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• The Final Fantasy Rule: Why the New Final Fantasy XIII Demo Matters, Even if You Hate the Series

  I’ve had to stop myself from doing something stupid many, many times in the past few weeks. Late at night, typically before bed while I’m enjoying that just-brushed-just-flossed feel of my teeth and that last drink of water, I’ve opened my laptop and gone to Play Asia, added an item to my cart, and made it all the way to the check out before stopping myself. What am I, an idiot? What kind of person would do this? I’ve slapped my own wrist, both literally and metaphorically, closed the computer, and waited for morning, when the sobering light of day inevitable reintroduces logic to my shoddy impulse control. Honestly. Spending eighty dollars on a demo of Final Fantasy XIII, a demo in a language I don’t even understand, is stupid. Very, very stupid. Yes, it comes with a nice new version of Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, but even that little perk isn’t worth blowing two weeks worth of grocery money on an hour long sampling of a game that will be out before too long. The impulse is detestable. It is, however, an inevitable impulse, one that isn’t rooted in fanaticism. The allure of a new Final Fantasy, even just a taste of it, has less to do with fetishism and everything to do with wanting to see just what any given game console can do. Read More... Posted Apr 16 2009, 07:00 PM by John Constantine with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: john constantine, final fantasy, square-enix, tetsuya nomura, final fantasy iv, final fantasy xiii, final fantasy x, final fantasy vii

• Criterion Collection + Videogames = Best GAF Thread Ever

  Over the years, much has been made of Mega Man's hideous box art, and of the general pimplyness of game art's 8-bit pubescence. But ere we hurl stones at an older era's ugly glass houses, let us first look to our own, or something! Like this, for example. Now that is some garish shit. Even the boxes for major games like Metroid Prime 3 aren't likely to win any design awards. Most of the time, they evoke summer-blockbuster viewing more than the subtler experiences their contents (hopefully) provide. They also tend to be stuffed full of colorful characters, when, more often, the unique experience of a game comes not from its characters but from the texture of its world. Perhaps realizing this, some clever commenter over at NeoGAF started a thread soliciting game box art designed in the vein of Criterion Collection DVDs — playful, inventive, minimalistic, gorgeous. It is — ahem — the best thread ever. So much the best that even I, not much for Photoshop, spent a few hours mocking up some covers myself. Hit the jump for my efforts and my favorites from the thread. Read More... Posted Apr 09 2009, 08:00 PM by Peter Smith with | with 3 comment(s) Filed under: peter smith, metroid, bioshock, mirror's edge, actraiser, neogaf, the legend of zelda, final fantasy, mega man, sonic the hedgehog, super mario 64, donkey kong country, metroid prime 3, box art, design, dr. mario, el greco, criterion collection, kameo, asher durand

• Not All Games Age Well

  I've written this as a companion piece to my earlier post on keeping the games you buy. As I said earlier, If I enjoyed playing a game the first time, then chances are it'll have a permanent place in my game library. Some games, however, lose their appeal as they age, or as I age. One or the other. Read More... Posted Mar 31 2009, 02:00 PM by Amber Ahlborn with | with 3 comment(s) Filed under: legend of zelda, final fantasy, amber ahlborn, musings

• GDC News: Final Fantasy to Hit Virtual Console

  Fans of the old-school Final Fantasy games haven't exactly gotten the best treatment in recent years; while ports and remakes of the early games have been available in abundance, those looking for a faithful retro RPG experience have had to turn to expensive eBay copies (with possibly non-functioning batteries) or emulation to get their fix. After all, if Square can charge $30-$40 for revivals of their past hits, what incentive do they have to offer much cheaper version of these games on services like the Wii's Virtual Console? Well, it looks like Square-Enix has had a change of heart--or they've just initiated the final stage in their "milking fans dry" plan--with Nintendo President Satoru Iwata's announcement that the famous franchise will indeed be hitting Nintendo's digital download service. Read More... Posted Mar 25 2009, 01:40 PM by Bob Mackey with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: wii, final fantasy, retro, satoru iwata, bob mackey, virtual console, gdc 2009

