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Final Fantasy VIII: You can't go home again.

Final Fantasy VIII was one of my favorites in its era. If you had asked me about it last year, I'd have said it was the last "true" Final Fantasy; Final Fantasy 9 was a fond retrospective of the era and Final Fantasy X began the decidedly inferior era of "modern" Final Fantasies. I'd have also contended that "as goes Final Fantasy, so goes the RPG industry," so to say True Final Fantasy is tantamount to saying True RPG. What makes a True RPG? Here's what I'd have told you:

A True RPG uses stats-based combat, and player skill is represented only by strategy in selecting orders.
A True RPG gives you choices in where to go next. Corollary: the tutorial phase of the game is... Read All Final Fantasy VIII was one of my favorites in its era. If you had asked me about it last year, I'd have said it was the last "true" Final Fantasy; Final Fantasy 9 was a fond retrospective of the era and Final Fantasy X began the decidedly inferior era of "modern" Final Fantasies. I'd have also contended that "as goes Final Fantasy, so goes the RPG industry," so to say True Final Fantasy is tantamount to saying True RPG. What makes a True RPG? Here's what I'd have told you:

A True RPG uses stats-based combat, and player skill is represented only by strategy in selecting orders.
A True RPG gives you choices in where to go next. Corollary: the tutorial phase of the game is only over when you can meaningfully choose where to go next.
A True RPG rewards curiosity and exploration; some of the game's finest treasures will be had by finding something secret.
A True RPG has a compelling story; you should want to finish the game in the same way you want to see the end of a movie.

There are more (I've got opinions), but these are the interesting ones for the purposes of this writeup. These are some of the ways I'd have insisted that FFVIII shines.... but on my last playthrough, I realized that the game actually fails to deliver on all counts.

I've often derided FFX for being an "RPG on Rails" - until the very end of the game, your path is literally one-dimensional; you can go forwards or backwards. Same with FFXIII. I couldn't shake the feeling that "tutorial mode" persisted right up to the end of the fourth disc. But FFVIII does the same thing - you don't actually get a choice of where to go next until the middle of disc 2, and once you *are* given that choice, you really only have two options: sidequest city that you have NO REASON TO KNOW EXISTS, and next plot point. You can also find a Chocobo Forest, which doesn't help you because by the time you get there you have land transportation covered.

Rewarding exploration? Not so much. You can find magic draw points, but your magic caps out pretty quick. Or, you can get cards, which refine into items, which refine into magic. There are a couple of Guardian Forces you can find in the wild, but they're either obvious or they're so hidden as to nearly be easter eggs; they don't reward exploration nearly as much as they reward buying the official strategy guide (which was the thing you did Back Then™).

As far as the story goes, it's obviously a subjective call. All I can really say is that if your story hinges around a high school that teaches its students to fight with personally styled weapons, the heroes all have amnesia and the villainess is a time traveller, then you'll have an easier time impressing 19-year-old Mark than 33-year-old Mark.

Ultimately, I think I was really playing the game I expected it to be, and not the game as it actually was - like, I believed that I could explore, so I didn't notice I couldn't. I'll be interested to see how Skyrim holds up for me in 15 years. Has anybody else here experienced this kind of thing? I'm curious how common this actually is.

Travis Admin wrote on 02/19/2014 at 10:11pm

Speaking of strategy guides, the one for FFIX pissed me off so bad. Here's a brief idea of what you'll be doing. For the rest, go visit playonline.com.

Which of course doesn't exist in the same form anymore so the guide is basically useless.

Timogorgon Member wrote on 02/19/2014 at 10:41pm

HA! I see I'm not the only one who hates the FF9 strategy guide. Even when PlayOnline was up and running it was still largely worthless. Worst. Guide. Ever. It was so bad I quit buying strategy guides for good after that one.
FF8 is one of the few Final fantasy games I have never played. My friends loved it, but whenever I'd see them playing the game it just never caught my attention. When I saw they released it on Steam I got curious though, and considered picking it up, but it sounds like I am still probably fine not playing it.

