Level Up! Seize the Experience!

Well I thought that I would be able to finish Lost Odyssey by the end of the month, like my original goal stated. But once again Shawn had to work a lot and didn’t come home until late or not at all, so that meant I had no break with parenting. Which means that I was worn out by his bedtime every night and crawled into bed by 9 p.m. like an old person.

Should I get into another genre of gaming? The amount of time RPGs require doesn’t seem to work well for me to play them often enough to get through my library. Of course that doesn’t help me write this blog, now does it? Not to mention that I suck at first-person-shooters and platform games frustrate the hell out of me. Oh and I really, really like playing RPGs.

I guess I just need to either give up the idea of completing all the sidequests or start taking energy shots. Or here’s an idea… the kid needs to stop being so demanding with my time. Isn’t it time he became more independent? He’s eleven months. That’s plenty old enough to start giving himself a bath and putting himself to bed.

Don’t call CPS on me.

After penciling in my goal to finish this game now TWICE, getting sick, going on a mini-vacation, and my husband going out of town more often than planned, it looks like I may actually finish this game by the end of the month. According to the guide, I only have three more sidequests (not counting the Backyard, which I am foregoing at this time). Surely I can complete those this week and take on the final battle this weekend. If I get all of my writing assignments done before the kiddo’s bedtime, I should be able to pull this off.

At least, I’m praying I don’t postpone this goal to a later date. I’d like to start playing a new game as of May 1st and at least talk about something new. Not to mention, get new music in my head.

I contracted some form of yuck either from Sakura con or the four and a half hour flight to get there, and it’s made playing Lost Odyssey or any other RPG near impossible. See, I have thin patience to start with, so it’s amazing that I’m able to play turn-based games at all. Add in the sick factor, and my patience is virtually nonexistent. I get into one turn-based fight, and I’m already turning off the console. Not to mention, hearing the same battle music over and over, and the victory fanfare over and over, doesn’t do much for my illness-induced headache.

It doesn’t matter if it’s a TV console or handheld. The end result is the same.

So what have I been doing while lying in my sick bed (other than begging my husband to please take care of the baby)? Phantom Hourglass has been a nice friend. Oh I go nowhere near the dungeons. That’s just asking for trouble. I played one dungeon when I was starting to get sick, and I yelled at Link so much for not moving his ass fast enough that my husband was a mixture of fear and amused. So I’ve been fishing (in an attempt to snag that heart container), exploring new islands, and playing other mini-games for various rewards. I’m usually not a mini-game person, but at least I have a worthwhile reward in the end for some of these. Well, that and you can’t expect me not to game at all, even though I feel like death.

IGN is hosting a slew of demos and trailers on their site. If you’re frothing at the mouth while waiting for Final Fantasy XIII, you don’t want to miss these. I enjoyed watching what is yet to come for me in 2010, even though the demos don’t really show me anything I don’t already expect. I expect the gorgeous graphics. I expect the turn-based play. I expect the incredible fighting moves from Lightning.

However, the demos also seem to show that the battles won’t exactly be random encounters. It’s more like Eternal Sonata, where enemies are running around on the field and battles (except for bosses) are triggered by encountering these enemies. That kind of goes against the normal Final Fantasy formula, but I guess it can’t hurt to shake things up a little bit.

The other big FF13 news this week was Squenix’s announcement that it would be released in Japan in Winter 2009, earlier than previously planned. Does this mean that we’ll see it sooner in the US? One can only hope!

I played Phantom Hourglass while on the plane back from Seattle, and well, I haven’t really put it down. I thought I was nearly done when I found the Ghost Ship last night, silly me. In true Zelda fashion, that is really only the START of my journey. I should have known I couldn’t finish a Zelda game with the original sword. Also there is that whole thing about freeing the Ocean King. I hadn’t done that either, so I should have realized that saving Tetra wasn’t ever really my goal.

So my conundrum is this. I’m almost done with Lost Odyssey. In all honesty, I could finish it tonight. I know where the final boss is and I have the equipment to face him. I just have a few more areas to explore, which I’m sure have sidequests. My most recent goal with Lost Odyssey is to finish it by the end of April, and I don’t have much of April left.

But, but, but…

I’m having so much fun with Phantom Hourglass that I don’t want to put it aside for Lost Odyssey. Damn that Link with his cel-shaded goodness, puzzles, and addictive mini-games. Curse you forever!

Or maybe just after I finish Phantom Hourglass…

…IN JAPAN. ONLY.

So disappointed.  You know what makes me even more disappointed? Square Enix has made ZERO plans for it to release in the US. The only thing that is keeping me undaunted is the fact that the exact same thing happened with Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories. It was released for the PS2 in Japan with no inkling at all that it was coming to the US. About nine months later, it was announced. Same thing with Crisis Core.

So there is hope, albeit a small one since none of the other FF series released for the PSN store has made their ways to our shores. I’m really wanting to play this game on my PSP. I’ve gotten so used to modern graphics, that I’m just having too hard of a time playing this game on the big screen. I think it would make a huge difference on the smaller screen.

So for all interested, stay tuned. You know I’ll be keeping my eyes on this like a HAWK.

