Awww crap, I knew this was going to happen.
We finish games a lot less frequently than we used to. Tired mothers talk about how much work they have ahead of them, what with picking up this rugrat while taking another spore to the doctor because he jammed his finger too far up his nose; gamers likewise boast wearily about the number of games they have yet to finish.
I'm no different. When I was little, I plowed through whatever title I recieved, since video games were something that happened to me maybe a few times a year. Now that I'm older and I can personally choose games over food without having my mother yell at me, I find I'm often overwhelmed.
See, I want to run to my local game depository, grab DragonQuest IV off the shelf and bang it on the head of the clerk until he rings it up. And it occurs to me that I've gone through this magical experience before with Final Fantasy IV DS. Which I haven't finished.
I'll take full responsibility for my apathy by blaming this on Square-Enix. I was able to vault over Final Fantasy IV DS' difficulty until I started burrowing down into the moon's core and opening treasure chests. I can manage behemoths--especially since the DS just isn't powerful enough to put those of those purple assholes on the screen at once, thank Christ. It's the red and blue dragons that are giving me problems, though at least I can understand the logic behind their difficulty. If you've ever had to stuff your cat in a carrier for half an hour, you know that letting him or her out is basically like unleashing the Tazmanian Devil. Now picture dragons--two dragons--stuffed in a treasure chest for hundreds of years. Yeah, I'd Thermal Ray the first thing I saw, too.
Logic aside, collecting the ancient Lunarian treasures is still a pisser, and I'm not sure I want to go up against Zeromus without them. I know I can dance the Omnicast Slow-Haste-Berserk waltz, but it makes for a tedious battle. In other words, the lunar dungeon just sucked the momentum right out of the game.
This isn't a problem that's exclusive to the DS version of Final Fantasy IV, either. The final stretch has always been a multi-day endevour. I was hoping Final Fantasy IV DS would do something about that, and sure enough it made it harder and slower. Well, that's something, I guess. Thanks, Matrix.
I know I will finish this game. I may even attempt it right now. Writing all this up has made me frisky for some hot dragoon action. I also have to admit I really like how the characters are troubled by their "thoughts" (new feature) the closer they get to Zeromus: Kain is once again tempted to snatch Rosa under his arm and run like hell, but he resists. Rosa forgives Kain for his trespasses, though I'd sooner aim "Holy" at his nuts and possibly purify the problem at its source. Rydia forgives Cecil, Cecil considers forgiving Golbez and Edge just thinks about running away from the Loon Brigade because he's awesome.
At any rate, I don't think I'll pick up DragonQuest IV until I finish Final Fantasy IV DS. How can I have any pudding if I don't eat my meat?
Related Links:
Are You Buying Final Fantasy IV DS? Huh? Huh? Huh??
Gaming on a Train: Final Fantasy IV
Final Fantasy IV DS: Love Hope and Betrayal for the Busy Commuter