• Me and My Moogles: A Love Affair Ahead of its Time

  Every tick of my heart signals another second I'll never gain back. I've been spending an uncomfortable number of those ticks sitting here and contemplating the history, physiology, and behavioural habits of the Moogle species from Final Fantasy. There's a lot that still weirds me out about Final Fantasy being part of mainstream gaming—indeed, part of mainstream culture—but I've more or less adapted with one exception: I can't get over the fact that Moogles are now considered cuddly and cute by the world at large. I decided Moogles were adorable when I played Secret of Mana for the first time, though I didn't really get to know more about them until Final Fantasy VI, when I drafted Mog into my party as the head of Team Aryan (Mog, Sabin, Edgar, Celes). His Dance skill wasn't especially useful when I went up against Kefka's three-tiered pile of demons stapled together, but his crazy amount of hit points made him the ideal meat shield. I drew Mog on my schoolbooks, my bags, whatever cheap computer Paint program I could get a hold of. People wanted to know what kind of affliction in the head gave me my fondness for deformed cats. Read More... Posted Mar 12 2009, 08:11 PM by Nadia Oxford with | with no comments Filed under: final fantasy, final fantasy vi, retro, nadia oxford, secret of mana, mog, moogles

• Crystal Defenders: Square's New Low

  While hopping onto the Xbox Live Marketplace yesterday to force another innocent soul into the cult of Peggle, I noticed something that could only be described as “curious.” Somehow, a Final Fantasy game had snuck its way onto XBLA—and it wasn’t just any Final Fantasy-based product. This new title, Crystal Defenders, was entirely based on the Final Fantasy Tactics (Advance) universe, my most preferred of Final Fantasy settings. So, knowing absolutely nothing about Defenders, and with the screenshots and marketplace description giving no clue as to what the game actually entailed, I downloaded Crystal Defenders if only to find out what the hell it was. Booting the game up, I was greeted by a selection from Hitoshi Sakimoto’s amazing Final Fantasy Tactics A2 soundtrack. And after that, it all went downhill. Read More... Posted Mar 12 2009, 12:45 PM by Bob Mackey with | with 8 comment(s) Filed under: final fantasy, square, xbla, bob mackey, xbox live arcade, final fantasy tactics, crystal defenders

• Your Kingdom Hearts Cosplay is Not Helping Your Cause

  Every single time I get into a conversation with friends and work peers about the never-ending debate over videogame censorship in the United States, I have to stand back and remember how much worse it is for gamers elsewhere. Sure, we have ill-informed nobodies like Kevin McCullough gaining national attention with their rants over Bioware’s corrupting lasciviousness, but that’s nothing compared to the strict ratings policies that plague our gaming brethren in places like Germany and Australia. It may be a crap game, but at least Manhunt 2 can actually get released in this country. Speaking of Australia, the strongest rating for videogames allowed by Australia’s Office of Film and Literature is “M” which, unlike the equivalent ESRB rating in America, defines games as appropriate for players age 15 and up. To clarify, this means that no game deemed inappropriate for a fifteen year-old can be released for a major console. Mighty young, don’t you think? It’s that definition that keeps games like Fallout 3 and Grand Theft Auto IV from releasing in Australia uncensored. Aussie retail chain Gametraders and their faithful community have had enough with their lack of access to all the gaming wares the world has to offer and organized a protest in favor of the R18+ rating. South Australian Attorney General Michael Atkinson is the literal last-man-standing in keeping Australia from an R18+ classification for games, and Gametraders are hosting their protest on the steps of the Adelaide Parliament House to sway his opinion. They are, however, not putting the best face on the gaming community by using cosplay to express their *ahem* adult passion for the medium. Read More... Posted Feb 20 2009, 09:00 PM by John Constantine with | with no comments Filed under: john constantine, grand theft auto iv, final fantasy, fallout 3, kingdom hearts, Vincent valentine, pokeball, riku, sora

• Integrating Mini-Games the Right Way

  As a Wii owner, I've gotten awfully familiar with the concept of the mini-game. I imagine my fellow Wii fans are a little tired of them in fact. Mini-games, however, are not necessarily a bad thing and can bring vibrant variety to larger games when incorporated into the overarching play mechanics. Or at least that's their potential when utilized well. The best way to make use of a mini-game within the framework of the main game is to make it work within the context of the main game. When pulled off successfully, it enriches the experience. When not integrated well or even at all, the mini-game kills immersion. Read More... Posted Feb 17 2009, 10:00 AM by Amber Ahlborn with | with 4 comment(s) Filed under: final fantasy, amber ahlborn, sly cooper, gimmicks, mini-game

