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June 18, 2014
Well, we're now all getting over the hangover of so much E3 news. There were lots of surprises, but sadly no Dragon Quest VII. It's hard to be disappointed though, Nintendo really hit out of the park to the point where it was almost hard to remember the other companies had press conferences. Plenty to look forward to on the Wii U and 3DS. Oh, and we're getting the Vita TV!

Anyway, let's get to it.

- Michael "Wheels" Apps


This Edition's Contents:

XIII

My choice of FF game was the only FF game I played before but didn't give a fair chance: Final Fantasy XIII. I got it launch day, played it a while, and like many others I seen online I was less than impressed. I think it stands as the best example of giving a second chance, because the first one was hardly fair.


Wheels' Comment

I was hoping someone would give Final Fantasy XIII a second chance. Too many wrote the game off without really giving it its due. We all knew it was going to have a slow start, and too many seemed to weigh in as if they had gotten to the meaty middle and end, yet hadn't. Anyway, let's see how this went!

As for the game itself, I have to say that it ended up not being my least favourite in the series that I have finished. The battles are flashy, there's some interesting monsters and areas to run through, there's even a little bit of character development and maybe a chocobo or two!


Wheels' Comment

There's plenty to like about the game, and overall at the very least it is a joy in the audio and video areas.

Sazh was cool through most of the game and it was a possible heart sinker when he's alone with Vanille at the point just after seeing his son. Hope actually changes enough throughout the game that I didn't want to see him get chopped by behemoths anymore, so that's something. Also, Vanille and Fang are actually pretty interesting as the main characters. Lightning was really just a party character, rather than the main like you'd be lead to believe.


Wheels' Comment

Yeah seriously, so much of the game was the Vanille and Fang show and that was a very good thing. This is something the sequels utterly failed on. The cast as a whole made the first game enjoyable, and to not have at least some of the major players as party members in the first sequel was a shame. Instead they were replaced with two largely unlikeable characters. Whoops!

Problems, though, plague the game. It has a combat system that is actually a great idea! But it has AI that doesn't use it well enough and you're stuck relying on them for the entire game. It has item customization! But what was the point of having 101 different upgrade pieces? I mean really, there were only so many that were even worth using. It has a story! That takes too long and is only actually interesting or exciting just before the game ends. It has pretty graphics! With lots of re-skinning of monsters and no real way of enjoying the scenery.


Wheels' Comment

One thing Final Fantasy XIII is not, is a perfect game by any stretch. We'd probably find a fair amount of disagreement on just how bad some of these issues are, but they are issues no doubt. I will strongly disgaree that it is "only actually interesting or exciting just before the game ends." The game gets good as soon as you regularly have a three person party.

I can't say I hate the game, now that I've beaten it. I will say that if not for the AI and the constant cap on what you can do and how much your character can level up, I would actually have enjoyed the game. As it stands though, I'd like to end this opinion email on something I said in the RPGamer.com forums:

Sazh uses Libra
Monster weak against water, strong against physical attacks
Lightning uses water, waterstrike, water, waterstrike, aero

every time. the whole game.
~lolwhoops


Wheels' Comment

I think that nicely sums up the game's issues, and thanks for the entry!

Why?

Mailbag Defend the Indefensible time! "The FF Type-0 news from E3 is the best RPG news ever!"

-severinmira


Wheels' Comment

Why would you make me do this? You know I'm not a huge Type-0 fan! I think the only way I can frame this, is that it is the best RPG news ever because it means any old game can eventually find a second life on a new platform and make its way westward. Then again, we already knew this since we eventually saw all the missing main series Final Fantasy games make their way Westward. So, don't give up on 7th Dragon just yet, we could see it as a PS4 game! Perhaps that Dragon Quest VII remake will show up on Wii U? Who am I kidding, Dragon Quest is pretty much toast in the West for the moment. Well I think I have sufficiently failed at this challenge.

Top Tweets


Wheels' Comment

No, please no more of those weird horrible intro songs. Oh dear, why am I downloading Inazuma Eleven from the eShop? Why am I importing the sequel from Europe? What have you done to me?!?!!?

Hot Topics

Here are some hot topics I've seen around the net:

  • JRPGs don't seem to be having much trouble selling decently in the West, so where has Dragon Quest gone?
  • Atlus is quickly loading up PSN with their PS2 classics. What other Atlus PS2 releases would you like to see on PSN?
  • If Child of Light is a success, will we see more RPGs with the UbiArt engine?
  • Do you smell what the Rock is cooking?


Zidane

See you next week!

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