CapnCurry Supporter Post Author wrote on 02/20/2014 at 12:41am

Oh, wow! The Strategy Guide that Killed the Industry. I forgot about that. Talk about shooting yourself in the foot. Surely somebody should have realized that the only reason I'm buying your book and not going to Game Faqs is that the Internet wasn't in the same room as my game console and I'm a lazy bastard, right?

I remember they made the argument that no, no, they're not trying to boost their web traffic, they're trying to avoid spoilers in the book.

Come *on*. We all know that there's no such thing as a "strategy" for getting through an RPG that fills a book. You're selling a thorough description of the game world so that I don't miss any secrets. Spoilers are your *product*, you don't get to leave them out of your book. What's next, you sell me an empty carton of yogurt because you're pretty sure I didn't want that milk, it was old and had bacteria in it?

jdodson Admin wrote on 02/20/2014 at 03:45am

Hahahahaha totally. The last few game guides I bought were for Fallout 3 GoTY & Zelda Twilight Princess.

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Wolfenstein: The New Order will include DOOM beta

Wolfenstein: The New Order dropped a new trailer today. It is coming out May 20, which is great news and I'm sure I'll enjoy it thoroughly.

More importantly, though, IT COMES WITH ACCESS TO A DOOM BETA.

It is never referred to as DOOM 4, so it's possible this is a reboot, at least in name, in the same way the previous Wolfenstein was.

Guys and gals, I am stoked. Doom is one of my favorite franchises, and the fact that they're close enough to be talking about betas is exciting news on its own-- the fact that we can get our hands on it soon is icing on the cake.

Read more about the pre-order, the beta, and more here: http://www.wolfenstein.com/en-us/doom

Story Time with Cap'n Curry: Dragon Age: Origins

My wife and I have very different approaches to gaming in general. I favor tactics, strategy, and cunning: if I can defeat you before you know you've lost, that's a good victory; if I can defeat you before you know we're fighting that's a great one. One of my proudest adventures in Skyrim was clearing a cave full of bandits: not because I fought hard or against valiant foes, but because you could raise every bandit from the dead and there would still be no witnesses to the deed.

Beth, on the other hand, favors raw power and force. If there is nothing left of her opponent, that's a good victory; if there's nothing left of the battlefield that's a great one. She punishes... Read All My wife and I have very different approaches to gaming in general. I favor tactics, strategy, and cunning: if I can defeat you before you know you've lost, that's a good victory; if I can defeat you before you know we're fighting that's a great one. One of my proudest adventures in Skyrim was clearing a cave full of bandits: not because I fought hard or against valiant foes, but because you could raise every bandit from the dead and there would still be no witnesses to the deed.

Beth, on the other hand, favors raw power and force. If there is nothing left of her opponent, that's a good victory; if there's nothing left of the battlefield that's a great one. She punishes you for daring to face her in the most extreme manner possible; she never maims when she can kill and she never kills when she can obliterate.

I had played through Dragon Age Origins with my usual assassin-type build, and enjoyed it thoroughly, but was wondering how the game experience is different between classes. Beth came to a plot quest that I had been curious about since my own play-through, because I talked my way past it and I wondered what I had skipped.

Beth, upon meeting the fellow with whom I had dealt in treachery and deceit, immediately pissed him off then caved his head in to illustrate her point. When she was finished playing whack-a-mole with his minions, she went to the valley beyond, where a big dragon flew overhead, perched on a cliff, and roared like hell.

I hadn't anticipated a dragon actually showing up, and was super curious to see how the game would handle this - was this meant to be a fight, or was talking my way out of it just one of several ways to walk past this thing? I started looking for options, a way out, but Beth had already charted her course.

You see, she had found a gong.

She rang the dragon's goddamn dinner bell, pulled out her sledgehammer, and yelled "GET YOUR ASS DOWN OFF THAT CLIFF AND BRING IT, BITCH."

She lost that fight. And the next one. And the one after that. Realizing that Operation Dinnertime was probably the only tactic I'd get to see here, and since it seemed unlikely that the dragon would choke on the dwarf trying to swallow it whole, I went to my office to futz around. About an hour later, Beth came bopping in and proudly announced that she'd beaten the dragon. "Oh, wow!" I said. "How did you do it?"