• Roundtable Discussion: The Relevance of Japanese RPGs

  Roundtable Discussion takes the intrepid 61FPS blogging team and pits it against itself in the search for deeper truth. The moderator for today is Bob Mackey. This week’s conversation deals with the mythical and possibly endangered beast known as the Japanese RPG. The genre really seems to be suffering during this generation, for two major reasons: 1.) escalating development costs due to the new necessity of high-polygon, HD resources and 2.) developers’ inability to combat the most damning problems of the genre. Over the past few years, we’ve seen quite a few JRPGs hitting the shelves that feel half-finished at best; and even when a fully-realized JRPG comes along, I worry that the absolutely abysmal pacing the genre is infamous for will end up sucking all the fun out of what could be a fantastic game. To start us off, I have two basic questions: 1.) What does the genre need to do to become interesting again, and 2.) what do you think it will do? On a side note, the only RPGs I’ve been interested in lately have been ports of remakes of classics. Is this a sign that the genre is becoming antiquated and only accessible to those (admittedly, quite a few at this point) with an understanding of its unique grammar? Read More... Posted Feb 13 2009, 03:00 PM by Bob Mackey with | with 9 comment(s) Filed under: john constantine, final fantasy, rpg, japan, chrono trigger, cole stryker, square-enix, dragon quest, square, jrpg, bob mackey, mother, squaresoft, joe keiser, roundtable discussion

• Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles: Crystal Bearers

  Has anyone seen my red cape? Way back when Nintendo was trying to sell the Connectivity idea between the Gamecube and GBA, Square played along by creating a spin-off Final Fantasy title called Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles. Alas, the very Connectivity that the game was trying to promote proved FF:CC's downfall, as gathering together enough people with GBAs who were interested in playing proved to be a bit of a pain. Alas, the slightly dull solo campaign couldn't save the day either. I rented the game myself and played almost to the end of it in single player, but couldn't work up enough enthusiasm to finish it. The very brief experience I had with it's multi-player campaign was a blast though. Despite its faults, Crystal Chronicles had some fun ideas and a lovely art style going for it. Thankfully, Square Enix decided to continue the Crystal Chronicles series in a big way. Read More... Posted Feb 02 2009, 09:30 PM by Amber Ahlborn with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: final fantasy, amber ahlborn, chrystal chronicles

• Things that Make Me Swear Profusely: A Top 10 List - part 2

  In part 1, I listed a few game moments that furrowed my brow and set my teeth on edge, but we really don't see the old temper flare up until we hit the second half. Look away oh faint of heart and sound proof the walls. Now I start yelling. Read More... Posted Jan 16 2009, 10:30 AM by Amber Ahlborn with | with 9 comment(s) Filed under: mario kart, final fantasy, amber ahlborn, rant, top 10, Jak 3

• Star Ocean and the HD-JRPG Conundrum

  After literal years of anticipation on the part of geeks across the world, Square-Enix will finally release Star Ocean 4: The Last Hope for the Xbox 360 on February 24th, 2009. It’s a momentous occasion for the genre. Star Ocean is the first A-list JRPG franchise to make the leap to HD consoles. You can argue that Tales of Vesperia earned the honor first, but Namco’s Tales franchise is more a brand/masthead than a bonafide franchise, one even more diluted than the Final Fantasy heading. I’ve never cared for the Star Ocean series’ battle system – Penny Arcade said it best when they described Star Ocean’s battles as “deciding which character gets molested by lizard men” – and its science-fiction narrative has always been more interesting in concept than in execution. I want to be excited about Star Ocean 4, but not because I feel like I’m missing out on a series that so many other gamers seem to love. I just want to be excited about an HD-JRPG. JRPGs have been enjoying a renaissance on the DS, not unlike the one they had on the PS1 some twelve years back, but the genre has been woefully underserved on the 360 and PS3. Read More... Posted Jan 14 2009, 06:00 PM by John Constantine with | with no comments Filed under: john constantine, little big planet, playstation 3, nintendo ds, xbox 360, final fantasy, lost odyssey, hironobu sakaguchi, infinite undiscovery, tales of vesperia, call of duty 4, persona 4, persona 3, Playstation 1, The last remnant, star ocean 4, blue dragon

• Why, God, Why: More SaGa Games on the Way

  I don't "get" Akitoshi Kawazu. More importantly, I don't get his games. And I certainly don't get how anyone could possibly enjoy the SaGa series. No offense intended if you happen to be a Kawazu fan, of course; but for me, playing the SaGa series has always been the equivalent of heading outside to enjoy a nice summer day and immediately getting taken out by a sniper before making it past the front porch. When you play a SaGa game, it's like entering into some bizarro video game world where all the rules have changed and you might need to saw off one of your feet to escape. Needless to say, I wasn't too thrilled when I saw GoNintendo's report (via Japanese mag Shonen Jump) that the second SaGa game, released for the original Game Boy in America as Final Fantasy Legend II, will see a DS remake this year. I'm slightly consoled by the fact that SaGa 2 isn't quite as devious as some of Kawazu's later games, but this kind of thinking will only lead to me trying it and then hating myself just a few short hours later. I'm not about to embarrass myself and tell you the exact number of times I've come crawling back to the SaGa series thinking things would somehow be different, but here's a hint: too damned many. It's not clear if this game is going to make it over to America, but one thing is certain: Kawazu's contempt for the human race will continue unabated. Read More... Posted Jan 14 2009, 05:00 PM by Bob Mackey with | with 5 comment(s) Filed under: final fantasy, ds, akitoshi kawazu, bob mackey, square enix, saga

