The Last Story

 

After playing Final Fantasy X (with a quick detour into Tales of Symphonia) I got this craving for another Hironobu Sakaguchi game (the main creator of Final Fantasy up until X or XII) and thankfully I picked this game up when I revisited Karlstad earlier this spring and together with the compositions of Nobuo Uematsu (the main composer of the Final Fantasy-series) I knew it would at least be enjoyable. So I started playing expecting a turn-based JRPG (since that's what I know them for)... boy was I surprised. It's more akin to an Action-RPG, but with strategy elements as you control your main character directly and then you issues certain commands to the rest of the squad if you need something special done, otherwise they just do what they feel like, which is slaughtering enemies so it works pretty well, although why the healer magician can't put it in to attack when a green barrier is up and then revert back to healing without me giving order is kinda annoying. Since it's clearly impossible not to, let's compare it to Final Fantasy XIII (since even the name alludes toward it, I mean Final Fantasy - The Last Story, they really asked for it) which also focused on a lot more auto-battle, changing up tactics in the middle of the battle. The difference being that Final Fantasy got boring and repetitive due to button pushing while the Last Story you hardly need input more than running into the enemy (like Ys book 1 & 2). Why doesn't it affect me the same? FF XIII is a 60+ game where the battle interrupt my progression while TLS is just under 30 hours (including most side-quest) and there is no random-battles so the story moves along with character building banter during the fights. More enjoyable for someone like me that focus more on story.

So about the story, it's enjoyable as it's cliched. Which I enjoy. This group of mercenaries work for the Count of an island. One mission takes them into some kind of ruins where one of them (Zael... is it alluding to Zeal, the Chrono Trigger flying kingdom? At least in the translation), when they are beset by the undead receives the power of the Outsider to protect those he cares for. Back in the city everyone prepares for the marriage between the Counts niece (who is the real heir to the throne, but her uncle stepped in as she was to young when the old count died... lets say of mysterious circumstances) and Lord Jirall, a relative to the Emperor. So our hero Zael happens to walk the city when he stumbles upon someone hiding in a wagon while two guards search for a girl... as they mention roughly the same age as Zael... gee I wonder if it's the niece and we have the set up of a love story. Of course it is. Anyway, the rest of the story is Zael and the mercenary climbing the social ladder in order to become knights, but as the veil falls on the stories they've seen and heard of they begin to question the goal. At the same time a war between the humans and their century old enemy the Gurack blossoms once again. You have magic cannons, moving island, floating fortresses and meteors bringing doom to the world as the land itself is dying. Really, most things are pretty standard for Sakaguchi stories.

Music is magical at times, the main theme being really beautiful while certain boss themes is really pumping it up. Graphically on the other hand... it shows it was made for the Wii. Not ugly, but the FMV's are nothing more than areal views of the island, I think maybe one FMV in the beginning introducing the mercenaries and that's it. You also get the expressions of the character, but comparably to FF X, I really think FF X will still look good in 10 more years. Doesn't help that the colors are more in the shades of grey area. Also, it lags if too many people are on screen and twice I had the city disappear into the blue sky before it loaded correctly. Or it could be the Wii U's emulation not working correctly, I don't know. No harm done as the game didn't crash at least. Although twice I got stuck in a corner as my comrades blocked the way out and wouldn't move an inch to let me through, the towns people I can just shove aside, but not my friends it seems. So I had to hug the wall and slide past them.

Really sad thing is that it is unlikely a The Last Story 2 would be produced, especially when you haven't seen anything of this world... you just sat at that island, of course it moved around in the end, but all you saw altogether was the main island and three others. You have at least two continents to explore, the political intrigues of the empire itself, an uneasy peace between the Gurack and humans  and more knights to lecture on the true merits of a knight. On the Wii U preferably... or Mistwalker can just port their other games to that console so I don't have to buy an Xbox if I want Ian Gillan to sing while I beat up bosses.

