Josh - 10:10 EST

Nothing especially exciting going on. I didn't even get to touch my PS2 today, since I woke up at 2PM and went to work at 3. Oops. Oh! So, one of the people who used to live in my apartment moved out a little after I first moved in, but he left a ton of his stuff here. He said he'd be back in 2 weeks, but it was more like 2 months. Anyway, once he finally came up, he grabbed only a little bit of his items, and left the rest, saying "you guys can just throw it away." Instead, we split up the spoils of war and I came out with a few good things.

• A laundry basket
• A cushy swivel computer chair
• An old acoustic guitar

Now, I don't know how to play guitar, but it was free, and if I ever want to learn...well, I've got the required equipment. So, yay free stuff!

On a side note: The Unlimited Saga OST is pretty darn good. I've been listening to it incessantly for the past week or two, and Masashi Hamauzu is a god among mere mortals. Here's a sampling of a few of my favorites:

• Perpetual Movements - A composition of some strange instruments that turned out pretty good, I think.
• BT Ver.8 - This one is just different.
• BT "Ultimate" - Techno/Trance battle theme with a nice horn section.
• Soaring Wings - Probably one of my favorite VG vocal themes. The strings are amazing.

That was random, but onward we press!

when the pinnion is used, does the gf become permenent like odin or is the gf a one timer

Hi there Ouro

So far I'm only past the first real area in FF12 due to work, other responsibilities etc, but so far the game hasn't hooked me, it just doesn't feel like Final Fantasy and the story seems to be so grand that it's in love with itself, also if I'm understanding correctly then the characters aren't really too much different as far as abilities go, used to I loved customizing everyone and learning every ability as everyone but I really wish they were more unique you know? maybe I'm just getting old and bitter ^^;; also the concept of the license board irks me a bit, having to buy/find a weapon/armor then buy the license is like paying for it twice it would seem, I dunno maybe I'm just not far enough into it

Also cool Legends of the Hidden Temple costume, at least I hope that's what it was, that show and Wild and Crazy kids always amused me for some reason ^^;;

Question: Do our answers to the contests count against our count?

Arros Raikou

Hey.

Did you know "twelve plus one" is an anagram for "eleven plus two"? Regarding this and any links anyone sends you, the answer, for me anyway, is the use of StumbleUpon and related websites.

I think it's a very good idea to limit letters. Even with the 1K word limit, I'll probably won't read the longer letters, they're just too lengthy and I have a short attention span. Still, it means more shorter letters, which I do read.

I'm not playing FFXII now. At the beginning of the RPG season me and a friend divided the games we'll get between us - he's buying Okami, FFXII and something else (don't remember what), I'm buying XGIII (which he won't play, not into Xenosaga), Valkyrie Profile: Silmeria and Rogue Galaxy. Then we'll swap.

VP:S is pretty cool. I have my usual "open ended" fears - am I missing something? Is there a secret now? Should I use different characters? Will the story chars leave me sometime? But I'm getting through it. It's a lot easier, for me anyway, than the first VP. Probably because I'm a bit older and more used to action RPGs. The game is simply gorgeous. I've seen some of FFXII and I'm not sure it's better than VP, maybe even a bit worse. They're just doing wonderful things with lighting in that game.

At least I don't have much of a backlog to speak of...

Zohar Gilboa

Our Ouro errs "You could have secondary weapon damage from the original FF2...I distinctly remember equipping both in order to level faster."

Equipping 2 weapons in the original; yes. Getting weapon-exp from both; yes. Doing damage from both; no. They would cause roughly the same amount as the main weapon with a shield (which was less than both hands wielding a single weapon). Suggesting that the secondary was just a poor parrying device (for a little Evasion%). The remakes "improved" that and thus rendered magical damage (and Bows, and double held & unarmed combat) quite inferior.

Otherwise I couldn't argue with your other points. Mostly because I couldn't tell why you found normal battles boring, and/or dangerous. Nor why you needed a magic level in every battle, instead of spreading it all out.

"less words per letter = more letters per column...hopefully"

Hmm....So that means there isn't a "letters per person" limit at all? (Waits for the full columns, with only the one questioner!)

P.s. For some reason that "Quest for the Crown" seemed to get more difficult after a couple of replays in a row. (Must of been the 6 layers of footwear I was wearing back then!)

Yes, it is I, Slashlen! I come in peace! Again! Even though you didn’t seem to believe me last time! I shall extend the olive branch with this letter! I’ll start with Final Fantasy. Rather than look at why it got popular in the first place, I do have an idea about why it’s lasted so long.

I think that one reason Final Fantasy has been able to go on so long is that SE has never been afraid to ‘mess’ with it. For a lot of series, a new sequel brings a lot of the same. FF always seems to make a major change in some way, either in the look of the game, the battle system, or ways of getting new stats/skills/magic. Just look at all of the talk that 12’s new battle system is getting. While a few people don’t like it for some strange reason, it’s generally getting a very positive response. And for those who don’t like it, 13 may have a different battle system. If one rubs someone the wrong way, they may get back into the series in a later installment. It looks like 13 has a look more similar to 10 than 12. While they may not reinvent the wheel with each game, they do enough to keep it from being “the same old game”, and as long as they keep doing that, Final Fantasy 25 is an inevitability.

Now for something that I’ve actually argued about with a few people lately. If an RPG(or any other kind of game) gives you the choice between a male or female protagonist(assume no differences in stats/skills/etc) which do you pick? My answer and reasoning is simple. Whichever one I pick, I will probably spend a lot of the time with that character on screen, often their butt right in the middle of the screen. I’m a guy, so I’d rather look at girl butt. There is nothing wrong with my reasoning!

Nothing!
Slashlen

Luca Phase:
Luca Blight charges up!

Movement Phase:
Sundoulos falls to Tile 23.
Slimey falls to Tile 24.
William.T falls to Tile 26.
Leaper remains still.
Bainick moves to Tile 20.
Arros Raikou moves to Tile 18.
Draconn moves to Tile 41.
Alan Tse moves to Tile 15.
Slashlen moves to Tile 33.
PureLunatic moves to Tile 32.
Arpijy moves to Tile 27.
JDX moves to Tile 43.
Aurelius moves to Tile 34.
Aylee moves to Tile 18.
Tabor moves to Tile 30.

Mweeheeheehee!

Answer to #L25: F. 13,180
Yep...that's how long it will take you to max out that board...sigh.

#L26.
e^i*pi = ?

A. 0
B. pi
C. 1
D. -1
E. i
F. infinity

Any more talk on the FF phenomenon? Ah, how about we extend it to all series? What series are out there that seem to be less popular than FF games, and what is it that they need to do to get that extra boos in popularity? Sound off, loyal Q&A readers!

***Josh gets fed too much at work.