• New Year's PS3 Wish List: part 2

  The first part of my list featured games that have already been released. I'll now end with some titles scheduled for release this year. Read More... Posted Jan 06 2009, 09:30 PM by Amber Ahlborn with | with 5 comment(s) Filed under: beyond good and evil, final fantasy, amber ahlborn, ps3, top 10, afrika, jak & daxter

• Looking Ahead: 10 Wii Games that I'm Looking Forward To in 2009. part 2

  Everybody is making lists this time of year (and checking them twice) so I figured I'd get in on the act. While most of the lists I'm seeing pop up reflect on games of the past year, I figured I'd wish ya'll an early Happy New Year and knock off a couple lists of games I'm looking forward to in 2009. Continued from part 1... Read More... Posted Dec 17 2008, 04:00 PM by Amber Ahlborn with | with no comments Filed under: wii, final fantasy, Ghostbusters, amber ahlborn, sonic the hedgehog, kororinpa, sin and punishment, top 10

• Every Day is Better With Two Scoops of Final Fantasy XIII

  There’s some speculation out and about on the internets that, even though there’s going to be a Japanese playable demo in March, Final Fantasy XIII will not be released outside of Japan until 2010. That means a full four years will have passed between the game’s debut and when we actually get to play the game. That is just shy of a videogame console’s traditional lifespan. Clearly, Square-Enix hates us all. And since there’s nothing quite like salting a wound, S-E is releasing a magazine in Japan tomorrow entitled Re: Final Fantasy XIII. The mag has a bunch of art and screens that people have been staring at for some two and a half years already as well as a DVD with the trailers for Final Fantasy XIII and Final Fantasy Versus XIII that were shown at last summer’s DKS3137 event behind closed doors. Yes, Square-Enix is making people pay for trailers for their games. That is not nice. But, thankfully, the internet exists, and so, naturally, these trailers have already been ripped from the DVD and are free to watch right here. Read More... Posted Dec 12 2008, 06:00 PM by John Constantine with | with 4 comment(s) Filed under: john constantine, final fantasy, final fantasy 13, final fantasy xiii, square enix, final fantasy versus xiii

• Whatcha Playing: On the Road Again

  Wherein travelling inevitably leads to thinking about Zelda, the nature of game linearity and unskippable passive sequences in games. Five men in their late 20s are heading south on route 80 through New Jersey in a white Dodge Caravan. They listen to loud music and discuss plans for the weekend ahead of them. Before too long, they pass signs for a town called Hibernia. As they are a group raised on far, far too many videogames, the fanciful name of what is likely a small, simple town full of good, honest folk quickly transforms it into a land of adventure, intrigue and obnoxious obligation. “Ho stranger! You have stopped for gasoline in Hibernia? I would love to give you some, but first you must travel beyond the woods and acquire a ruffled dragoon feather. I need them to make gasoline!” “Hey! Hey! Have you tried pressing Z to look at signs? Press A to read signs! Hey!” “You must equip a sword and a shield before you can leave the car. Who would leave the car without a sword and a shield?” Yes, even something as an innocuous as a roadtrip leads to making fun of Zelda, and by proxy, every other videogame that makes you engage in a string of needless bullshit before letting you actually play. After we got the jokes out of our systems, we did start talking about how, when the itch arises, we all love going back and replaying past Zeldas, but have almost no desire to replay any of the 3D games any time soon. Everyone in the van has affection for Ocarina and Wind Waker – Opinions on Majora’s Mask vary. Personally, I find it to be a freaking chore to play, no matter how creative. Twilight Princess, we agreed, feels like actually doing chores when you play it. – but the prospect of wading through a never ending stream of unskippable conversations makes returning to these games unsavory. The constant handholding is bad enough, even without taking five minutes to listen to some owl made of triangles rant about a mountain, finally getting through the diatribe, and accidentally asking him to repeat himself. The conversation was oddly prescient. Read More... Posted Dec 08 2008, 08:15 PM by John Constantine with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: john constantine, whatcha playing, the legend of zelda, final fantasy, ocarina of time, wind waker, twilight princess, hironobu sakaguchi, final fantasy iv, final fantasy iv ds, final fantasy III, final fantasy iii ds, majora’s mask

