The Big Final Fantasy Marathon Post: VII, VIII, and IX

by admiralsandwich

Writing this a whole second time because I had a mishap with the previous post that involved the post getting nuked and then autosaved. Much rage ensued. But enough RPG-nut friends expressed disappointment about it that I feel like I can give a rewrite another go.

This is gonna be a big post, but I’ve sectioned it off by game so you can skip around if you like. Now, to don our nostalgia goggles and talk about some Final Fantasy!

Final Fantasy XIII: THE BLOG POST

By WorldDude and admiralsandwich

Final Fantasy XIII is quite the adventure, and a lengthy one at that. There is a lot to be admired here, and it’s clear that, despite some major changes, this is still a Final Fantasy game. Both Riss (admiralsandwich) and I thought it would be a good idea to do our first ever joint blog post on this epic RPG.

Expect quite a few disagreements and a few different takes on some things that may be problematic for some, but easy to deal with for others. We’ll be focusing on three different aspects of the game: story, presentation, and gameplay. And at the end of it all, we’ll both give our final thoughts on the game as a whole. I hope you guys enjoy!

A Piece of Riss: Early Impressions of Final Fantasy XIII

by admiralsandwich

…and by early, I mean 16 hours, 28 minutes, and 14 seconds. I’ve been through about eight full areas of play, countless battles and a decent amount of game overs. I’ve had so many thoughts about this game so far it’s sort of hard to compile them, but I’ll do my best. For an easy preface to answer what is people’s first question: YES. I am very much loving the game and have enjoying these past sixteen-plus hours.

FFMarathon: Final Fantasy VI

Surprisingly enough, Final Fantasy VI was not always my favorite of the series.  I did play it around the time it originally came out on the Super Nintendo as “Final Fantasy III,” but I wasn’t quite into roleplaying games at the time and couldn’t quite appreciate it. I was more into platforming and Street Fighter and was unable realize how wonderful Final Fantasy VI is. For awhile, Final Fantasy VII was my favorite – mostly because it was my first Final Fantasy game I owned and finished. I admit I owe a lot to FFVII for getting me back into the genre, and also because if I hadn’t gotten so into that I would have never tried playing and finishing Final Fantasy VI shortly after.

FFMarathon: Final Fantasy IV DS and Final Fantasy V

I have such mixed feelings about Final Fantasy IV DS and Final Fantasy V it’s extremely difficult for me to put into words. Also I’m seemingly becoming more and more informal with each post so hopefully that won’t bug many of you. I’m not going to devolve into horrible text speak and gibberish at least, so that’s something.

I rather quite enjoy Final Fantasy IV – the original, that is. While I’ve never played the Gameboy Advance port before, I have played both the Japanese (via translation patch) and United States releases of the original game. I’m familiar with the “easy game” and the more difficult game. I remember how hard Zeromus’ final form was for me as a tween in the JP version, and how brutal the game could be if levelgrinding was avoided. I thought I knew what I was expecting for FFIV DS and I was wrong.

FF Marathon: Thoughts on Final Fantasy III

You know what? I’m lazy. I’m crazy lazy. I am also convinced I have something akin to ADHD, thus my apparent inability to update. I’m not a writer, I’m really not…and I’m definitely a terrible one at that. So I am trying to find a way to write these posts in a way that is comfortable for me. I’m not a writer, I’m not a professional reviewer, or a journalist. Just someone who is wildly obsessive passionate about video games.

With that said, this basically sums up what I like about Final Fantasy III for the Nintendo DS:

FF Marathon: Thoughts on Final Fantasy II

In this game Guy speak beaver.

I think I’ve made it clear how I feel about this game: pure unadulterated derision. Final Fantasy II is probably one of the more debated games in series due to it’s departures from it’s predecessor and lack of traditional leveling system. It’s still a miracle that I even finished it. This accomplishment wouldn’t have been possible without the encouragement and cheer-leading of my friends. I had to literally force myself to sit down and finish it, and I am glad that I did because it means that I don’t ever have to play this game ever again.

FF Marathon: My Thoughts on Final Fantasy I

I first played through Final Fantasy Dawn of Souls Edition years ago around when it came out and didn’t really get that far. I thought it was a nice diversion and was okay with the balance. Since I restarted it and finished it back in August, my opinions have since changed. For me, the Dawn of Souls version of this game is pitifully easy, aside from completely optional dungeons. I think the highlight of this game was the fact that I beat the final boss by setting up attacks with the “memory” option turned on, holding down the A button, and watching the television. About twenty minutes later the boss was down and I didn’t even make a second glance at the screen. I’m not even really sure if it took twenty minutes – it was just twenty minutes later I looked down at the screen and realized the battle was over.