its immediate predecessors.

But there are other things going on in the world beyond this game. By the way, the Collector's Edition version is spectacular. The packaging is lovely, the art book a nice little addition, and the four disc soundtrack stealing the show. While I wish they'd kept the artwork from the announcement photo, it's not a hideous design. The soundtrack itself is...well...schizophrenic. The orchestral bits are pretty good, and there are some other moments that are alright, but all of the battle music is awful. Death metal fused J-Rock doesn't fill with me excitement when I'm cutting down giant monsters.

I just jumped back on the game for a second there didn't I? Okay, let's just move on.

Instead of working on my short story, Dead City Center, or editing my novel, currently titled either Crusader, Weakness, or something else...I'm writing this blog and playing this game. The short story I'm working on right now is a great little oddity, and an absolute blast to think about, but a nightmare to structure and write. I will be finishing, and then editing it. I want publication. A portfolio. I want work.

And as for work, I'm still at CVS, I'm working very hard, yes, and it sucks away a lot of time. I do like being at home more though, and life has improved in that regard. Spending more time with Jo just sweetens everything about my existence. Getting off work means more than it ever has.

So, here's the coming soon.

--Finish Dead City Center
--Edit more of Weakness
--Create a cover and Ad Campaign for the novel.
--Begin the kickstarter program
--Find a publisher for Dead City Center
--Beg some media types to do a story on the novel and its kickstarter.

Now, I do fully realize that no one will care about this beast of a book just yet. This will take a lot of work, and I hope that my friends will spread the word. Just a little share on their facebook page will be all that it takes.

And I pray that it helps with the stuff that is tabbed on my browser right now.

Let's see what happens folks...


Recent Library Additions:

Final Fantasy XIII-2 Collector's Edition (XBOX 360)
Sonic and Knuckles (CIB, Genesis)
Mortal Kombat II (32X)

A Theory on Final Fantasy XIII

It's been a while since I put the tunnel vision behemoth down after reaching a particularly difficult Eidolon battle. And since these insolent little conflicts are one of the games biggest flaws in my opinion, I took a break. Who doesn't under such circumstances, and I will not take any flack for my waiting to continue. However, I returned to the game, passed the fight, and proceeded, and discovered something very odd as I progressed.

Let's go ahead and note that Final Fantasy XIII hasn't been widely accepted by the gaming community, and only a few people have found enjoyment out it. I enjoy it despite it's flaws, mostly due to the fact that it tells a story better than it's predecessor. Sure, the story may not be that great, and still pales in comparison to the Playstation and SNES era, but it's a story that kept my interest.

And now that I've cleared my throat, it's time to get down to business.

Final Fantasy XIII is a perfect example of Square-Enix trying to apply the style of American mainstream games to the Japanese role playing game, specifically calling on first person shooters.

Let that sink in, folks. It's an odd statement, and I have plenty to support it with. Just...breathe it all in.

Alright, now that you are ready for this, let's dig in.

Anyone who has played the game knows very well how narrow the path is, leading you from story event to story event, with absolutely no variation in the game until the eleventh chapter. I can compare this to the average modern first person shooter, wherein which you go down streets or tunnels or whatever the path de jour, and go from battle to battle. Even the actual combat plays out similarly to an FPS. Attack, defend, heal, repeat. Sure, the FPS is going to be a bit more intense seeing as your character is directly controlled by you, but I still stand that this is the flow of combat in FFXIII. Not to mention that potions of almost all kinds are nearly worthless now. It's much easier to switch paradigms for a quick heal than going through the menus for potions several times.

At the end of each path, following several rounds of combat, a story event comes, at times paired with a more difficult round of combat than before. Yes, this is an element of pretty much every game, so this one is a bit unfair, but keep in mind that exploration offered something to keep the player interested in plowing through those random battles. No such variety exists here, until the aforementioned eleventh chapter. I can't think of very many modern first person shooters that offer branching paths out into open areas that stray from the missions provided. So, needless to say, why not apply such constant focus on the story of a game through a similar method of progression? The story of FFXIII seems to be what is in the sight of the director, allowing no way to step away until almost the end.

But that's not saying that they haven't been going this direction in the past. Final Fantasy X suffered a similar progression, despite having many more opportunities to step off the beaten path.

The lack of cities and the usual variety of NPC's is almost unexplainable for a JRPG. I can only assume that this is something else borrowed from the mainstream FPS tradition. Sure, even Gears of War has a cast of someone other than Marcus Fenix, but aside from the squad of Gears that accompany him, the world isn't exactly populated with fine folks offering you guidance from city to city. And that's fine for the genre. You don't need a world full of people in a game where aliens are annihilating cities and wiping out the general population. However, when you are playing a game where you traverse a few still standing cities, you should expect to see a few people in passing.

Also missing from the usual formulas are the shops. Yes, there is a menu where you can buy and sell weapons, accessories, items, and components, but there isn't any personality beyond the backgrounds and sound effects associated with them. I can't say that there was much variety between the shops in towns in past games, but at least you had a sense of place, going through the game as it progressed. All of the environments in FFXIII felt more like they were there as a result of necessity. Have we programmed a snow/ice area? Okay, stick on here. Industrial? Alright, let's play that card. Undergound? Do it. What does this have to do with American FPS games? Not much at all, other than it's something you often see in those games as well. And every other game.

The only place I can see the differentiation is in the way the story plays out. While many have gotten this right, most first person shooters keep the story and the game play apart from one another. You could make the argument that Final Fantasy has been doing that since the first installment. However, I stand that a lot of the story from the classics in the series came from the world, and the people you interacted with throughout the story. More than anything, FFXIII and the modern first person shooter have you interacting with set piece events and combat sequences that do little more that add some of that good old "wow" factor.

While I don't think that FFXIII stands on the same level of quality as it's predecessors, I still enjoy it, warts and all. It's a bizarre run of experimental game design, filtered through a unfocused development process. It will never stand on the same playing field with Final Fantasy VI, but it's still more interesting than some games. If you agree, disagree, or whatever, that's fine. Just think about this if you stick the game in some time in the near future. You might be surprised by what you see.

Oh my, my never ending cheapness is going to pay off.

First thing I see when I open up IGN this morning is an article announcing that Xenogears, the classic PS1 JRPG, is going to PSN tomorrow. This guy right here is going to get it.

Just for a little bit of background, I got to the PS1 late, opting for the Nintendo 64 for my gaming at the time. When I got hooked on JRPG's in middle school, I begged the parents for PS1, and eventually got one, with Final Fantasy VII. Now I think that game is massively overrated, and have better memories of better games on the console. Xenogears was one that I borrowed from a friend who got lucky on a reprint copy. I never finished the game, getting stuck at the tail end of the game.

Now I get a sweet little second chance, provided I can find the time to play the bloody thing.

Despite that, I'll put it on my PSP along with Final Fantasy VII-IX (yes, I know I just called VII overrated. That doesn't mean it was bad). Maybe I'll dig up my old save...or start all over. I'm a much smarter gamer than I was back when I first played the controversial and massively confusing game.

Oh, no, I don't look forward to the giant never ending storybook sections that make up the second disc. I'm not sure what it is about philosophically charged things involving giant robots, but these two things usually bring on the death knell of mass media creativity--budget cuts. The last episodes of Neon Genesis Evangelion suffered a similar mess, in which the entire thing was made up of still shots and about three minutes of animation. And while the game actually plays and runs fine, it's still a bit dodgy at it's conclusion as a result.

But the first disc is still spectacular!

Now...to wait until it's financially feasible to buy and download this beast.