• Ludacris Presses the Start Button

  Why do I find it difficult to believe that the same guy who wrote:  The fancy cars, the women and the caviar, you know who we are, 'cause we pimpin all over the world. ever played Final Fantasy? Hear the song after the jump: Read More... Posted Dec 08 2008, 08:00 AM by Cole Stryker with | with no comments Filed under: final fantasy, cole stryker, hip hop, soulja boy, ludacris

• Brave New Wi-Fi World: Square-Enix Might Just Change the Way We Play Nintendo Games

  I was a little miffed when Square-Enix announced Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time. More Crystal Chronicles is certainly a good thing, especially when it’s new Crystal Chronicles that promises online and an opportunity to improve on Ring of Fates’ flaws (no story mode co-op is not cool, guys.) I was just sad because this meant the first Crystal Chronicles announced for Wii, The Crystal Bearers, looked even more likely like a candidate for the vaporware hall of fame. I’m getting over the sour grapes though. A game that can be played cooperatively on either a Wii or a DS is the connectivity dream realized, a grand delivery on the promise of Gamecube’s Crystal Chronicles and even Miyamoto and Toru Iwatani’s Pac-man Vs. Graphics be damned, this is the future of co-op. The news is already racing around the internet that Square-Enix might be giving Dragon Quest IX the Echoes of Time treatment. EGM’s classic rumor monger Quartermann says DQIX might hit both of Nintendo’s consoles, ensuring that it will sell a billion copies instead of just half a billion. If this turns out to be true, and both Echoes of Time and DQIX play well over Nintendo Wi-Fi, Nintendo’s sickly online strategy may finally have its first bonafide hook. Read More... Posted Dec 03 2008, 07:00 PM by John Constantine with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: nintendo, nintendo ds, wii, final fantasy, animal crossing, square-enix, mario kart wii, dragon quest ix, new super mario bros, echoes of time, animal crossing wild world, animal crossing city folk, crystal bearers, new super mario bros 2, mario kart ds, crystal chronicles, ring of fates, pac-man vs

• What's in my MP3 Player: Shadow's Theme

  You know what? I have a lot of Final Fantasy remixes. It seems like the Final Fantasy series and Chrono Trigger have contributed more raw material to the remixing community than any other game or series. Maybe that's not actually true but that's the way it appears just looking at my own collection. Today's MP3 is an oldie but goodie from OCR. In fact, if I were to make a list of my all time favorite tracks at Overclocked Remix, well, that list would be very long but it would definitely include Shadow's Theme by K. Praslowicz. I'm not really sure what to say about this piece of music that isn't already stated in the MP3's write up at OCR. Is badass descriptive enough? However you might break down the musical merits of this track, I simply find that it fits Shadow (my favorite character) from Final Fantasy VI to a T. If you enjoy video game remixes and don't already have this one in your collection, then I really can not recommend it highly enough. Read More... Posted Nov 26 2008, 10:00 AM by Amber Ahlborn with | with no comments Filed under: final fantasy, amber ahlborn, game music, what's in my mp3 player

• How-To: The Ultimate Final Fantasy Marriage Proposal

  Congratulations are in order for one Mr. James Mielke, aka the editor-in-chief of 1Up.com. He proposed to his girlfriend recently, and…hey, don’t leave! Okay, maybe it’s not such a big deal to you that she said yes, but it’s how he got that agreement that is absolutely mind-blowing. What Mielke concocted is basically the ultimate Final Fantasy proposal. I’ve heard that there are a lot of girls out there who spent their youth pining for the strong arms of Sephiroth. This proposal would shatter a girl like that. She would leave the moment changed, irrevocably, memories of past RPGs played fading to shadow compared to the brilliance of this. Mielke’s detailed blog chronicling how he put the whole thing together reads like a how-to of perhaps the greatest games-related proposal of all time (though the Chrono Trigger hack proposal was good too). Could you follow it to a life of wedded bliss with your own Squeenix fangirl? Read More... Posted Nov 21 2008, 12:00 PM by Joe Keiser with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: 1up, final fantasy, joe keiser, yoshitaka amano, engagement

