Final Fantasy 12 - PS2 (part 1)

Well, we all heard about the security breech on the Playstation Network of the past few weeks. Some guy hacked in, got access to about 80,000 credit cards, and now Sony's in a big mess. After a few days of trying to repair the network, they just said it wouldn't work, and are going to create a new one from scratch. Yeah, it seems like a Matrix movie plot, but no, it's real and a lot of people are upset. I think you can finally play multi-player games on it now, but I actually I was more worried about my trophies. A bit frustrated with it all, I just went back to Final Fantasy 12. Good ol PS2 gaming.

The thing about Final Fantasy 12 is that I never completed everything in that game. For the avid player, that's what FF games are about - you play it through once to get the feel about it, but you play it again to sweep up the nooks and crannies. The first time I finished it, I spent about 60 hours and made it past the boss with no problem. This was 2005? Bush was still in office. I remember not enjoying it much, but something rushed me. Then again, how can you tell someone you didn't like the game if you spent 60 hours on it? It's getting to the dessert portion of the meal and then telling your mate that, "well, this place kind of sucked". No, I like 12, and I like it a lot more this second time through.

So what did I miss? Pretty much everything. I didn't have the Zod spear; I didn't get the Genji gear; I finished the game with like four Espers. I finished about 20 Hunts, just to get by. It's interesting how little you have to do to complete a Final Fantasy game. I wish they remade this game for the PS3 and put in trophy pack. Hell, I wish they did that for every previous Final Fantasy game.

So starting over. Was it hard? Not really. Playing the game again was a bit odd for the eyes, as I had to go back to 480i, standard definition gaming. But I got used to it about three hours in. One thing that changed was that I got the Brady Guidebook this time, and well, I'm playing it as a cheater. Is it really cheating if you still have to DO the tasks? Sure I have access to maps, boss weaknesses, and just the general feel of the future, but I still had to play the game. Do I still die? Well, rarely. I think I got the game-over screen once. I took the wrong turn in the Fey Wood when my party had no reason to be there. Anyway, back to the game.

I really like this game. Sure it's the most different of the Final Fantasy series by far. It's engine and battle system is ported over from Final Fantasy 11, and the world of Ivalice is quite different from Spira or Gaea. So what's great about it? The characters and story. That's for another post. Right now, I'm 62 hours in, and walking through the city of Giruvegan.

Devil Summoner - PS2

I couldn't help it, I decided to put in some hours on another Atlus Shin Megami Tensei game. I started Devil Summoner and couldn't stop - even though I just bought a PS3.

This one is actually not an RPG, and it's not set in present day. The story revolves around a group of mages in industrial Japan. The order of "Raidou" is committed to maintaining peace in Tokyo. They do so with the power to see, combat, and summon "devils" (which are Personas in all the Persona games).

This was a major turning point in Japan, as they began westernizing and adopting technologies from America and Europe. I always felt that the days were pretty bleak there, but playing this game makes it feel very exciting. There're young men who are intrigued by the steam boats and trains and young women who want to try the sun dresses from Europe. I think I enjoy these aspects more because I was a Japanese history major in college.

(Raidou and his funny hat) The game itself is an action RPG where battles warp you to a fighting screen. You have a sword, a handgun, and the ability to summon devils. You fight in towns and then you fight in the dark world. This is the natural sequence of events in the game. Once again there is monster fusion, and it becomes like a mature version of Pokemon. Each monster has it's strengths and weaknesses and they also come with special abilities like "sneak" and "fly". These abilities enable the detective summoner to snoop in places where any normal sleuth cannot.

(the detective agency) All in all the game is fun and has a nice sense of challenge. You can go through levels quicker if you know how to hack and slash correctly, but you can also dominate the bosses if you rather level up. So it's got a good balance of "Action - RPG". The fusions for the devils make this game interesting for those who like to "collect them all".

I'm finally in Episode 8, and I think there will be only two more episodes before this all comes to an end. I'm about 20 hours in, so I doubt this will take more than 30.

Below are some scenes I took with my camera. I love the settings: the Red Light District, the old Ginza district, and a conversation with a huge demon.

