Final Fantasy VII is a game that is widely heralded as a classic. A revolutionary game that influenced and inspired the masses on what a game could be. Recently, I played through it for the first time, and here are some of my thoughts on the legend.
The Final Fantasy series has always irked me in one way or another. Either the story and characters never resonated with me, or the combat system was too confusing for me to get a hold of. I decided to be patient with VII and give it a chance. The result was a resounding "it's okay, I guess".
The Final Fantasy franchise always has top marks in visuals and soundtrack. However, those do not make for a great game, and the aesthetic isn't really consistent with the overall tone of the game. Most of the places you visit and the things you see are just visually interesting, and don't really hold any value other than to look pretty, so it seems rather empty. The soundtrack, composed by Nobuo Uematsu, is as wonderful as ever. While I've never played most of the Final Fantasy games, his renown is well known. I've even been to a few Final Fantasy concerts because I know how great the music is. Final Fantasy VII is a testament to his creativity. The songs in VII are catchy, and they help to embed the areas that you'll visit in the game in your memory. It would be nice, however, if I could listen to them for more than five seconds.
Random battles are annoying. It doesn't matter what game you're playing. They just ruin the moment. This was one thing that I found to be grating on my nerves throughout most of my playthrough of Final Fantasy VII. Sometimes in video games, I just like to run around in circles with my characters while I think of the next thing that I need to do. I can't really have the opportunity to do that when every few steps are interrupted by a random battle. I couldn't really think at all of what was going on, because my train of thought was constantly interrupted by a loud noise and the screen going all crazy just to transition to a handful of random monsters that aren't even worth enough experience points to warrant casting a spell on them.
Something that made the experience of Final Fantasy VII dull was the lack of variety in the characters. Sure, they all looked visually distinct, and they all had their individual personalities; however, everybody could cast spells, use techniques, and summon creatures to fight for them without any kind of class based skill or statistic. I've been playing a lot of Dungeons & Dragons lately, and the thing that makes for an effective team is composition. In recent titles like Overwatch, this element is stressed heavily, but Final Fantasy VII isn't a competitive online shooter, it's an RPG. When everybody can use spells just as well as the other person, nobody is special and all of the battles come down to wizard battles. Why is it that Cloud, who is iconic for wielding a huge sword, barely uses it? It was ineffective to continuously use the standard attack, when I could cast a spell that would deal just as much, if not more, damage to all targets on screen? Barret, the guy with the gun for his right arm, was assigned to be my healer because Aeirs (the girl who dies) died on me. The reason this bothers me so much is because the personalities of these characters only come through when they have a bit of dialogue.
The characters didn't have classes. They could use any spell that they wanted. The only thing that separated them were their limit break moves, which only happened once their gauge was full. Sure, it was cool to see Tifa suplex a dragon, but the rest of the time she was using ice and fire spells. She's supposed to be the hand-to-hand martial artist, but she's casting Ice 3 like a level 20 wizard. Because of the games indifference towards classes (which as I understand were a huge element of earlier Final Fantasy games like 3 and 4), composition didn't matter. Even if composition did matter, there was no way to read party member statistics to differentiate them.
The characters of Final Fantasy aren't very unique to being with, however. Everybody fills in the roles that their supposed to, and nobody really stands out as a unique character to me. Plus, the game forced the romance between Cloud and Aeris, when I wanted Cloud and Tifa to be a thing. The game takes you on its narrative, and doesn't allow for much, if any wiggle room. I was just there for the ride. I know that if you do a specific thing, you can have Cloud go on the date at the Golden Saucer with someone other than Aeris, but I didn't really know how to do that, since spending time with different party members only occurs in the aforementioned team composition. It isn't like Mass Effect where I can chat with my crew for a bit and get to know them more. The thing that bothered me the most is that nobody really surprised me all that much. Save for Cait Sith turning out to be a spy for the bad guys. Tifa plays the childhood friend. Aeris: the beautiful girl whom the main character immediately falls in love with. Barret: the radical who acts like he has nothing to lose, but who has a family to look after / token black character. These archetypes aren't interesting. They're boring and frustrating. Nobody changed throughout this adventure.
