FF ramblings

[ria_oaks]

I happened to check Rpgamer.com a few minutes ago and noticed that FFIII:DS comes out today (I haven't really been keeping track...). I'm probably just being too over-emotional, but this day feels rather historic in the RPG world - the last Final Fantasy that wasn't released in the US is finally here. I checked, and it's been approximately 16.5 years since FFIII was released in Japan - well, better late than never, I guess. XD I mean sure, I played it years ago on a translated ROM and I won't be buying this version anytime soon (lack of a DS... and lack of time to play. woe.), but it's still cool to think that it's here. It's sort of a pity that the original version of the game will never make it here, most likely (how hard would it have been to include the orignal version in the new game, really...?), but the new version looks pretty spiffy. Hopefully I'll get to play it someday.

3 FF games in the past 2 weeks, 2 of which are new to the US (FFXII and FFIII:DS) and one of which only ever made it here in a mangled fashion (FFV Advance) - makes me miss the days when I could play all the time... I haven't really been into gaming as much the last few years, largely because of a. lack of time during school, b. other interests take up my free time, and c. i'm lazy., but I still get excited hearing about games and still want to play when I get the chance. I'm way behind on all the games I'm playing, but I still plan to ask for either FFXII or Disgaea 2 for Christmas (leaning towards the latter - FFXII will be easy enough to find for years to come, and it'll get cheap fairly quickly, whereas Disgaea 2 will start disappearing soon...). I am sorely tempted by FFXII, though - it's been getting fantastic reviews, and hell, it's FFXII! We've been waiting for this game for years, and it's finally here... and I really can't justify the time or money to get it. Part of me, too, is still a bit uncertain about it - but most of the reviews have said that the game is nothing like (and much better than) anything we've seen of it to this point, including the demo. I plan to give it a chance eventually, but can't do it yet.

And... I'm procrastinating. Back to my Farscape paper... it's due tomorrow at 9, so I need to get moving. Up to 5 pages, need about 12 - and I'm still blathering on about the context, haven't even gotten to analysing the series itself! Ehehehe. baaack to work.

Comments

[bk635.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if you could emulate DS games on it. I know it's powerful enough to do so, but someone would have to be clever and skilled enough at coding in order to get around the lack of dual screen and stylus issues. Aside from that, it can also play movies, mp3's, browse the Internet, store files, run programs, and the list goes on and on. It also has a memory stick port, which is handy. It's a tool, and not just a video game system. ;o I haven't really been keeping up, but I don't think either has an impressive amount of RPGs to choose from. I guess overall the DS has more games that I'd like to play, but if you factor in the emulation aspect of the PSP, along with everything else that it's capable of, then it becomes hard to pick the better of the two.

I think Famitsu gave it a perfect score, which says a lot. It's more like an offline version of XI, and it just boils down to being a hit or a miss for a lot of people. Between that long gap since IX and XII (really, since Tactics) and the idea that the series is no longer under the influence of Uematsu, Amano, and Sakaguchi, I've grown pretty disenchanted with the series.

I dunno; I'm thinking about giving it a go after exams, in December.

[ria-oaks.livejournal.com]

That's true about the PSP... the emulation capacity definitely makes it sound tempting. And there are several RPGs out/coming out on it (inc. several FF games - I believe both FF: Crisis Core and one of the FFXIIIs will be on it). Oh well, either way I'm not about to get either anytime soon. ^^

I've actually heard that the battle system is very little like FFIX's - that was a worry and misconception a lot of people (myself included) had when it was announced, but the actual gameplay is very different. I've actually heard that it's fairly similar to the older games; just real-time (and you can stop and open a menu at any time, I believe) and lacking the same complete control over all your characters (and you can manually input commands at any time, plus I gather that the gambit system is very effective).

But yeah, fair enough that the series doesn't feel quite the same without the old creative minds behind it... though granted, Amano hasn't been with the series since FFVI, excepting FFIX. Oh well, either way I'm not really as into it as I used to be. Lack of time to play, and new interests taking over my mind. But I still get a nostalgic yearning to play, and hearing about FFXII and gaming news in general still gets me excited. ^^

Btw, check this out - http://cgi.ebay.com/PRE-SALE-SONY-PLAYSTATION-3-PS3-PRESALE-60GB-CONSOLE_W0QQitemZ330047524577QQihZ0

I knew that some were going for $1000-2000, but this is beyond ridiculous. I mean, there ARE going to be more shipments coming, for Christ's sake. -_- How desperate are people??