She looked at me like I was nuts, and said "I hit it with my hammer until it died."

Humble Indie Bundle 11: THEY WILL NEVER STOP COMING!

"Humble Indie Bundle 11 features six top-notch indie games, just name your price. Pay what you want for the magical Mex-inspired action-platformer, Guacamelee! Gold Edition, the gorgeous action RPG, Dust: An Elysian Tail, the atmospheric puzzle-platformer, The Swapper and the blistering hardcore platformer, Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams, which includes a sweet digital comic. Pay more than the average price and you'll also unlock the mind-bending psychological exploration game, Antichamber, and the adrenaline-pumping heist game, Monaco: What's Yours is Mine."

For nothing else, you should buy this Bundle for Monaco. Monaco is a really fun top down Indie stealth game that... Read All

Irrational Games Will Close Shop Soon

In what has become my "bummer of the day" it seems Irrational Games, the company that brought us BioShock, BioShock Infinite and Freedom Force is closing down.

"We built Rapture and Columbia, the Von Braun and The Rickenbacker, the Freedom Fortress and some of the nastiest basements a SWAT team ever set foot into. We created Booker and Elizabeth, the Big Daddy and the Little Sister, MidWives and ManBot. In that time, Irrational has grown larger and more successful than we could have conceived when we began our three-person studio in a living room in Cambridge, MA. It’s been the defining project of my professional life.

Now Irrational Games is about to roll out the last... Read All

Chroma Announce Trailer

Completely reimagining the classic Arena FPS formula, Chroma infuses fast-paced PC shooter action with music-driven gameplay. Join the fight as a Fader, a musical icon of the future, and battle for control of the all-encompassing cultural feed known as The Signal. In Chroma, music is your weapon. Sound is your arsenal.

Music-driven FPS gameplay – Music matters. Chroma features innovative first-person shooter mechanics that tie the game’s soundtrack directly to combat, traversal, and more.

Music is your weapon – Unleash streams of sound and music with your arsenal and bring the musical landscape to life in battle! From deep wobbling bass to the crunch of an electric... Read All

FTL: Faster Than Light is Not So Fast When You're Out of Fuel

I've finally played FTL, probably less than 2 hours was spent. The tutorial was definitely helpful and easy. I didn't do the virus or spider missions, I knew from Cheerful Ghost that definitely shouldn't do the spider one. I made it to the third sector, but that is where I ran out of fuel. I obviously need to keep an eye on that and buy some when I can. I found out (via a Google Search) that I could attempt to jump, but choose to wait and use a distress signal. Unfortunately, an enemy ship (a Mantis one, I think) found me and started firing at me. They had great weapons, including a laser that penetrated my shields. Unfortunately, they took out my weapons and caused... Read All

Azurephile Super Member Post Author wrote on 02/18/2014 at 03:14pm

Playing on Easy and yes it's hard! I hate running out of missiles & getting blown up, but it's not too frustrating.

jdodson Admin wrote on 02/18/2014 at 04:06pm

Yeah, FTL is difficult :D That said, it's one of the first Roge-likes I played that was way more fun than it was soul crushing :D

Azurephile Super Member Post Author wrote on 02/18/2014 at 05:32pm

Yeah, I saw your Roundtable about it, which was awesome by the way! I didn't know what a rogue-like was and I'm glad you explained that in the video. I've actually learned a lot during my stay here at Cheerful Ghost. =)

Travis Admin wrote on 02/19/2014 at 02:50am

Another roguelike that's worth checking out is Rogue Legacy. I actually forgot about this one during the RT.

It's a roguelike, sure, but unlike many (most?) roguelikes there's a bit of a narrative. Each time you die, the next time you play you're the offspring of the character that died before you. You can build upon what your ancestors have done, things they've bought, etc.

It's a little like MOBAs in the sense that every time you die you pass by a shop where you can upgrade yourself a bit. But you have to give up all your money to enter the castle, so spend it while you got it.

Azurephile Super Member Post Author wrote on 02/19/2014 at 06:01am

Interesting! I saw that Jon was playing it earlier.

Azurephile Super Member Post Author wrote on 02/19/2014 at 07:25am

Maybe I misread and he was playing Reus instead.