All in all, Final Fantasy VII is a video game. You have your cast of characters, and you save the world. That's it. There's a few interesting moments here and there about identity, and big corporations flippantly killing the planet (which seems more relevant than it ever has been these days). Other than that; nothing special. A few moments caught me off guard with random encounters being way above my level and wiping my party, but I was able to make it past them once I figured out how to run from battles. Final Fantasy probably would have blown my mind if I had played it when it originally came out. Is it worth playing now? I can't be sure. The genre of the Japanese RPG has evolved to a new standard, and Final Fantasy VII seems archaic by now.
B
Side note: The ATB system still doesn't make any sense to me, and I think it's trash. Also: random encounters that can wipe my party during a crucial moment in the story are bull shit.
Friday, September 8, 2017
Wednesday, September 14, 2016
For Honor Closed Alpha Starts Thursday
For Honor is an upcoming game from Ubisoft about medieval warfare. Players can choose from three different factions: Knights, Samurai, and Vikings. The full game is set to be released next February 14, but this Thursday players can register to get into the closed alpha and get a taste of the game before its' full release.
The alpha will have quite a lot of features including: being able to play as two of the four available heroes from each of the three factions (knights, samurai, and vikings), three (3) maps, three different multiplayer modes (1v1, 2v2, and 4v4). There will also be a little bit of leveling up to do in the alpha that will allow players to unlock cosmetics for the available characters as well as perks and equipment.
If you want to sign up to get into the closed alpha, go here, and sign up with Uplay.
via: Games Radar
The alpha will have quite a lot of features including: being able to play as two of the four available heroes from each of the three factions (knights, samurai, and vikings), three (3) maps, three different multiplayer modes (1v1, 2v2, and 4v4). There will also be a little bit of leveling up to do in the alpha that will allow players to unlock cosmetics for the available characters as well as perks and equipment.
If you want to sign up to get into the closed alpha, go here, and sign up with Uplay.
via: Games Radar
The Last Guardian Delayed Until December
The Last Guardian has once again been delayed. Even after the announcement at E3 2016 that the game would be released on October 25. The announcement of the delay comes from Shuhei Yoshida, the president of Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios. In a blog post on September 12, 2016, Yoshida makes the announcement, to a surprisingly calm internet. Perhaps because this game has been in development for a very long time, and we're all just kind of used to this thing by now. However, The Last Guardian is still slated for a 2016 release, and it seems as though the development team are just ironing out the bugs now to make sure that the game is what they want it to be.
via: Game Informer
via: Game Informer
Tuesday, September 13, 2016
Can't Stop, Won't Stop
This is my 200th blog post! Yaaaaayy!!!!
While some of my posts are very old, and I wrote them long before I started to dedicate myself to this blog and practicing my craft more. I'd say that it still counts.
Either way.
I've been writing on this blog consistently for a while now, and I'm really proud of myself for doing so. It is not the most popular blog on the internet, and most of my personal friends forget that I even write this blog. However, that doesn't stop me from doing so. I really enjoy writing. It's my passion, and I know that there is room for improvement. Practice makes perfect, as they say, so I like to keep on writing. It's important to me that I do so, because I don't want to lose whatever edge that I've spent so much time developing. I kind of feel like a character in an MMO, where I am frequently told that only I can save the world, but there are seventeen thousand other characters of the same class who follow the same quest line and get told the exact same thing, and we all follow the same missions that can "change the tide of battle", but it doesn't make a difference one way or the other. It just feels kind of pointless at times, but whatever. I'm still having fun doing this.
There are lots of times when I don't update my blog, and I get pretty upset about it. At the end of the day, I just have to shrug it off. I missed a day. It isn't the end of the world. Besides, it isn't as though I can't update again, or write on a day that isn't when I had planned to write. Inspiration can strike at anytime, and that's when I like to write.
Often times, it does seem rather fruitless to continue to write on this blog, especially when I do such a poor job of sharing it around, but I like doing it. I play so many video games, and in reality they don't help me to get anything accomplished, but I have enjoyed myself. I just want to be happy at the end of the day, and if I can feel accomplished by making a blog post, or by playing some video games, then that should be enough. It's kind of difficult to be an adult these days. There's a lot of things that stress me out. I battle depression on a regular basis, and I'm only just making it by financially. Yet, there are still things that I can do to just be happy.