Persona 4 - PS2

Well, I didn't think I would play this one so soon, but it was like opening up gifts on Christmas morning - I just couldn't wait. I played Persona 3: FES not too long ago, so the concepts of the game were still fresh in my mind. Turning on Persona 4 for the first time took me back to the end of the P3 in a rush as the animated intro started. The beginning the title theme is similar to the last score in P3. It was effortless continuity from 3 to 4. I started the game and I knew that this would be another 100 hour journey into the world of Shadows and Personas.

From the start, let me warn those that have never played these games that you don't get any control of the character until 90 minutes into the story. Lots and lots of story happens and you're not too sure when a battle will even begin. I'd say you don't fully get to a first battled until 2 hours and 15 minutes of the game. So please be patient! To me, it's like watching a movie, and I am loving it so far.

Similar to Persona 3, this chapter in the SMT world begins with a young man pondering through a train car's window. Pan to something ultra-violent, and then back to signal lights blinking and you have iconic Japanese Anime sequences. It's campy, but hey, it works. The young man is transferring from the big city to a small town of Inaba because his parents works overseas and they entrusted him to his uncle, who works as a detective in town. The young man quickly makes friends with Yosuke, an absentminded boy who works at the local electronics depot, and Chie, a super jubulent Kung-fu loving girl who is turning into one of my favorite female video-game character in recent memory. Now THAT was a geeky statement.

(Yosuke, someone who literally ran into you on the first day of school.) Let's talk about some differences between part 3 and part 4. First of all, the Dark Hour is gone. Instead, you can enter the world of Persona's through the TV department of the Junes building in the day time, usually after school. Secondly, during the dungeon stages, there is no longer just one giant Tartarus dungeon but instead sectioned off areas where you can delve into. After a battle ends, the way you attain Personas is different. The new lottery for cards causes a lot more eye strain. But there's a lot more. Thirdly, there are two more sections added to your personal status, putting it into five: Emotions, Knowledge, Courage, Diligence, and Expression. If that's not enough, you still have to level up your social links. So there is a lot to learn and a lot to do.

Igor, your guide into the Persona World.

Yukiko, another classmate of yours that is born and raised in Inaba. Her parents own an inn on the edge of town. It's where all the murders have started.

Eternal Poison - PS2

Another one of Atlus's RPG's for 2009. It's rare to be playing PS2 games in 2009, but I still find it entertaining. The cover dissuaded me from picking this one up because it seem like the kind of game that guys with Lolita fetishes would buy. I ended up trying it out anyway with some reserve. They bundled it with a soundtrack, but I got it used at the Game Stop and unfortunately I didn't get the CD along with the game.

The game starts with a young sorceress, the one dressed in gothic attire on the cover, Thage and her wolf companion Raki. They are Majin (magical creatures I suppose) and they are seeking the power of the "Eternal Poison" to either resurrect the legendary princess or destroy the world. Early in their travels they take up a young boy that got lost along the way named Retica. He is a half-breed between Majin and Human, so like many stories, he is conflicted between good and evil. They both battle monsters and unravel a story that intertwines with the other major characters.

So here's the deal-breaker for this game: you have to play all five story-lines to get the true ending. I hate games like this. I actually was able to complete the Thage story in about ten hours, but do I really want to go through it again? four more times? I will have to make that choice soon. This game reminds me of Saga Frontier, where you have to complete all seven quests. And yes, I did complete it all but I had a lot more time when I was a student.

Persona 3: FES - PS2

Persona 3: FES is the first Persona game I've ever played. I played Digital Devil Saga and got to the end, but got defeated by the boss and never got around to complete it. Another game that I played from the SMT series seems was from the Super Famicon and I can't even remember the title. But regardless of the background of this demonic series, I am thoroughly enjoying Persona 3.  

The story revolves around six high school kids from Gekkokan High, somewhere in Japan. They go to school, meet up with friends, live in a boarding house, and fight demons. Yes, they fight demons with conjured spirits called Personas. 

The game's protagonist goes to school and makes social links with his friends, which in turn powers up his Personas. He studies, plays sports, goes on dates, and gets picked on by teachers to answer test questions. He gains academic points by studying, charisma points by doing well in front of his peers, and courage points by taking on dares. In a sense, he's not like your regular RPG protagonist at all - and I'm loving these aspects!

