FMW

Yeah... As Square Enix Japan's first open world free roaming type environment I expect things are gonna be a little janky. Probably the running/climbing/jumping traversal will be limited to pre-scripted spots, and I imagine the level design won't make a terrible amount of sense artistically. But Square Enix art hasn't been coherent in any game since FF XII, so I wouldn't get too fussed about that. Indeed, I think that giving the folks who cooked up all the crazy places and faces from FF XIII and XIII-2 a smaller space to work with (considering that the game is all set in and around this city) will result in some utterly ridiculously overdesigned buildings and neighborhoods. Which is great. Just look at it like the character design. Now that they only have one main character instead of a party, they're going with multiple crazy outfits and bat sunglasses at night. They've elevated their game. I imagine the city will be much the same for environmental design. Good stuff.

Upon booting it up I realized... how on earth am I supposed to tell if I've messed up my file or not? And who cares? What's five or six failed explorations of Undead Burg really matter anyway? It's still trying this same level over and over again, regardless.

I just started this game! I feel like I'm doing okay so far, because the reputation has be playing EXTREMELY carefully. I bought an Xbox controller for use on my PC exclusively for this game, because it an experience I want to have in it's fullest. I have zero complaints about the PC version so far, except I can't figure out how to exit and get to the title screen. My method for leaving the game is to alt-tab away and then close the program off the task bar. Surely there's another way, but I tried all the buttons on the controller

I have purchased three new games for the Nintendo DS. Which more than cancels out the two that I recently wrapped up... And what the hell? Radiant Historia is out of print everywhere and commanding a huge premium everywhere AGAIN! This is totally unacceptable. Radiant Historia being unreasonably priced though, I've made do with... Picross DS Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box Rune Factory: A Fantasy Harvest Moon I've actually never played Harvest Moon before, so I thought to ease myself into the franchise I would do their JRPG hybrid game. Keep me on a little bit more familiar footing.

I am going to be a crotchety old man here and say: I definitely prefer Persona without taking control of your party members. Battles run a lot faster with the AI spitting out 3/4 of your party's attacks and the fact that you aren't calling the shots does a lot to prevent that old JRPG issue of running into the exact same encounter and defeating it with the exact same sequence of attacks over and over again. And yeah, it makes the game a little tougher sometimes, but I can deal with that. I'm not opposed to having a wrench thrown into my plans every so often. Even though Persona 4 offered full party control I made a point to keep it turned off except for two of the boss battles where I got hung up pretty bad. So I'm glad they have the option, but surely I'm not the only person to see the merits in a more hands off approach to party management?

Today I went down and pre-ordered (and paid off completely) Fire Emblem: Awakening. I want this game very badly, and I know that Fire Emblem is not a franchise that's always guaranteed to get localization to North America. So I'm breaking one of my normal rules and actually pre-ordering. Normally I prefer to just wander into a random store the week of release and buy the game on the spot.

Thanks, Real Soviet Bear. Darksiders 2 is a pretty great gift.

I have come to pass judgement on this new trailer! I say that the writing and voice delivery are both uninspiring. But that's kinda par for the course now in the FF XIII universe - it would be really WEIRD if they stepped away from nonsense talk about darkness and light and god's commands for the end of the trilogy. There are people who dig this stuff, and it's appropriate that Square Enix continue to target them with this game. A game with a different narrative focus shouldn't be an FF XIII game. Hey, look at that! Our protagonist has some mobility moving around the world now! This has been standard in all manner of third person video games for approximately forever, and Square Enix now wants in on that action. I see absolutely no reason why the good parts of JRPGs would be at all threatened by being able to navigate the world in a more interesting manner than just sliding around the ground, so it's past time this happened. I hope it's well done, but obviously it's not gonna be to the standard of Batman or Assassin's Creed. This is Square Enix Japan's first time trying this after all (well except for FF X-2, but the less said about that attempt the better). Lastly, Deanb and FDS, I believe the trailer was not supposed to come out this early and has been pulled down. That may be why you're having trouble embedding it. I saw it through a guy's Youtube channel who was quick enough to copy it while it was up.

Here is the link to my Steam profile: http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198030388471/ Here is the link to my Steam wishlist: http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198030388471/wishlist/ I am located in the United States Background: I am a white, American male. Basically, born to a life of luxury and plenty. Blood type B positive, height 6 foot 1, and my left leg is ever so slightly longer than my right. Criteria: Stay away from multiplayer games please, I'm more a single player kinda guy. Perferred Genres: My preferred genres of game are RPG, Turn based strategy and Platformer. Favorite Games: Metroid Prime is undoubtedly the best game I've ever played. Final Fantasy XII is my second favorite after that. Only those two are solid... once you get down to third and fourth place that changes based on my mood. At this particular moment they're Zelda: The Minish Cap and Super Mario 3D Land. I am totally open to receiving gifts that are not on my Steam wishlist, and if somebody is inspired to get me something else they think I'll get a kick out of then by all means do so. I don't have accounts on Origin or Green Man Gaming or Good Old Games or whatever the kids these days are using so Steam is probably our best bet.

