Well the Xenogears OST is one of the best out there no doubt! Call me silly but I prefer Mitsuda's music there to the Chrono's.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhGLbYe-oDU
Gets me so pumped.

Well I've been playing an obscure little Total War clone on the PC called Real Warfare 1242: Northern Crusades (made by a small Russian studio). It's basically tactical unit-based Medieval combat with a very simplistic overworld strategic map of northern Eastern Europe. This game gets repetitive real quick but I'm just hooked on the Medieval vibe - and the Medieval soundtrack, though also repetitive, I find awesome.

I've played this game so much recently actually that it's made me want to dig up more metal that invokes the grim, religiously obsessed, fatalistic, life-is-short-and-brutal, European Crusades Medieval vibe. Any suggestions on that btw?

To answer Xeogred's question, yeah, I've played Nier. It had some very decent ideas. A few of the characters left impressions on me, Kaine and Grimoire Weiss being favourites. I like the whole aspect of having to replay the game several times to see the whole story. It is really worthwhile doing so, with new parts being added to the game (a second play through is a must). I wouldn't say that the gameplay is perfect, but it tries to change it up every so often (I remember parts of being like an old style shooter game). And some of the music is amazing.

I must have traded that game in, because I can't find it anywhere.

Beat ICO, saying I really enjoyed it would be a preposterous understatement. It's the videogame equivalent of a Burzum album with how minimalist but at the same time grand in scope, beautiful, and well told.

Utterly agree with you, BH. ICO is amazing, though I personally prefer Shadow of the Colossus over it, if only by a hair. The mixed sense of victory and shame that you get whenever you kill a colossus is very powerful, and I felt particularly bad when killing Phalanx. You know, the only one that didn't fight back? I clearly remember stabbing its last weak spot, and.....

You guys should check out Nier if you want something really Japanese-esque similar or something, yeah... I'd love to see more fans of it. Glad you dug it Dandelo! The second half has been really awesome, think I'm closing in at the end.

Ah, but do you like it more than Shadow of the Colossus?

I'm attempting a full on review of the game, so in a day or two I should hopefully have a full writeup explaining my position, but the short answer is no, Shadow of the Colossus is better.

I've rarely met someone who liked Ico more than Shadow of the Colossus.

Also, on the subject, I listened to a bit of that Shadow of the Colossus band you reviewed. Complete antithesis of what I'd expect a band based on that game to be like. I've always imagined a band based on Colossus to be Swallow the Sun-esq epic death/doom with a bit of oriental flair thrown in for good measure, not blah deathcore with lyrics lifted almost word for word from Wikipedia.

ICO: It has a human connection that SOTC can't dream to match. You get so attached to Yorda due to the fact that she seems so lost and confused and helpless without you. I found myself yelling "YOU GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM HER" at the shadow wraiths when they'd hoist her over their shoulder and fly away. And the fact that you have the physical connection of leading her by the hand all over this giant, empty castle just really helps you get attached to her despite the fact that the game could be skewed as just being one giant escort mission. You really want to protect her, she's your only companion in this barren, empty ruin. I also love her AI. She doesn't do much, but sometimes she'll wander over somewhere and point or make a noise to give you a clue if you're stuck. That never struck me as the game giving me a hint as much as it felt like her trying to help me for a change. I'll never forget the time I couldn't figure out what to do, so I just frustratedly swung my stick at a wall, and she recoiled, covered her ears, and gasped at the resulting noise. It's little touches like that that make her so human and make you want to give everything you have to keep her safe. Plus there's the fact that there's virtually no music outside of the ending credits sequence, I love that too. The game is spent in silence, just you and this taller girl you need to protect. It makes it so personal.

Shadow of the Colossus: While SOTC is based on trying to resurrect your dead love, the human element isn't nearly as strong as in ICO. After the first few Colossi, I basically forgot what the endgame was, I was just going and slaying the beasts. While it, like it's predecessor, is an exercise in minimalist storytelling, I think the story in ICO is better due to the fact that the "twist" of SOTC is ludicrously obvious from the very early stages of the game. But that's really the only shortcoming of the game. It recreates the feeling of being in a huge, empty environment with only one companion (this time your horse), except everything is turned up to eleven. The world is huge and gorgeous, the ruins are always impressive to look at, and of course the Colossi are basically parts of the environment themselves. They just seem like they've been long asleep for so long that the land just began to grow on top of them. And they're just so goddamn impressive, the first time you see this fifteen story monster and realize "I have to slay that" is a big spine tingling moment. The fights themselves are always fun to figure out what to do, and incredibly exciting when you're in the midst of the battle. And in stark contrast to ICO, the use of music is fucking flawless in this one. The battle themes are all epic and triumphant and the melancholy parts are suitably dark. Seriously Roar of the Earth is easily my favorite soundtrack and currently one of my favorite albums period. This is really a game you "experience" more than you "play".