Happiness is a concept that we learn about when we are very young. At some point along the way, probably during school, we forget about being happy. We start to take ourselves seriously. We have responsibilities, and deadlines, and all of these things that stress us out. More often than not, we're worried, and we're just doing okay. It's difficult for us to say that we're happy. I love my video games, and I love this blog. I like spending time with people I care about, and I like having fun. It's kind of sad that I have to make time for those things, but it's really important that I do, because I should be happy. We all should. I don't think that it's worth working all the time, so that I can have money, so that I can work more, so that I can get more money, so that I just end up staying in this vicious cycle that doesn't leave any time for myself, or the things and people that I care about. Even the Bible says to keep the Sabbath holy. In other words: take a day off. Treat yourself. Enjoy life. Because so many of us are just existing. I know that I am. I have to fight to break that monotony of rhythmic routine. That's why I like video games. That's why I like writing. That's why I like spending time with other people. Because it breaks that routine where it becomes mind numbing.
I may have rambled for this post, but it felt good to do so. I know that life is difficult, and that it's hard to see the bright side sometimes, but also, we have to make the bright side. There's probably something that you can do today to make yourself just a little bit happier. Go be happy. It isn't childish. It isn't silly. It's something that we all need, and we all deserve.
I intend to keep on writing this blog, whether you read it or not, because it makes me happy, and I like doing it.
While some of my posts are very old, and I wrote them long before I started to dedicate myself to this blog and practicing my craft more. I'd say that it still counts.
Either way.
I've been writing on this blog consistently for a while now, and I'm really proud of myself for doing so. It is not the most popular blog on the internet, and most of my personal friends forget that I even write this blog. However, that doesn't stop me from doing so. I really enjoy writing. It's my passion, and I know that there is room for improvement. Practice makes perfect, as they say, so I like to keep on writing. It's important to me that I do so, because I don't want to lose whatever edge that I've spent so much time developing. I kind of feel like a character in an MMO, where I am frequently told that only I can save the world, but there are seventeen thousand other characters of the same class who follow the same quest line and get told the exact same thing, and we all follow the same missions that can "change the tide of battle", but it doesn't make a difference one way or the other. It just feels kind of pointless at times, but whatever. I'm still having fun doing this.
There are lots of times when I don't update my blog, and I get pretty upset about it. At the end of the day, I just have to shrug it off. I missed a day. It isn't the end of the world. Besides, it isn't as though I can't update again, or write on a day that isn't when I had planned to write. Inspiration can strike at anytime, and that's when I like to write.
Often times, it does seem rather fruitless to continue to write on this blog, especially when I do such a poor job of sharing it around, but I like doing it. I play so many video games, and in reality they don't help me to get anything accomplished, but I have enjoyed myself. I just want to be happy at the end of the day, and if I can feel accomplished by making a blog post, or by playing some video games, then that should be enough. It's kind of difficult to be an adult these days. There's a lot of things that stress me out. I battle depression on a regular basis, and I'm only just making it by financially. Yet, there are still things that I can do to just be happy.
Happiness is a concept that we learn about when we are very young. At some point along the way, probably during school, we forget about being happy. We start to take ourselves seriously. We have responsibilities, and deadlines, and all of these things that stress us out. More often than not, we're worried, and we're just doing okay. It's difficult for us to say that we're happy. I love my video games, and I love this blog. I like spending time with people I care about, and I like having fun. It's kind of sad that I have to make time for those things, but it's really important that I do, because I should be happy. We all should. I don't think that it's worth working all the time, so that I can have money, so that I can work more, so that I can get more money, so that I just end up staying in this vicious cycle that doesn't leave any time for myself, or the things and people that I care about. Even the Bible says to keep the Sabbath holy. In other words: take a day off. Treat yourself. Enjoy life. Because so many of us are just existing. I know that I am. I have to fight to break that monotony of rhythmic routine. That's why I like video games. That's why I like writing. That's why I like spending time with other people. Because it breaks that routine where it becomes mind numbing.
I may have rambled for this post, but it felt good to do so. I know that life is difficult, and that it's hard to see the bright side sometimes, but also, we have to make the bright side. There's probably something that you can do today to make yourself just a little bit happier. Go be happy. It isn't childish. It isn't silly. It's something that we all need, and we all deserve.
I intend to keep on writing this blog, whether you read it or not, because it makes me happy, and I like doing it.
More Anime For Your Buck
Streaming service Crunchyroll recently announced that Funimation has entered into a partnership with them. This means that Funimation shows that premiere in Japan will be available the next day on Crunchyroll. Other Funimation anime will also be available on Crunchyroll, such as Cowboy Bebop and Psycho Pass.