You know I tried, but by the time I was done typing everything out when I pasted it into the the special spoiler font box the text stretched it too wide and I could no longer access the "Okay" button as it hand been pushed off the right hand of my screen. So I put in an explicit warning in the first paragraph. Sorry if that wasn't warning enough for 'ya.

999 Better than it's first impression, but not actually good. 7.5 out of 10. In resolving it's conflict, it creates a whole new set of plot holes that replace the ones that have concerned the player through most of the game. Which is a bummer, because the way they deal with the main issues is pretty well done. At this point I do not plan to pursue the sequel. Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings. This game is actually way better than it gets credit for. The narrative never really succeeds at becoming more than "here's an excuse to go back and visit all your FF XII pals!" but I feel like that's really the only failing of the game. The RTS/JRPG combat hybrid they've cooked up is really fun once they finally unlock all the gameplay systems (which takes far too long I'm afraid), there's a ton of content (38 hours for my playthrough, at 92% completion), the audio is all ripped from FF XII which is to say that it's utterly fantastic, and the game is very polished. Polish is a tough thing to pin down, but this is a game with a lot of little things that didn't need to be there. Lots of optional storylines that play out if you talk to NPCs around your airship throughout the game. A ships log that people write their random thoughts and reactions to the missions in. A full loot collection/item crafting sub-system with a surprising amount of content. No glitches/bugs. You know? It's a game you can tell got enough time in development to really be the best version of itself. I score it at 9/10, would recommend to others.

I am bringing back one of the longest abandoned forum threads because I have just completed this game and I have all SORTS of things to say about it. This is talking about the resolution of the story, this is absolutely filled with spoilers, and nobody who hasn't played through this game completely should read another word of this.

Recently, I've come to agree with this opinion. It actually might not be viable to run a successful mainstream video game console in the West anymore on the strength of Japanese developed video games. Why do I think this? Take a look at the 3DS. I can hardly imagine any system ever getting better Japanese software support through it's early life. Think, what are the biggest Japanese IPs these days? Final Fantasy? Check. Resident Evil? Check twice. Also checked off: Metal Gear Solid, Fatal Frame (via Spirit Camera), Kingdom Hearts, Sonic, Professor Layton, Tales, Street Fighter... and add to that all of Nintendo's first party IP that continue to be the most consistent hits in video games. Although not every game from these franchises has been original (or even particularly good) the fact every single one of these franchises has shown up on the 3DS in the first 1.5 years of it's lifespan and been localized already is pretty shocking. Add in that Monster Hunter and Dragon Quest are locked into the system which are huge in Japan, and add in that Ace Attorney, Castlevania, and Shin Megami Tensei are confirmed to arrive next year... I think it's reasonable to argue that the 3DS has received the absolute best Japanese game support any single device is ever going to receive coming out of the gate. What else could you even ask for? I might be missing something obvious, but the biggest Japanese IP I can think of that isn't either on the 3DS or promised for the 3DS soon is Devil May Cry. Silent Hill I guess. And what has this unprecedented Japanese support for the hardware done for it? Well it's selling like nobody's business in Japan. By the end of December 2012 the 3DS is going to have sold more units in Japan than the Playstation 3 has... ever. Lifetime total. But in the West? Demand remains weak. I mean, it's no Playstation Vita, but it's not doing as well as Nintendo hoped and expected. If this software isn't enough to do it, then I question whether any amount of Japanese software would be. So, logically, the solution is to go and get some western franchises. Nintendo's got money, they've gotta go and make it happen. The strategy of locking down exclusivity for big name IPs has worked really well for them in Japan, I don't see why it shouldn't be used through the rest of the world too. What are some good candidates? Middle to large franchises developed in the West that Nintendo could buy the rights for. Nothing too big (GTA and Elder Scrolls are simply not going to happen) but maybe one of the GTA knockoffs? Either Sleeping Dogs or Saints Row might be good investments. And if THQ finally gets around to going under, Darksiders along with Vigil games could be pretty solid. What about shooters? They're awful popular these days, and Nintendo doesn't have many. Popular third party shooter franchises Nintendo might wanna lock down for themselves include Borderlands and Medal of Honor (it's gonna need another reboot anyway, no?) What are the suggestions from you folks? Or do you think the entire argument is off base? Lemme know!

I'm in.