• ONST: Square-Enix’s Rad Original Non-Soundtracks

  When talking about the good ol’ Square-Enix days, back when most every game they published was either very good or at least interesting, it’s impossible not to note their stable of composers. Nobuo Uematsu, Yasunori Mitsuda, Yoko Shimomura, and a number of other remarkable musicians have received more international acclaim and love from listeners of their videogame soundtracks than most Japanese traditional musicians. You may have noticed that we ourselves have something of a penchant for these composers. It’s rare, however, to hear work by any of them that isn’t related to videogames. There’s Mitsuda’s Kirite, but even Uematsu’s lone solo album, the prog-as-hell Phantasmagoria, closes with an arrangement of Final Fantasy’s “Prologue”. Little did I know that Square-Enix themselves realized their musical masterminds needed broader creative outlets. The Square-Enix Official Bootleg series, launched back in 2006, is comprised of three EPs spotlighting totally original songs by S-E composers and they are uniformly awesome. Read More... Posted Nov 18 2008, 03:00 PM by John Constantine with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: john constantine, final fantasy crystal chronicles, ost, final fantasy, yoko shimomura, square-enix, brian eno, yasunori mitsuda, itunes, kirite, air, phantasmagoria, square-enix official bootleg, in my own backyard, front mission, Ryo Yamazaki, Mitsuto Suzuki, Nobuo Uematsu, Kumi Tanioka

• Japan Scares Me: Final Fantasy VII's Tifa in Tifatan X

  Final Fantasy VII did not become famous because it was a good game. JRPGs did not grow out of their comfortable niche because of that game. No, both game and genre hit big thanks to Tifa Lockhart. They boomed because of bazooms, became massive thanks to mammaries, and were triumphant due to tits. I’ve floated this theory here on 61 Frames Per Second before, but it bears repeating, if for no other reason than most folks, whether they admit it or not, tend to click on any internet link related to breasts. The breasts in question do not need to be too large, too small, or even in a moment of Goldilocks-esque serendipity, just right. They simply need to be breasts. Of course, today I have a perfectly logical reason beyond this truth. Today I discovered Tifatan X. Were Tifatan X ever going to make the trip to North American shores, an appropriate re-titling would be Kung Boob. The game is an explicit homage to Irem’s side-scrolling classic Spartan-X, better known here as NES launch title Kung Fu. It stars, as you may have already deduced, Final Fantasy VII’s Tifa Lockhart. The actually play is just the same as Spartan-X’s, except you have a slightly expanded selection of moves and the dudes in purple you regularly defeat take more than one hit to dispatch. Tifatan X makes it into the Japan Scares Me category for a familiar reason. Can you guess? Surprise, it’s inappropriate sexual content! Read More... Posted Nov 03 2008, 04:00 PM by John Constantine with | with no comments Filed under: john constantine, final fantasy, hg101, kurt kalata, final fantasy vii, japan scares me, Tifa lockhart, tifatan x, Spartan x

• Klonoa: Careful, Namco. You Tread On My Dreams.

  I’m not a purist. No, really. When it comes to classics being revisited, modernized, or remade, I don’t need every facet of the past perfectly preserved just the way I remember it in order to get a desperate nostalgic thrill. I delight in Mega Man 9 because it’s a great game whose presentation and technological limitations are carefully made design choices, not because it’s a new NES game. I’ll let you in on a secret: I actually like Mega Man 7 and 8. Yeah, that’s right. I think they’re good games. Not as good as their forebears, but all the same. When the new Bionic Commando was announced last year, even before Rearmed was revealed, I didn’t balk at Radd Spencer’s Adam-Duritz-makeover. I think the new look is cool, especially the way his dreads flow behind him like delicate willow branches as he soars through dystopian cityscapes and… oh! Excuse me. What I’m getting at is that not everything from yesterday is sacred. Some things, especially in games, should be changed. Final Fantasy III DS is a good thing. The NES original is just too slow now. Tomb Raider Anniversary preserves a revolutionary game’s best qualities while also making it, you know, playable. In with the new, out with the old may not be an all-encompassing maxim, but it’s more often than not good advice. That said, Namco, if you go through with this, I will hurt you. The Raw Meat Cowboy himself over at GoNintendo received a survey from Namco-Bandai today, the subject of which was their impending Wii remake of Klonoa: Door to Phantomile. RMC has smartly inferred that Namco is testing the waters to see if Klonoa should be localized for North America. One of the questions in the survey asks which of these two character designs is preferable. Read More... Posted Oct 30 2008, 03:00 PM by John Constantine with | with 6 comment(s) Filed under: john constantine, nintendo, wii, capcom, final fantasy, bionic commando, nes, mega man, tomb raider, klonoa, mega man 9, namco bandai, mega man 7, mega man 8, namco, bionic commando rearmed, final fantasy III, poochie

• Square-Enix's Prez Sez: "Japan needs to be #1 in gaming again, homeslices."

