Dragon Quest 6 - Realms of Revelation (NDS)

Originally released in 1995 to the Super Famicon in Japan, this chapter of the Dragon Quest series rarely made it to United States - until now that is. I picked up the new release last month and started playing it when I got home. It was the last chapter in the "Zenithian" trilogy (4,5, and 6) because they all feature the castles in the sky. I had to redo it because I don't even remember if I finished the game the first time around.

The game revolves around three characters: the hero, Carver the muscle man, and Milly the witch. They embarked on a journey to defeat the great evil of the land, Murdaw. But the fight was not much of a battle. They get their bodies separated in twos and sent into another world, the dream world. With their memories altered, they have to find their other selves and each other, and thats when then adventure begins.

The game wasn't that much different from DQ9, even though this game was released more recently, the style is noticeably older. All the modern finishes went to DQ9. I missed being able to view the characters equipment in the menus. Naturally the game doesn't have the mixing pot neither. What it does have, and a lot, were monster encounters. You get so used to seeing monsters on the screen and dodging them after DQ9. In DQ6 every five steps you'd be accosted to another quick battle. It gets pretty annoying when you're trying to complete a quest instead of out there just grinding for levels.

But the game's story was really good. I'm about 3/4ths through and I found it intriguing. It's the ultimate adventure of "finding oneself". The hero had to go through the real world and the dream world to re-unite with his other self. A lot of talking with townsfolk ensues, but for now I'm enjoying the ride. The nostalgia is definitely a treat.

Gran Turismo 5 - PS3

Gran Turismo 5 brings together some of the biggest names in the auto industry and places them at your fingertips. The game brings some of the best graphics onto the screen and includes 3D viewing and online play. Some of the sleekest cars on some of the world's premiere courses are included in this huge game. I've been playing it since November, purchased it on Black Friday, and haven't scratched the surface.

I've been a fan of Gran Turismo and played the first two in with great enthusiasm. The first one definitely blew my mind, with all the cars and all the ways to tune them. The second one had even more, and then the licenses and endurance races. But as you go to three and four, you start to wonder if the game was more for playing or just for watching. Even in Gran Turismo 5 you're tasked with completing just as many races in A-spec mode than on B-spec. The new element in B-spec is that you now get the option of entering in more than one racer. I haven't got to that point yet. I do have three racers now, all above level 10. It feels more and more like a RPG.

As for the rest of the game, not much has changed. The races are broken into five modes on A-Spec, and the first three (beginner, amateur, professional) are relatively easy. You're going to have to get back into the groove of racing since GT4 was five years ago. The licenses are hard and easy. Hard if you want to get Gold and Silver, but relative simple. Just concentrate a bit more than usual and you'll get the bronze. Some of the newer tracks takes time to get used, but nothing is too confusing.

The special events have been amp'ed up. There are now go-karts, the Top Gear track, and even a selection of Nascar races. I went through a lot of them, but still haven't got the trophies yet. The Go-Kart races and the WRC stuff seem the most fun so far. I didn't like the Nascar trials, and I think it's going to be a grueling time finishing it.

I've yet to finish one game online, but my connection is slow and the races online didn't interest me. Most people don't mind running into you at full speed or being ran into for that matter. I just hope that more interesting DLC's will come along. As for now, I'm sticking with single player mode. Until then, keep racing.

Dragon Quest 9 - NDS (part 1)

When I write about Dragon Quest I know I'll be writing for more than just one part, so just for my own sake, I'm calling this part one. While the last Square Enix game took about 100 hours plus to completely attain all the achievements, and I didn't even get there, this game might take even more. I wasn't even sure if I was going to play this game. I mean, Dragon Quest? again? Why?

Well why not? I found myself starting this game in a hotel room in San Jose. Before long I wanted to play through the night. Playing through eight games, and the sound and feel of it has not changed a bit. From the opening score to the cheerful themed songs in the towns, I feel like I'm instantly transported to another world. Final Fantasy 13 took my breath away with it's 1080P graphics in a 30 gig blu-ray disc, but Dragon Quest 9 does the same on the NDS with just 250 megs!