The game revolves around a calendar and the phases of the moon. While every day you'll have to go to school and find clues amongst the students, nights are made for dungeon crawling. The only dungeon so far in the game is Tartarus. I've only gone up to the 50th floor, but it seems to extend towards infinity. Sundays are days where you're free, but you should go hang out with your friends to boost social links. Then there are the days with the full moons; these are days with boss battles. With that in mind, every day can be used to effect, or wasted if you're not careful. It took me awhile to get used to this format of playing, but once I did, I felt something I haven't felt in video-games for awhile. I get totally absorbed. 

Another aspect is the Rated-M parts of the game. I haven't played an RPG that's rated-M since Digital Devil Saga, and it does make a difference. They can say harsher words and use a lot more blood. Even bosses expose a bit more sexual innuendo than before. But all in all, I think everyone should give this game a try. I know I'll be rushing to defeat it. Hopefully Persona 4 will be just as good.  The following pictures are of the main characters: Mitsuru, Junpei, Akihiko, and Yukari. 

Continued on Part 2

Culdcept - PS2

Putting Culdcept in front of me is like putting crack in front of a crackhead. It's hard to explain the simplicity or the addiction of the game to people that haven't invested some time into it, but I'll try my best to here. It's a game that' s like Magic the Gathering crossed with Monopoly. That's about it! You (Ceptors) have a deck of cards and you try to conquer the board by placing Creatures on the board. Upon passing them you can improve their land levels, and when an opponent lands on them, they have to pay (in the form of Mana). The Ceptor that reaches the Mana goal first gets the win. Not difficult right? Well throw in items, spells, and elements and you actually have a really intriguing game. 

I started playing it maybe three years back and I couldn't stop playing it for like three months straight. I carefully prepared my deck of 50 cards: a deck for water and wind Creatures, a deck for fire and forest creatures, a deck for non-elementals, and an all-out offence deck. I beat the game sixty or seventy hours into it, but then I discovered the Medals and I tried my best to get those too. Medals are awarded for performing special tasks on the board that are milestone-like. It took specific cards or combination of cards to complete the Medal tasks. You just can't forget the art involved in the game, and the recurring sound effects. Just hearing "Giant Bat vs. Giant Rat" makes me laugh. Everything is epic. Every card has a weakness, a strength, and a function: thats what makes the game so good, the odds of losing are always there, so the wins really give you a sense of accomplishment. But most of all, I got my brother into it, and he had made a character also. We'd duke it out and team up together, some of the greatest hours spent in videogaming. 

And now there's the new Culdcept DS (Japan Import) due to be out. Can't wait to see how the new cards are. 

Shining Force Neo - PS2

Shining Force Neo is an action RPG developed by SEGA as a throw-back to it's original Shining series. As the title suggests, the "Shining Force" is a sword that the hero finds to defeat the evil monsters conjured by the Clan of the Moon. Max, the hero of the story, begins at a fortress outside of the towns and is being trained by a Captain Graham.

On the first few hours of gameplay I realize that it's very similar to Diablo and Diablo 2. You run through dungeons, collect forcepoints to upgrade your skills and magicks, collect items and "identify" them for your inventory, and you are the sole person that you actually control. While there are other characters that fight with you along screen, they are pretty much NPC's. The monsters swarm on you like D2 and as you cut them down, their energy bars fall like Record of the Loddoss War (for Dreamcast). I miss games as simple as this one. The game boasts "over 90 enemies appear on a single screen", so I have yet to see this. The first boss, which is a bug, attacks with more than 30 bug minions. But still it is quite insane seeing them clobber you.

The game is ranked B+ on 1up.com. I bought it from Gamestop for 10.00 bucks, but hopefully it will be sold for a bit more as it seems rarer than rpg's out there today.

God of War - PS2

God of War is one of those games that are so hyped these days that I find myself at odds with playing it for the first time in 2009. I did not have a chance for it when it just came out, as I was in Japan at the time, and it didn't really appeal to me. "Another slasher with cinematics?" I thought. But as I started playing it, I realize there was more to it. There was a great story.

After the first scenario, the Aegean sea where you fought the Hydra, you realize that there were more to just hack and slash. You'd have to think to defeat the bosses or fulfill the scene's objectives. So it became a puzzle game for me. I did get lost in the buttons for awhile (and am still learning the plethora of moves for Kratos), but I could get by with the Square, Square, Triangle combo. Just like Dynasty Warriors right? Perhaps. 