EDIT: To elaborate a bit more on why the ICO experience is so great, the fact that you and Yorda speak different languages is another great touch. She won't say "I can't make that jump, are you crazy?", she just looks scared, takes a step back and shakes her head with a whimper. It helps explain why you have to lead her by the hand everywhere instead of saying "Hey, can you stand over there for a second?", but again makes the connection between the two characters so strong. You know nothing about her, but you aren't any less kind to her, and you really grow close in the short time you're together.

It's basically the best implied romance in videogame history I've seen yet, and it's between two children who can't speak with each other. How sad is that?

PS Store seems to have some kind of a sale for Final Fantasy. Now, I've played VII and VIII, and now I'm considering on buying either V or VI, but which one should I get? I've played FF VI many, many years ago, and I did like it even though I never finished it. FF V, on the other hand, is completely alien to me, so I'm on the fence here. Any help?

Both are great, though the story in FF6 is better. I prefer FF5's gameplay slightly. But I'd suggest getting both as they are both a million times better than the two that followed anyway.

What!? Final Fantasy VII is the greatest one in the entire series. All of them in the main series up until X (never played it or XI) are excellent. XII is horrid; avoid it, burn it, forget it exists. And most of the spin-offs are excellent as well.

Yeah, I kind of thought that they are both worth the purchase, especially since they're only 5€ apiece. Hell, if the following two are around the same price, I think I'll get them as well since I loved them in my PS1 salad days.

I absolutely hated VIII, with the money system and the whole main enemy not showing up unil you randomly go to boring assed space 70% through the game, and the terrible fuzzy graphics too. IX is my personal favourite, its old fashioned, but its charming as all hell and I love the ability system.

In regard to he actual offer VI was always a really fun game with a huge cast, definitely my favourite snes FF. IV and V are all kinda weak if you've played VI first.

I just played a nearly three hour long, 600+ point game of Halo and the game decides to crash before I was able to even take a screenshot. Fuck me.

I don't know about that, I probably like IV, V, and VI all equally. They all have their strengths.

I'd honestly avoid the PSX versions, loading times with VI, and the PSX translation for V was awful. But if that's your only option oh well.

Having played and beat this game last year, let me break it down.

Yay, more FF talk... Oh Xeogred is right, I forgot about the loading times and slowdowns on the ports. But yeah, if they're the only way you have to play FF5 and 6, go for it. FF7 is ok but not worth the money, and FF8 is the biggest steaming pile of rhinoceros feces in the history of gaming.



How can anyone consider FF7 better than 6? Just... how? It's inferior in every way...

Never could bring myself to care about Final Fantasy, to be honest. I simply guess that type of overtly Japanese, turn based gameplay isn't for me.

^ funny, I basically share this exact opinion

So the new Double Fine adventure game, masterminded by Ron Gilbert, is pretty awesome and funny. It's called THE CAVE.

I just read about that. Huge fan of Gilbert's older adventure titles like Monkey Island and (of course) Day of the Tentacle. I'm probably going to pick this up this week

I actually love VIII. It was my first Final Fantasy, and it will always be fun for me. (Hint: If you don't like Drawing, don't! Card Mod, T Mag-RF, I Mag-RF, F Mag-RF, L Mag-RF, Time Mag-RF, ST Mag-RF, and Supt Mag-RF give you all the items/magic you need.)

But for all you folks who love to complain about VIII, you should probably look at X, X-2, XII, XIII, and XIII-2.

7 wasn't as fuzzy as 8, I actually preferred the midget look to the seizuring edges of 8. The money system thing was the wage system rather than gil rewards from battles.

VI is better than V overall (especially storywise, the plot and characters of VI is among the best in the series), but V has my favorite moment and the most emotionally taxing sequence in any of the games.