Azurephile Super Member Post Author wrote on 02/19/2014 at 07:31am

Oh, Travis, that looks cool! No demo though.

jdodson Admin wrote on 02/19/2014 at 03:48pm

I was playing Reus.

Azurephile Super Member Post Author wrote on 02/20/2014 at 10:44pm

It sounds great!

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More FTL Advanced News Surfaces: Clones, Hacking & Battery

The FTL team released more information about the new expansion that is pretty interesting. It seems the game is getting several new subsystems like the Clone Bay, Hacking, Mind Control & Backup Battery. I find the Clone Bay an neat addition to the game as when you select it, it replaces the Med Bay. Apparently with the Clone Bay your crew is regenerated, thereby allowing you care less about death.

Overall the expansion is starting to look really awesome and I can't wait to check it out. Still no release date set and as soon as they have one, you will be the first to know.

http://www.ftlgame.com/?p=647

HD Re-releases (Like Final Fantasy X/X-2)

I found out recently that Final Fantasy X and X-2 are being re-released in HD next month (1 month & 1 day from now I believe). I want to know what your thoughts are on games that get re-released in HD. I think it's great that games are in HD and cool that some get re-released in HD, but I'm not sure I'm going to by any of them. Zelda: Wind Waker got the same treatment by Nintendo. While I'm sure I'll get a Wii U eventually (maybe next month for my son's 10th birthday), I'm not really interested in buying the HD re-releases, especially when I still own the original game. That applies to Kingdom Hearts, too. I did buy the Metroid Trilogy for the Wii and regret that... Read All I found out recently that Final Fantasy X and X-2 are being re-released in HD next month (1 month & 1 day from now I believe). I want to know what your thoughts are on games that get re-released in HD. I think it's great that games are in HD and cool that some get re-released in HD, but I'm not sure I'm going to by any of them. Zelda: Wind Waker got the same treatment by Nintendo. While I'm sure I'll get a Wii U eventually (maybe next month for my son's 10th birthday), I'm not really interested in buying the HD re-releases, especially when I still own the original game. That applies to Kingdom Hearts, too. I did buy the Metroid Trilogy for the Wii and regret that I traded in the Gamecube versions of those games that I had. I even saw an online graphic that showed how much better the originals looked compared to the new Wii version. I also had some disc reading issues with the trilogy and Other M (and Super Smash Bros. Melee). This is probably because I have one of the very first Wiis that were released, not the one that came with an updated disk drive.

I mentioned Kingdom Hearts, which is (as far as I can tell) the reason why I will buy a PS4 (for Kingdom Hearts 3). So far I see no reason to get one yet and am waiting on games I want (like KH3 and Final Fantasy). I wouldn't be caught dead thinking about getting an XBoxOne, even though I once again have the original XBox (the first Buffy the Vampire Slayer game is only for XBox). I really liked it back in the day when I had a PS2, Gamecube, and an original XBox. Even though I had the PS2 versions of Grand Theft Auto, I bought them for the XBox, which I loved because those games let you use the music you've stored on your XBox. I did trade in those games though when I gave away my first XBox. Now I only have Buffy for it and I'm fine with that. I also have the Gamecube version of the 2nd Buffy game.

Well, I've kind of gone off topic, but let's get back to the idea of HD re-releases and let me know what your thoughts on those are. Do you think they're worth getting, especially if you still own the original releases? I loved FFX & X-2, Kingdom Hearts, and Wind Waker. I still think each game is awesome, but I don't feel the need to go out and buy the HD versions.

Monsters Ate My Birthday Cake: Min-terview -w Justin Baldwin

Monsters Ate My Birthday Cake is the game that got me hooked on Kickstarter. From seeing the first few minutes of the video to looking at the lush game art, I was impressed. After seeing the game first hand at Portland Retro Gaming Expo, I can say that I can't wait to get my hands on the final product. I've been curious about the progress of the game for quite some time so I decided to ship over a few questions to Sleep Ninja Games. Justin Baldwin got back and as a special treat gave us two exclusive screen shots of the game in development. The first shot above is of the Village with the in game character Altus. The other screen grab is of The Apricot Acres and you... Read All