I went to Seattle this past weekend for Sakura Con (which by the way, had a cosplayer dressed up as cross-dressing Cloud! Best costume ever!!) and I brought along my DS for the four hour flight and for any downtime I had at the con. Good thing I did it pack it, because I sat in lines far more often than I thought I would. I know I’m in the middle of Phantom Hourglass, but I wasn’t in a Zelda mood. It’s also difficult at times to just simply stop playing Zelda. If I’m in a dungeon and I save and quit, I’ll be kicked back to the beginning.

So I tried out Final Fantasy III, which kind of breaks one of my New Year’s resolutions, but that’s a blog for a different post. For starters, the quick save feature makes the game far more interruption friendly. If anyone is looking for a good game to play while waiting in lines, this one is it.

I’m only three hours into the game, but I’m liking it so much better than any Final Fantasy game I’ve played before. 1) My spikey protagonist doesn’t get stuck. 2) The NPCs actually give decent hints as to where you’re supposed to go next. 3) I’m starting to really dig traditional turn-based combat, which this game happens to feature. I think the graphics style looks a bit like the Tactics branch games, and I’m not that fond of the cutesy style. But so far, that’s all I have to complain about.

But like I said, I’m only 3 hours in, and I have at least ten times that to go.

People either love or hate the Overworld element of gaming. If they love it, then they hate certain ways that it is implemented.

I used to be an Overworld hater. I liked the comfort of a linear structure. Now I like the freedom to run all over the place. And now I’ve become picky about what I like the Overworld to have, just like all lovers of the Overworld.

Lost Odyssey sort of has an Overworld. It’s more of an Overworld map of the world, and every place you can go to has a diamond marking it. Every place you have actually been to or opened a path to is listed in a menu to the left. If you select an area, the diamond glows a bright blue, and you can choose to visit the region. Basically the map has two purposes: to show where you are, show where certain regions are geographically (which is quite helpful for the treasure hunting clues that say, “in the bay area…”), and warp you to any area you wish. In essence, it’s like Kingdom Hearts’ overworld; you have to forge your way there, but once you unlock it, you can pop in and out at any time. But it’s less annoying than that damn Gummi ship.

I like the idea of warping from spot to spot if I want to, but that’s about all I like about it.

Contrast this with Final Fantasy VII’s Overworld, where Cloud literally wanders all over the continent. While this method has the potential to be frustrating because you have no idea which way is a certain city, it has two distinct bonuses. One, you REALLY learn the world. You know exactly where the Golden Saucer is, the Corel Mines, Midgar, Rocket City, etc. Two, wandering around triggers battles which means experience, experience, experience! If I want to gain experience in Kingdom Hearts or Lost Odyssey, I have to warp to a specific region where I know I can get into a fight.

The closest game I’ve come across so far that tries to combine these two is Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass. However, the number of fights Link gets in doesn’t help his leveling situation, so in terms of this blog, it really doesn’t count. I’m sure a RPG is out there that combines both Overworld styles, and I just need to find it. The game will probably suck, but I’ll be able to achieve Overworld nirvana.

Kombo has reported that PlayStation is planning to add a “steady stream” of PSP game downloads to the PSN store. Some will be new, but PlayStation One classics were also mentioned. And the above referenced picture was offered. It’s a little difficult to pick out Cloud rushing with the Buster Sword in the background, but that’s undeniably Tifa and Red XIII in formation. They didn’t mention Final Fantasy VII per se in Kombo’s article or in PlayStation’s press release, but this picture pretty much says it all.

I’m guessing that this is as close to a “remake” of the game as we’ll ever get. The end credits from Crisis Core really hinted that a PS3 remake was in the works, but maybe Square Enix really has no desire to ever remake that game. If this is all we get, I’ll still be happy. I just hope that my ancient PSP can download these games just fine and I won’t have to spend the money on a PSP upgrade. I know it’s probably worth it, but if I don’t have to spend the money, I’d rather not.

Now my next question is whether we can use the analog stick in the PSP download. If so, I may shelve the PSOne version until this PSP release.

I’m starting down that road I always go down and never recover from. I’m thinking of stopping one game so I can play another. I fully intend to finish that first game someday, but right now I’m feeling the need to play something else.

I do this all the time. And the sad thing is, I rarely go back and finish the first game. I always mean to. But I keep putting it off for other games. And then it gets to the point when I know I’ll have to start over just so I can remember how to play. That’s when all motivation to finish it shoots out the window.

So what am I thinking about pausing for another adventure? Final Fantasy VII. I can’t seem to find the motivation to play it. I think that will change when I finish Lost Odyssey — which please God please happen in the next twenty hours — but lately I’ve been thinking about picking up Final Fantasy X. I don’t know if it’s the allure of the better graphics, different turn-based system, or the fact that seeing Tidus in Dissidia has made me long for the annoying blonde emo. (I guess that means I’ll be trading out one spikey haired blonde emo for another?)

I’m trying to resist. I’m at least postponing the decision until I see the end credits roll in Lost Odyssey.

I must be strong. I must be strong. I must finish what I start. I must finish what I start.