A Green Mushroom

While I've been taking this short break from my Final Fantasy Project I've mostly been playing Chrono Trigger , but that's not all.  In anticipation of the next couple Final Fantasy games I picked up a Playstation Vita (to play FFVII through FFX).  I've had an active PS Plus subscription for awhile so I had a bunch of free Vita games waiting for me when I bought it.  I've been trying out all of the games I could download through PS Plus and I picked up a few others too... so here are my rapid-fire impressions. Keep in mind, I think I only spent about $15 total (besides my Vita bundle) to get these games. Thomas Was Alone This is a fantastic platformer.  I never thought a bunch of rectangles could get me emotionally invested.  Easily one of the top games on this list for me.  If you are a platformer fan, Thomas Was Alone is probably on a console/PC that you own and you should buy it.  I fully endorse Thomas Was Alone . Luftrausers I actually sp...

I've been a little quiet here for a couple reasons.  The main one is that I got laid off from my job and went into overdrive looking for a new one.  For the moment I'm doing freelance web development for a start-up agency and loving it, so don't worry about me.  Once that was under control, I looked at what was next up for The Final Fantasy Project (FFVII!) and decided that maybe I should take a break and enjoy a non final fantasy game before I make the leap to the Playstation era. Thanks to some twitter and blogger friends - like Syl and TishToshTesh - I decided it was time to finally play Chrono Trigger.  I don't know how I've avoided this game my whole life.  I obviously love a good JRPG and Chrono Trigger always makes it into the top lists of best RPGs ever.  So, it was time to get to it. I'm so glad I did!  Chrono Trigger is a fantastic RPG.  I'm not even done with it yet but it's easily in my top two RPGs of the SNES era. ...

Final Fantasy VI is really good.  It's the first Final Fantasy that I can see myself going back and replaying for fun.  The setting and game systems are good but the true heart of this game is the story.  Just FYI, there will be some spoilers in this review. FFVI is set in an industrial world that exists generations after a magic war caused all magic to be lost from the world.  It's the first Final Fantasy to get out of the classic medieval fantasy setting.  I didn't realize how ready I was to get out of that setting and see something different and in this regard FFVI is a breath of fresh air.  And the world isn't just about going from point A to point B like so many Final Fantasy games up to this point.  There is really a world to explore, especially once the story causes it to change irrevocably. Worth mentioning is the Mode 7 in this game.   Mode 7 is a technique used on the SNES to fake 3D with 2D.  It has a very distinct l...

I wanted to take a chance during this break between games to talk about strategy guides.  I've been using them a lot lately.  The JRPG genre in general tends to have more use for guides than other genres and Final Fantasy is no exception. I've used a strategy guide for four out of the five games I've played so far.  The game I did guide-less was FFIV.  I actively needed the guides for the other games. That's the sad part, guides are basically a necessity for so many of these games.  It's really easy to get stuck in the early Final Fantasy games.  There are sections where the only option would be to wander the world aimlessly searching for hours... or look at a strategy guide for five minutes.  I will almost always choose the guide at that point.  Not to mention how easy it can be to get stuck somewhere and not be able to go back.  In a few places it's a very real possibility that you can get stuck in an area that is too high level for you...

Final Fantasy V was ok.  I finished it, but I wasn't inspired enough to write about it while I was in the middle of playing.  That should probably tell you something about how I feel about the game.  It was fine.  It wasn't bad .  There is no single thing I can point to and say "I hated this."  But, overall, it simply didn't click with me. The story is perfectly serviceable.  It had semi-interesting characters, multiple worlds, Cid, Moogles, Chocobos, an airship, and an evil villain.  Exdeath, the big bad of this game, even had a more complicated plot than "destroy the world by destroying crystals."  Not much more complicated, but at least it's a step up from FFI, FFII, and FFIII.  The story was definitely better than those games.  My biggest problem with it is that it just isn't as good as FFIV.  It feels like a step back in terms of storytelling quality. Maybe that's my overall problem with FFV.  It's not as...

I've been taking a break from Final Fantasy games to play through Bravely Default, a new release for 3DS.  I just finished it up in the last few days and wanted to get some thoughts out there. Honestly, this is the best Final Fantasy game that has been released since XII.  It's really funny that this isn't truly a Final Fantasy game.  I can definitely tell that it started out as one.  The job system, crystal story, items, and spells are all taken, almost directly, from Final Fantasy.  It started out as a sequel to Final Fantasy Four Warriors of Light but at some point in development it got to break away and become it's own brand.  Maybe that's why it's so good, because it doesn't have the weight of the Final Fantasy name on it's shoulders. I love, Luxendarc, the world of Bravely Default.  Everything from the art direction to the music is top notch.  My god, the music!  I haven't enjoyed a game soundtrack this much since I played Final Fan...

I'm already done with FFIV.  I didn't do any mid-way posts because the game held my attention so well.  It only took me a couple weeks of lunch breaks and commuting time to finish.  Let me tell you, Final Fantasy IV is a fantastic entry in the series!  More than anything else, the story made all the difference. There was so much character development and interaction, especially compared to the first three entries.  Now that I've finished this game I've come to realize how much I was missing a solid story in the older games.  A memorable story with interesting characters has become a hallmark of a Final Fantasy game and this is the first place that it's evident. This game actually has a bunch of firsts for Final Fantasy.  First use of the Active Time Battle system.  First time class is tied to characters and their personality.  First decent story.  First time having lots of temporary characters to fill out the roster.  Fi...