  Square-Enix's President, Yoichi Wada, had a few things to say about Japan's lagging game industry at Tokyo Game Show 2008. Namely, "'Eeeeey man, this isn't cool!" and "Let's get off our asses and do something about it." I personally find it unfortunate that Japanese game development has been lagging behind North America and Europe. I want to see Japan's industry thrive for a couple of reasons. First, having grown up with the Nintendo, gaming (to me) will always feel like the domain of the Japanese. God knows America failed me for my fix of mushroom-jumping Italian plumbers, so pardon me for sleeping with the other side. Really though, there was something extra special about our elders being baffled by Japan's bizarre concepts. "Frog-men? Shape-changing leaves? What the hell is a 'Tanooki?'" Read More... Posted Oct 09 2008, 10:37 AM by Nadia Oxford with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: nintendo, final fantasy, atari, square-enix, nadia oxford, dragonquest, game development, yoichi wada

• The 61FPS Review: Dragon Quest IV – Chapters of the Chosen

  I’m not going to lie to you. Dragon Quest and I have history. It goes back some twenty years at this point, but our relationship today isn’t one based on nostalgia. Back in 2005, you could say that Dragon Quest and I were in, to put it delicately, an unhealthily codependent situation. Dragon Quest VIII had just come out in the United States, fresh faced and full of gorgeous cel-shaded graphics, newly minted menus and music, and voice work of unprecedented quality. But Dragon Quest has never had much clout on this side of the Pacific, and this was its first time going by its real name instead of Dragon Warrior. It needed someone, anyone to play it. Me, I was a recovering role-playing addict, coming off of a decade of Squaresoft devotion, trying my best to stay off the ability trees, the melodrama, and the menus. I lapsed occasionally into turn-based adventures to save the world. I’d been doing good up until that November, hadn’t touched a JRPG since Shadow Hearts: Covenant the previous winter, but I could feel myself weakening. I just wasn’t strong enough. So Dragon Quest VIII and I found each other at our weakest. Between November 15th and December 1st, I clocked just under ninety-six hours playing Dragon Quest VIII. Yeah, that’s right. Four days of my life. And I loved it. Each Dragon Quest, since the first game sprung from Yuuji Horii’s succulent brain in 1986, is an exercise in purity, a defining marquee in a genre known today for its decadence, bombast, and tedium. Dragon Quest is more often noted for its resistance to change rather than its consistent quality across the years. It’s true, Dragon Quest has remained, across its sequels, spin-offs, and numerous remakes, largely the same game it was two decades ago. The essential play – explore a large fantasy world, fight monsters in a first person perspective, collect items, talk to every single person you meet – has never changed in the core titles. But every iteration finds its elegant formula incrementally refined, and to great effect. Dragon Quest II introduced multi-character parties, III a job system that went on to become a genre staple, and so on and so forth. Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen, a DS remake of a Playstation remake of the NES original, could be viewed as a step back from the lavishly produced (though still familiar) Dragon Quest VIII, a retreat meant to acclimate players to the series’ transition from home consoles to portables. Surprisingly, Chapters of the Chosen isn’t a retreat at all. It is instead a perfect model of the JRPG as Horii envisioned it, immediately accessible, streamlined from the menu-juggling, command-selecting rigor moral, and trimmed of the excess narrative fat that’s typified the genre since Hironobu Sakaguchi began emphasizing drama over play in Final Fantasy. Read More... Posted Sep 22 2008, 07:00 PM by John Constantine with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: john constantine, nintendo ds, final fantasy, 61fps review, square-enix, hironobu sakaguchi, dragon quest, jrpg, yuuji horii

• Suikoden: Tierkreis is Coming, But Is It Everything Fans Hope For?

  Konami had a pleasant surprise at their NYC fall preview today in an early build of Suikoden: Tierkreis, the recently announced seventh game in the twelve year-old RPG franchise, and first original handheld entry in the series. Tiekreis, weird name aside, looks like a solid 3D role-playing game on the DS, easily the technical equal (and possibly even superior) to Matrix Software’s Final Fantasy III and IV remakes. While the brief demo on display couldn’t show if Tierkreis lives up to Suikoden’s grand tradition of great storytelling, it did make me wonder if the handheld entry isn’t something of a missed opportunity. Read More... Posted Sep 16 2008, 08:30 PM by John Constantine with | with 5 comment(s) Filed under: john constantine, nintendo ds, final fantasy, konami, Suikoden, matrix

• Where Will You Go, Tecmo? What Will Happen to Our Love?