But the game is not just all tradition, there are many new aspects about the game. To start, you not only can choose your hero's gender, but you can create his look. It's like playing the Sims to a small extent. Then you they expanded the inventory slots to more than just four, there there are seven items that a character can equip. Plus everything that you equip is displayed on the screen. It's just sad that you sometimes have to wear something uncouth like a tortoise's shell.
Next, there are no more random battles. Perhaps that bugs players that are learning about Dragon Quest, but I've lived through so many of it through the series and don't find it too much to complain. Although now with the ability to pick and choose which enemies to encounter, I find myself rushing to attack when I see a metal slime (or any of the metal family for that matter). Next there is the experience point splitting system. After the battle, the ones with higher levels will get more EXP. I guess this prevents you from power leveling a new person you create from level 1. And yes, most of the party members you get (at least from the beginning anyway) are those that you create and recruit yourself. I start with a priest (pole arms), martial artist (war fans), and theif (daggers). Another new development I notice is that when a character dies in battle, at least for boss battles, if the party wins, he still gets EXP. That's quite helpful as I tend to fight bosses under-leveled and I win by a hair many times. I don't like to "grind" much any more, so I tend to fight bosses before the recommended levels.

There are more game concepts that developed, but I'll have to reserve those for the second post.
For now, I'm trying to hack my way through the game. But life is busy at the moment. My game time has been reduced significantly. Until then, I'll be wearing slime earrings. Screenshots to come too.

Final Fantasy 13 - PS3

Like every other RPG fan in March, I took time out of my schedule to play Final Fantasy 13. Scoreless screen shots and reviews have been written on the game and I might as well try to write one also. I'm not going to lie, this isn't a game for everyone. It's not much of a RPG game, but it is a very beautifully crafted cinematic piece of work. I'm about 26 hours in and I'm not sure if I would class this as an interactive movie or a really linear episode of Final Fantasy.

The story begins with a band of outcasts are being chased down by the local government of Coccoon. They are seen as diseased elements and all those that come in contact with them are to be "purged"; they are the L'Cie. It's not long that you realize that Lightning, a former captain of the military is the main character. Snow, the young leader of the resistance group, NORA (No obligations or Authority?), gets sucked into the mess because he's trying to save his fiancee. His wife-to-be has already been changed from L'Cie to Crystal because she had fulfilled her "focus". This will inevitably happen to all L'Cie. The other three characters that get dragged into this are Sahz, Vanille, and a boy named Hope. They later meet a fighting woman named Fang, who is in search of Vanille; she plans to rescue her.

These six characters are in search of an author. No, not really, but they are in search of some answers as to what is the connection between Coccoon and Pulse, legendary city outside of their world. They're also wondering if it's better to fulfill their focus and become crystal, or run away. They've already tried running. So they decided to take up a third alternative and rush towards the highest office of the Coccoon order, the Sanctum, and ask for answers.

So if I had to guess what happened at the game designer's table at Square-Enix, I'd have to say they were trying to concentrate all the "good" stuff in Final Fantasy and take out all the "bad" stuff. The players love the feeling of beating a boss, so let's make it so that all the battles are pretty similar to boss battles. Players loved the seeing Cloud, Squall, or Tidus slashing monsters in the air, so why not make it so that you'd get to see that in every battle?! Sounds great so far. People love cinematics, lets give them more than they've ever seen before; how about one after every chapter! Now to the bad stuff. Players didn't like talk to people in towns, let's just take out towns. Let's take out weapon shops, item shops, magic shops, and inns and put them all neatly in a save-point. Let's take out that tedious aspect of healing yourself after the battle also. Well you get the point. It's evolution, sort of. I'm not saying I don't like the game, but it sure is a different approach to Final Fantasy.

For the best, longest, and funniest review of Final Fantasy 13, please see Action Button.net's review. It's 18,000 words, and pure entertainment.