I used to attribute my unending love of VII to nostalgia, but playing through again recently made me realize that I just do really like it. I get why people dislike the characters/setting, but I think they all work really well. In fact, a buddy of mine (who doesn't at all like VII, mind you) has explained to me the "Midgar Effect", the one big positive he can give the game. For the first several hours, you're stuck in this giant industrial slum. Everywhere you go is run down and broken, and all you hear or see is this enormous, overbearing, oppressive city. You can't see the sky, and everywhere you look is just more walls, more alleys, and more decadence. You get to the Shinra Tower and even then the sky is black and coated with smog. It's a hugely bleak picture that nobody breaks free from. And then the motorcycle chase happens, you fight Motor Ball, and then... you escape. That first moment when you step out onto the world map and see that faceless, malevolent city as just a blip on the map helps give the game a sense of perspective that none of the other ones really come close to reaching.

I prefer the graphics of VII to VIII, personally. There was a weird time in history where the 2D sprites looked infinitely better than the primitive blockiness of the Playstation, and that's why I loved how they really just went all out and made the characters look cartoony in comparison to the extremely detailed pre rendered environments. VIII tires to take that realistic look and as a result the whole game just ends up looking uglier. The story wasn't as good either, with Squall's transformation happening pretty suddenly (as mentioned) and otherwise being confusing and difficult to follow at times. I liked the idea of the juctioning system but the fact that you had to do all the drawing magic crap in order to do it really sucked.

IX is super underrated, but I have to point out that that one is the king of out-of-nowhere final bosses. You literally kill the guy you've been chasing for a majority of the game, and then this dude just pops out of a black hole and says "I'm'nna eat you" and then the game ends when you kill him. It's so bizarre. Otherwise IX could well be my favorite PS1 era FF. I like how lighthearted it is while at the same time having some of the darkest shit the series has ever seen. Vivi's arc is soul draining. And then on the other hand Zidane is the polar opposite of Squall, which I'm sure pleased a ton of people.



Quick! Somebody bring up Dark Souls!

Yeah, IX is probably my favorite Final Fantasy, hands down.

VI can take a number and sit down. Stupid worthless Espers and worthless spells. Why bother with spells when Edgar and Sabin can wipe shit out for free?

After checking out screens and trailers, it seems that once again the new Dynasty Warriors game will
be just "there". I think I'll stick to the original plan which I devised years ago of only playing the 10th one when it inevitably comes out.

Yeah Vivi's stuff was awesome, and I loved the CGI parts, every one was well timed to deliver maximum awesomeness or sadness or whatever. I kinda feel bad leaving him out of my party when I play for a maximum power party, which is something no other games in the series can pull off. The extra boss at the end still doesn't make any sense to me, but oh well, I still love it. Only thing it lacks for me are some crazy super bosses like the Weapons on VII, or the Battle Arena thing or Dark Aeons of X, Ozma is fairly underwhelming if you prepare well enough. Hell simply having a party of four 9999 capable characters makes it pretty simple since he doesn't even have the most health in the game.

You like FF8, your opinion has no merit.

(Also, good luck going through the game without spells, dumbass.)

Already did it. My super melee team of Edgar, Sabin, Gogo (Mime Sabin), and Cyan ass-raped Kefka in, what, 3 rounds?

He almost has a point with how overpowered they are in the beginning (I swear I Drill/AuraBolt-ed everything for a one hit KO for the first few hours of the game), but obviously that shit won't cut it throughout the entire time. Plus the only FF that even comes close to rivaling it's plot/characters is IX. VI is boss and any fan worth their salt knows that.

Yeah. How'd the Tower of Fanatics go for you?

It forced me to use magic, so by definition, it sucked.

The only Final Fantasy where magic actually felt useful (without the use of gimmicky dungeons) was IV and IX. But even in IX, I would kick out the casters and run Zidane/Freya/Amarant/Steiner.

Yeh the strongest party for IX only uses magic for healing, due to Freya and Steiners 9999 attacks and Zidanes unremovability (yes thievery can do 9999 but it'd take like 75hours to build up)

...or you could've just equipped the Moogle Charm and walked straight to the top in 30 seconds.

...You know, I forgot I even had that thing.

God-fucking-dammit.

Just letting you all know, I just got rid of my last video game and uninstalled steam.

noooooooooo I wanted you to play Audiosurf with me~ ;A;

Dreams of what could have been.