  This has been something of a tumultuous year for Tecmo. In the past twelve months, they’ve shipped just four games, three of which are Ninja Gaiden games. The fourth, Fatal Frame IV for Wii, wasn’t even developed in house (it was handled by Suda 51’s Grasshopper Manufacture.) None of these games were actually published by Tecmo, relying on companies as diverse as Eidos, Ubisoft, Microsoft, and Nintendo for distribution. In June, their public face and star designer, the outspoken, boozing womanizer Tomonobu Itagaki, quit the company days after Ninja Gaiden II released to middling reviews. In August, their president resigned and Square-Enix tried to take over the company. Today, Tecmo announced they’ll be the latest Japanese company to find refuge from shrinking domestic business by consolidating. Their new partner will be Koei. Tecmo, I’m worried about you. Times are tough for Japanese developers developing traditional games for home consoles. We’ve had wonderful times together and I’m still looking forward to Tecmo Bowl: Kickoff this fall. Remember all the good times we had with Tecmo Bowl? Yeah. Corporate mergers are a good thing for Japanese developers. Why, just look at previous successes! Read More... Posted Sep 04 2008, 06:00 PM by John Constantine with | with no comments Filed under: nintendo, microsoft, final fantasy, ubisoft, sega, square-enix, ninja gaiden, koei, dynasty warriors, tecmo, namco, eidos, tomonobu itagaki, fatal frame, Bandai, sammy, team ninja

• All Ages: Viva Piñata and Building Games For Children

  I got no end of grief from Peter Smith when I started playing Pokémon Diamond a couple of months back. Pete’s no stranger to mindless grinds; the man’s confessed his many replays of the NES Final Fantasy games. No, he was opposed to Pokémon because, “It’s for f$?!ing babies, man.” The argument confused me. After all, Pete, like me and the rest of 61 FPS’ team of outlaw journalists, was raised on the 8-bit era’s simple designs as conceived by Shigeru Miyamoto and Nintendo. Though Pokémon’s billion-dollar audience is mostly made up of the Trapper-Keeper and Lunchables set, the game itself is in the age-and-gender-neutral mode that’s made Nintendo the corporate success they are today. “Family Friendly” is the accepted term but it’s just a media savvy way of saying that games like Pokémon, Mario, Brain Age, and Animal Crossing can be played and loved by very young players, but they aren’t games explicitly for children. He did get me thinking, though: Have I ever actually played a game designed specifically with very young players in mind? Not the Reader Rabbit-style edutainment so many kids have been subjected to since the early-80s. Just regular, old, played-for-fun videogames. My first exposure to Viva Piñata was marked by cynicism. Microsoft’s monumentally expensive acquisition of Rare was just under four years old when it was announced and the partnership had yielded dubious results; bad sequels, middling remakes, one atrocious new IP, and another that had been years in development on three separate consoles before it was finally released. Between the animated series and the variety of brightly colored critters to gather in the game, Piñata seemed like a soulless and pointed marketing machine built for no other reason than to make Microsoft some of that proverbial Pokémon money. So it came as a surprise when the game turned out to be both a commercial flop (relatively speaking) and a critical success, praised for its peaceful, eccentric presentation while being ignored by gamers and parents alike. I never got around to playing the first, but its reputation brought me to Viva Piñata’s sequel, Trouble In Paradise, free of cynicism and curious about what I’d find. Turns out it’s a reputation well-earned. Even though Piñata is a brazen fusion of Nintendo’s Animal Crossing and Pokémon – surrounded by strange, brightly colored characters, you are given free reign to alter a seemingly mundane plot of land to your gardener-heart’s content but are tasked with gathering hordes of diverse fantasy creatures in order to level up and expand your domain – it is impeccably made, its charms difficult to resist. What’s most impressive about Viva Piñata, though, is that it is explicitly designed for children. Read More... Posted Sep 02 2008, 06:00 PM by John Constantine with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: john constantine, nintendo, microsoft, final fantasy, pokemon, mario, animal crossing, viva piñata

• Game Rage

  Video games can be relaxing. They can be stimulating or relieve stress. They can also be utterly rage inducing and that's what this post is all about: The Rage. Read More... Posted Aug 26 2008, 10:00 AM by Amber Ahlborn with | with 5 comment(s) Filed under: wii, final fantasy, amber ahlborn, mario kart wii, zack and wiki