From there I learned more about Kratos's love-hate relationship with the Gods and his Spartan history. Rushing through the Temple of Athena, he defeats goblins, minatours, and medusas. I did hate medusas, as they could stone you and destroy you with one hit afterwards. I acquired their ability to solidify people, and started my way through the sewers. There was a lot of work involved but I found it relatively enjoyable. I didn't really start liking the game until I got the Sword of Artemis (shouldn't it be the bow?). But anyway, yes, I felt that the blades that Kratos used were a bit weak against the monsters, but the Sword of Artemis really got the job done. 

There was a time when I was really into Greek mythology, but I had forgotten it as school went by. Somehow my favorite was the story of Arachnid, the story of the spider woman. Or was it the story about how Zeus turned into a swan to court (or rape) the girl. Ahh, the Gods are crazy. 

From here I am walking through the maze known  as the Temple of Pandora. More medusas awaits!  

Rogue Galaxy - PS2

Rogue Galaxy is a great action RPG from the guys at Level-5 Video Games. Think of it as a FF12 that includes button mashing and cell-shaded graphics that are are similar to Dark Cloud 2 and Dragonquest 8.

My first impressions of it are positive. I like the cartoon-like characters as well as it's battle system. Not much different from your usual Square-soft Game. The learning curve isn't that difficult and after an hour into it you'll become accustomed to the menus and controls.

The game itself involves eight playable characters: Jasper, Kisala, Zegram, Simon, Steve, Jupis, Deego, and Lilika. Each has a moderately intriguing back story, with Deego being the most tragic. My favorite character seems to be Jupis, with his love for coffee and wacky break-dance moves.

The REVELATION power-up system is not different from the liscence system in Final Fantasy 12 nor is it too different from the sphere grid in Final Fantasy 10. You take common items found through-out the game and place it in designated grids to reveal new skills for your characters. Not too difficult to figure out, and the ease of use makes the game quite addictive for the first 20 hours. There's a bit of a sticky point when you start running out of high level items.

Graphically, this game is quite impressive for a PS2 title. One of my favorite cut-scenes is when you see Jasper try to solve the puzzle of the ancients. As a giant pile of digital bricks swirl in algorithmic motions, the hero tries to re-construct something out of it with his hands and mind. Quite a trip, even for a PS2 hooked to a 720p HD screen with component cables.

As the game progresses, we find more about the evil forces that are trying to profit from the warring planets, and the mysteries of the planet Eden. As the story begins revealing the background of Jaster's parents and Kisala's origins, we begin to see why the game is titled "Rogue Galaxy".

Dragon Quest VIII - PS2

Last Played: October 2008.

For the first Playstation 2 Dragonquest game, it will be remembered as the most traditional RPG in the console. It's odd to pack the playable trailer of Final Fantasy 12 on this game because they share very little in common. I think this is one of those games that will linger in your mind for days to come after finishing it, but finishing it, well that's not an easy task.

The odd thing about my playing of Dragonquest VIII is the three month hiatus that I took inbetween the 40th hour of game time. Life gets in the way of video-games.

It's odd how many hours I spent on leveling up here. Compared to the previous Dragonquests, this one wasn't that bad at all. Fly to the plateau north west of Empryea. Walk around at night, and you'll find metal babbles. Have all your guys on "follow orders" for tactics. Have the hero do metal slash, Yangis to attack regularly (hoping for a critical hit), Angelo do metal slash, and Jessica to cast the Accelerate spell. Keep up this pattern until it's your third turn, by then your speed is so high, even Jessica should be attack (for the chance of a critical hit). Somehow with this strategy I was able to gain six levels for each of my guys. I totally over leveled for Rhapthorne, and I found that it was the easiest Dragon Quest boss I ever fought.

The two shots shows my winning team in the monster arena. The rival team uses a metal babble, so you better get lucky with those critical hits. In the end you get a nice piece of clothing. But anyway, I just like taking screen-shots.

All in all, I really liked this game. From the British accents to the cell-shaded graphics, the game really brought you back to the Dragon Quest franchise. I found myself not wanting it to end, but it had to finish somehow. I know that there is a New Game Plus for a second quest, but I don't think I will have enough time for it. The ending contains one of the funniest surprises in recent RPG gaming; the true guise of King Trode. I laughed, and I gave myself a pat on the back.

Spoiler Picture of King Trode below!

Completion: Beat the game's first run. Obtained S-Rank for the Monster Arena.
Hours Spent: 86 Hrs. 18 mins.

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