Castlevania Trilogy

 

Lets talk about the original Castlevania trilogy on the Nes, which I happens to own on Wii, 3ds and Wii U and the first time I got my hands on the games, missing out when we had the Nes. Of course, thanks to the save state function I was able to brute force my way through the games. I wouldn't stand a chance otherwise. Beginning with the first game, which I also got for the game boy advance. Best intro music on the first stage. Hard as hell, although I usually passed at least the third stage without save states, then either the mummy or Frankensteins monster did me in. Really, the save states are a godsend for someone like me that lack the fine motorskills required as well don't have the same time or patience to grind the whole stages until I learned all the tricks, especially the cheap deaths being pushed back into a hole for example.

The second game went away a bit from the action route for a more rpg feeling which I prefer since it's not all skill based, but you can grind for hearts and get better equipment to help you out. The reason why it didn't take of like Symphony of the Night I would blame on the lack of an internal map. Had the same problem on the original Metroid. Maybe to easy in that regard with only two bosses besides Dracula.

 

The third then, The Curse of Dracula. Also fantastic music, more playable characters, although I only used Trevor due the whiping, you gets kinda used to it. Hard bosses everywhere, instant death traps and a final encounter with a 3 (or was it 4) form of Dracule where I reset so many times in order to get all damn weapon patterns down. To be a kid again and spend a lot more hours in this would have been fun. Sadly, these action packed Castlevania games with awesome fist pumping music seems to be at an end with the recent Lords of Shadow incarnation. Really need to finish that first game... if I knew where the game is.

Final Fantasy X HD Remastered

 

I couldn't resist so I got the Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD collection for PS3 and played through the first game. Now, this was my very first final fantasy game back in 2001 and me and my sister pursued our parents to get a Playstation 2 for the DVD capabilities and we preferred this console over Xbox due to the games like Final Fantasy and Castlevania (I would also say Metal Gear, but I got those games for PS3 and Gamecube). I was hyped for this game. The magazines talked about it, I had a 15 minute preview dvd with a short look on the games from 6-9 and then clips from X together with the music. The sending and the kilika forest themes made my ears scream in joy while the visuals where making my eyes cry. Of course, the only story I got was reading the magazines and with the video I mistook Wakka's blitzball player for the Al Bedh rebells. Yeah, they mentioned them being attacked by Sin and that was what I saw.

Now, I only finished the game once, not even 100 %, but as per usual with Final Fantasy the end game gets boring. Grinding to beat the Dark Aeons, grinding to win blitzball, luck based celestial weapon missions (damn suicidal birds). The ap grinding wouldn't be so bad if you didn't need to at least do one action with a character to get rewarded. Why can't everyone share or if that isn't enough at least half the ap would be fine, but no. You need to switch in and out each and everyone of the characters to avoid the mistakes of my very first playthrough, Khimari and Yuna just falling behind everyone else forcing me to grind for every Seymore fight. That was at least good with FF XIII since you could choose character without consequence since when the party split up, you were around the same strength.

Now, a question for the more keen eyed individuals... is there a difference in the visual department in the remaster or is my nostalgia glasses so old I can't even compare them? Also, have they changed some of the scripted fight? I think I remember fighting Dark Ixion outside of Guadosalam, conjured by the same guado guys at Macalania temple, but in this version there is a soldier on the thunder plains (which makes more sense I guess). Was that in the original?

I know some people dislike this game (imitating Spoony or being Spoony) and I will admit I'm colored by nostalgia, but I still find the game enjoyable. The story makes sense to me as well as the character development. The designs might be goofy at times, but at least they are memorable, although that might not always be a good thing. At least it feels like a living world I'm traveling through with people in it compared to XIII where I'm walking back and forth empty plains and all the world building is in the files you collect. I still haven't finished that game.