[bk635.livejournal.com]

Those are price-inflated auctions. I've seen one up for over a million, actually. The legit ones are around $600-1.5k. Buying one right now is idiotic anyway. There's a lot of hardware problems, TV compatibility problems, and framerate issues. Sony really blew it as far as I'm concerned. If they don't start delivering on their promises, then they aren't going to stay afloat.

www.smashmyps3.com

I want a 360 at the moment. But I'm not going to buy one. Not enough time and interest, and too much guilt and money involved. :o

[ria-oaks.livejournal.com]

Yeah, there are definitely a lot of problems with it right now... Ie. the backwards compatibility issues. Then again, PS2 had the same problem. They'll probably get their acts together eventually... shipping so few of them was definitely one of the dumbest things they do, too - still don't understand the reasoning behind that, other than increasing hype. -_- At least fewer people will have buggy ones. And aside from that, the price really is ridiculous. I know that it does a lot more than play games, but really... most gamers and probably buying it mainly for games, and the Wii is less than half the price ($279 CDN vs $600 or something crazy). Eh. Once the price drops to well below $300, I'll see.

And that site is... vaguely amusing but mostly pretty pathetic, imo. I mean, what's the point in raising all of that money just for the sake of basically throwing one big whiny hissy fit over how omgev0l Sony is and how stupid Sony fans evidently are? Meh. Get over it, people. -_-

Really? I honestly have no interest in a 360... lack of RPGs and all. Are there any particular games you want it for?

[bk635.livejournal.com]

The price just hurts. Really. It's like $700 CDN for the non-gimped version. Oh wait, how many of us have HD-compatible TV's? I mean new ones, as the older models have problems as well? That's right. No one. That'll be $700 + $2000 for the PS3 to not look like absolute shit. I mean, if I wanted to, I could get a nice set-up going on, but I don't want to. Not right now, at least. And probably not for a few years.

The Wii? Meh, I think it's interesting. The service they have that lets you download old Nintendo and Sega games is a good concept, but not enough to win me over. The only games for the console itself that are remotely interesting is the new Zelda and the FFXIII spin-off that will come later on down the line. The rabid fanboyism though is just sickening. It's really everywhere and I'm so fucking tired of it; almost to the point where I'm hoping the system fails just to take those people down a few pegs.

The site I just linked you to point out the video where they buy a PS3 and smash it with a sledgehammer in front of all the Best Buy campers. I found it somewhat amusing but the reactions weren't all that great.

Yeah, I want a 360 at the moment because of this: http://www.tri-ace.co.jp/
The big picture in the middle. Yeah. I love this company. :/

[ria-oaks.livejournal.com]

Yeah, ditto. No way I'm spending that much money - waaay too many PS2 games I've yet and finish or play, and I don't care enough these days.

The downloading thing is neat, yeah... I dunno, I'm not that interested in any of the 3 right now, though it'll ultimately depend on the games. Wii will probably have some pretty good games, and Square-Enix is increasingly putting out games on all 3 systems so there will be some FFs on it. I don't really care either way about any of them. ^^ But I gotta say, the price on the Wii is a hell of a lot nicer than the others and you can usually count on Nintendo to put out good games.

Yes, I understand what the site it. ^^ I just think it's pretty silly and pointless. Granted, the flames that they posted were just as stupid, but the entire thing still comes off as a pointless exercise designed to rain on other people's fun. How is it really any more mature than someone going onto a forum and loudly talking about how much they hate the topic of the forum...? I mean, yeah, there's an overexcess of fanboyism about the PS3, sure, but really, so what?

Eh, maybe it's just me. ^^ Sure, it's kinda funny I guess, but it just seems immature and rather mean-spirited to me.

[bk635.livejournal.com]

Er, I meant I was getting tired of the Wii fanboyism. I haven't seen much of it for the PS3, really. But yeah, it's all pretty stupid.