Crunchyroll is basically the Netflix of anime, and has a huge selection of shows to watch. Crunchyroll also offers the viewing of new anime that is released the day after it premiers in Japan, so anime lovers can stay current with all of the new anime that comes out. It's also a good way to support the official release, and makes it easier to get your hands on professional and official English dubs of anime without having to scour the darker corners of the Internet.
via: Kotaku
Crunchyroll is basically the Netflix of anime, and has a huge selection of shows to watch. Crunchyroll also offers the viewing of new anime that is released the day after it premiers in Japan, so anime lovers can stay current with all of the new anime that comes out. It's also a good way to support the official release, and makes it easier to get your hands on professional and official English dubs of anime without having to scour the darker corners of the Internet.
via: Kotaku
Monday, September 12, 2016
Sonic Beats Mario
There have been a lot of takedowns by Nintendo of fanmade content. Namely Pokemon Uranium and AM2R (a full remake of Metroid II: Return of Samus).
On the other end of the spectrum, a fan made a Sonic game called Green Hill Paradise. Instead of making a DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act), Sega decided to let it ride. The Sonic the Hedgehog Twitter account further punctuated this by posting this:
Sonic has even gone so far as to bring fans on to help develop future games such as Sonic Mania.
Personally, I think that Sega doing things right by letting fans continue to let their creations stay up for others to enjoy. Nintendo is well within their right to take down fan creations for the sake of protecting their properties. However, I, along with many other fans, would like to see these games available for everybody else to take a look at. Especially since there hasn't been a new proper Metroid game since Metroid Fusion. After all, Nintendo is one of the most influential game companies of all time. I think that they should be honored that so many people are paying tribute to them by making these games. While I may be unfamiliar with the laws of copyright and DMCA, I still feel as though Nintendo is being a bit too harsh with these takedowns.
via: Kotaku
On the other end of the spectrum, a fan made a Sonic game called Green Hill Paradise. Instead of making a DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act), Sega decided to let it ride. The Sonic the Hedgehog Twitter account further punctuated this by posting this:
Sonic has even gone so far as to bring fans on to help develop future games such as Sonic Mania.
Personally, I think that Sega doing things right by letting fans continue to let their creations stay up for others to enjoy. Nintendo is well within their right to take down fan creations for the sake of protecting their properties. However, I, along with many other fans, would like to see these games available for everybody else to take a look at. Especially since there hasn't been a new proper Metroid game since Metroid Fusion. After all, Nintendo is one of the most influential game companies of all time. I think that they should be honored that so many people are paying tribute to them by making these games. While I may be unfamiliar with the laws of copyright and DMCA, I still feel as though Nintendo is being a bit too harsh with these takedowns.
via: Kotaku
Sony Says 'No' to Mods
Bethesda had announced that there will not be mod support for their games on the Playstation 4, but not of their own volition. Sony did not approve of allowing mods for both Fallout 4 and the upcoming Skyrim Remaster. In a post on Bethesda.net, the company revealed that Sony themeselves were responsible for this prevention.
"After months of discussion with Sony, we regret to say that while we have long been ready to offer mod support on PlayStation 4, Sony has informed us they will not approve user mods the way they should work: where users can do anything they want for either Fallout 4 or Skyrim Special Edition.
"After months of discussion with Sony, we regret to say that while we have long been ready to offer mod support on PlayStation 4, Sony has informed us they will not approve user mods the way they should work: where users can do anything they want for either Fallout 4 or Skyrim Special Edition.
Like you, we are disappointed by Sony’s decision given the considerable time and effort we have put into this project, and the amount of time our fans have waited for mod support to arrive. We consider this an important initiative and we hope to find other ways user mods can be available for our PlayStation audience. However, until Sony will allow us to offer proper mod support for PS4, that content for Fallout 4 and Skyrim on PlayStation 4 will not be available.
We will provide an update if and when this situation changes."
This seems similar to what happened with the original Skyrim on the PS3. While players on Xbox 360 and PC were enjoying the DLC packs that were released for Skyrim, Playstation 3 users did not get to experience them until the game of the year edition was released on store shelves. However, this is all just personal speculation. I think that Sony is making the wrong move here, especially when Bethesda has made an effort to make sure that the mod support for the PS4 versions of Fallout 4 and Skyrim would work on the console.
via: Kotaku
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