Nadia: Secret of Blue Water

A while back I watched this show that I've seen been mentioned looking at Mysterious Cities of Gold and other animes with a coherent story or even western shows like Avatar: The Last Airbender. Pretty decent, nice animation, interesting story and I really like the steam punk setting and the Jules Verne inspirations. It's about this kid Jean who is an inventor creating flying machines and show them of the Paris world fair in the 1880's I believe. There he meet Nadia who he helps escape the Grandis gang that are after her Blue Water (some jewel). After escaping out on the sea they are picked up by the American navy who are searching for a sea monster that sinks vessels all over the oceans. The ship is attacked and the children fall into the water where they are picked up by the Nautilus (a twist to the Verne story is that Captain Nemo is hunting the one doing the actual sinking). Nemo lets them of the closest inhabited island which turns out to be overrun by the Neoatlantians (yes, you are supposed to think Neonazis). Here the kids find Maria, a little girl who was left under her killed parents... what is it with the Japanese and dead parents... and now flashbacks of it, my god. Anyway, they get captured since the leader Gargoyle wants the Blue Water and uses the other kids as pressure points on Nadia. Somehow the Nautilus appears and save the day and picks up the kids and the Grandis gang (who now reforms)  and set out once more to stop the Neoatlantians and Gargoyle from achieving their goal of world domination.

Really, well worth watching although it can be pretty dark for kids. One episode introduces this mechanic that helps Jean with his interactions with Nadia, but the Nautilus is cornered by the American fleet, lured there by the Neoatlantians and hit it so hard a radiation leak occurs trapping three mechanics in the machine room (you guessed it, one was introduced earlier in the episode). Since they can't submerge the captain orders lock down, sealing their fate. Jean runs toward the engine room and uses the com-system to beg of them to rethink. The mechanic says it's the only way and he has no regrets. Silence... and then his screams of agony as the radiation is killing him and how he wished he could do so much more and then... silence. That is pretty gut wrenching.

In the end the Japanese go all out. Nemo is a former king of the last Atlantean kingdom in existence and Atlantis originated from space coming on three ships where one is THE Arc and Nautilus is is of course a space ship that can travel everywhere. The goal of Gargoyle is to take control of a satellite controlled by the so called Tower of Babel and deliver the judgment of God since humans are inferior to the Atlantian race. Of course it turns out that Gargoyle himself is human, accepted to become prime minister by Nemo in his kingdom, a truth he didn't know until he died. Like all genocidal dictator, you are what you hate and such.

Some complaints occurs around episode 30 where there is 10 episodes with the kids stranded on a deserted island after the first Nautilus is badly damaged. The tone shift to some Warner Brothers cartoon and the animation clearly has a lower standard. I liked it enough, but many apparently didn't like the tone shift. so many argues to skip those. It's up to taste really since those episodes didn't impact the story more than take them from point A to point B.

Somehow I feel I already wrote about this show, but I can't find it

Updates regarding Mysterious Cities of Gold

I was thinking some of you might wondering what happened to the last five episodes of the new season, where they good, did they have enough synthezisers for my taste? And the answer is I don't know. Some background story is needed. The monday after the last Mysterious Cities of Gold we were forced out of our house due to a water leak that apperently been there for at least two years, so I set out to record the final episodes with the decoder box. We were allowed back into the house a mere month ago, but the thing is the freaking box wouldn't record them so I can't say what happened until I catch a rerun or something.That is the problem with technology, when it works it's alright, but if it fails it's almost impossible to fix. If nothing else I have to buy the series on DVD when they come out, then I will at least get rid of the damn commercials clogging up the screen.

Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Whitch

 