[ria-oaks.livejournal.com]

I know you did; I was referring to the site which is an obvious reaction against PS3 fanboyism (ie. the lining up 3 days in advance thing. Although all things considered, that really was the only way to GET one... and ironically the people on the site probably had to wait overnight as well. XD)

[bk635.livejournal.com]

Oh. I was lost because I never really read the site, I just watched the video. ;p

[ria-oaks.livejournal.com]

Ahh. I didn't actually watch the video... just skimmed the FAQ and main page in an attempt to understand the mindset behind it. ^^;

[bk635.livejournal.com]

Ah. So we're both lost. :D

[ria-oaks.livejournal.com]

I was thinking the same thing. XD

[bk635.livejournal.com]

Now that we know that we were both lost, are we still lost? :o

[ria-oaks.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure. XD Probably. If we were wondering around lost in the woods and knew we were lost, we'd still be lost. ;)

[bk635.livejournal.com]

But if we knew we were lost, we'd have a sense of direction - trying to not be lost.

[bk635.livejournal.com]

I'm slightly amused. The Wii came out today and those same guys made a video of them destroying the console in front of the lines as well. Such a waste of money; sometimes I guess it's good feeling guilty about spending it. ;p

[ria-oaks.livejournal.com]

Heh, yeah, I saw on their website that they planned to do it to the Wii as well. Does seem rather a waste of money, though at least a whole bunch of people contributed just a small amount. ^^;

[bk635.livejournal.com]

At least now we know that the PS3 can take more blows from a sledgehammer than the Wii, which pretty much fell apart as it hit the ground. -_-

[ria-oaks.livejournal.com]

I suppose that could be considered pertinent information to take into account when deciding which one to buy. XD

[bk635.livejournal.com]

Yeah really. When I buy a piece of hardware I want to feel safe knowing that it's going to last and won't break easily. No wonder the Wii is so cheap: They cut down on plastic quality and screws. >.>

[ria-oaks.livejournal.com]

Heh, actually that's true. XD I was just kidding, but it's true that I'd prefer my expensive electronic systems to be durable... though, granted, I wouldn't exactly be hitting them with a sledgehammer... then again, I'm notoriously bad about breaking things - I go through an average of 3 pairs of sunglasses in a summer, often within a few weeks of one another. I'm honestly quite shocked that I haven't dropped or destroyed by laptop yet (not to mention my reading glasses... guess they're more durable than $15 sunglasses). ;p

[bk635.livejournal.com]

Actually, if I pay out the ass for something - maybe over a hundred dollars, let's say - I'm going to be careful with it whether it's durable or not. ;p

"I'm notoriously bad about breaking things"

Ah yeah, I remember back in elementary school you ruined your Sailor Moon manga by accidentally dropping it in a puddle - open face down. :D Maybe this is why you had so many stuffed animals.. they're harder to break. ;p Yuu~~

[ria-oaks.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm always really careful with expensive things (esp my laptop) and things that aren't mine, but things still tend to break around me... well, I'm not as bad anymore, I don't think. ^^ I just remember constantly dropping and breaking my CD players in high school... and those damned sunglasses. I remember in NYC last year, I'd just bought a pair before I left, then they broke a few days into the trip so Dad bought me another pair, then THOSE broke literally 1-2 days after. -_-

Haha, you have a good memory... I don't remember the SM manga instance at all. ^^ Doesn't really surprise me, though...

Stuffed animals are good for that. XD Though I have to be careful with the more expensive/rare ones, especially Puppet!Angel (who isn't really a stuffy to play around with, anyway, though I do tend to. These days he's just sitting on my bookshelf). Though I remember my Yaten (from SM) UFO catcher doll that I had years ago, back when they were really freaking hard to find over here, which progressively fell apart.. dropped him in the river once. XD And most of the accessories/decorations on him disappeared a looong time ago.

[bk635.livejournal.com]

That UFO catcher doll is probably more traumatized by what you did to him rather than how ragged he became over the years. ;o

Haha..so many fallen CD players. Now you have an iPod though, and that has no moving parts (hopefully) so it should last longer. ;p

[ria-oaks.livejournal.com]

*ahem* Yes, well, that's beside the point. XD Poor, poor Yaten...

Yeah, iPod shuffle's great because it's so light and seemingly unbreakable. The regular iPods/Nanos/etc seem much more fragile and I know I'd be constantly worried carrying one around. The shuffle I can just throw around and not have to worry about it.

Still want a 30gig video iPod, though. :( Although I suspect that the wheel thing would drive me batshit; I've used it a couple of times and was in instant pain everytime. Blech. What's wrong with a simple 'up-down' mechanism...?