I recently got a copy of the game Ni No Kuni for PS3, mostly based on the fact it had animation done by Studio Ghibli and therefore looked rather decent. So I start up and what greats me is this bombastic soundtrack to these amazing visuals and that's even before I pushed start. So I begin playing the game. It's about this kid Oliver who lives in Motorville somewhere in the US in the 1950's wanting to build the worlds fastest race car with his friend (and former bully) Phillip. But observing him is this menacing queen, the white witch (no, not the one from Narnia), who seems him as a potential threat so when Oliver sneaks out in the night to test drive it with Phillip she sabotage one of the wheels. It cracks in the middle of the run and Oliver drives straight into the river (how kids that is between 10-15 years learnt to drive I don't know, must be the 50's). Now, Oliver's concerned mother woke up a bit earlier and goes out looking for him and sees the accident and runs into the river dragging him up. While Oliver is safe his mother sadly succumbs to a heart attack... and dies. And I thought it was gonna be a kiddie game. And this is the first 5 minutes. So when the floodgate is open on the player as well as Oliver his tears falls upon a doll his mother gave him and what did you know, it turns out it's the Lord High Lord of the Faeries Drippy that was cursed by the evil Shadar and the tears is the sign that Oliver is the pure-hearted one and must come to this other world and save it (which incidentally is what Ni No Kuni translates to, The Other World). After pursading Oliver that he might save his mother due to a soul mate system between the worlds Oliver agrees and of we go.

If you really delve into the story you realize pretty fast it is cliched as hell, but as you probably know I don't mind it. For example, this is gonna be spoiler filled so stay away if you want to play it for the first time, all you see of Shadar is some red/orange hair braids sticking out from his cloak. This immediately sent out a couple of warnings, 1) Shadar is his father as it is strongly hinted that his mother came from the other world originally or 2) Shadar is Oliver's soul mate. The second option turns out to be true at the very end of the first part of the game. Then we have Pea (which is a very unfortunate name for a child) who helps Oliver along, but can't be seen by anyone else but Oliver. I guessed it fairly late, but still before the big reveal that it was an alternative version of the White Witch (which I guess is spoiled as soon as Shadar - Oliver connection is established). And finally, the ending is kinda disappointing, you save the world and that it pretty much it. You can't save your mom and the adventure just goes on. The post-game tease wasn't even better. You re-fight all the bosses on a harder difficulty and then fight this guardian of the Universe and are then taken to yet another world, an alternative reality of Motorville where Oliver wasn't born. There he is given the race car he and Phillip worked on to travel around on the world map. Probably a fun payoff if I wasn't expecting an alternative Allison (that is his mother) to turn up and comfort him, especially when the freaking end credits song is all about how he wish he could meet her one last time with an orchestra and choir boy singing *sob* It almost made me cry dammit and they chicken out in the end.

The gameplay mechanics then, closest thing is the Final Fantasy ATB-meter when you attack as a meter builds up and then await your turn. Difference is you only control one party member out of three. Also another mechanic is the what everyone describe as the Pokemon portion of the game, catching monsters, train them and use them since they often excel in physical combat compared to the wizard, cleric and thief the main characters are closest to. Annoying thing is that it's completely random if you can catch them and if you can some of your bloody teammates might just kill it of before harp girl can sing to it (I solved that by constantly have the others do nothing while I'm in command of her since that's the only time I would be playing her). Another gimmick is the take heart and give heart gameplay related to finishing a lot of the quests. People lack a piece of their heart since it was stolen by Shadar (how that happened after he is defeated is another puzzling thing) and you need to borrow someone else abundance of the the thing and level everything out. It can get tedious since the game tells you everything all the time, what piece you need, how to get said piece which spells to use all the freaking time. I got it after the very first quest thank you very much. Now, since it was targeted at children I can understand the repetitiveness and if you don't play in a while it might be good with a reminder. The other complaint which is more my personal taste or expectation of a big budget RPG of today, it wasn't voice acted enough. Only certain scenes had voice acting and the rest was text, the majority was text. Compare this to Final Fantasy X where all story and even some non important people had voices. That game came out in 2001, we have got a bit higher standards, heck even Dragon Quest VIII had more voice acting. Then again, since there is more (or sounds more) like child voice actor it might have been a good decision since at times Oliver could become rather grating.

Overall a fine game that really wants to pluck your heart strings, so story, visuals and audio makes it worth it. Certain annoyances in gameplay and presentation, but chalk it up and just play... ON OUR JOURNEY THROUGH ANOTHER WORLD!!!