Page 17 is up! I am super consistent.
http://echo.journeyweaver.com/Between the release of Alice, FFXIII, Pokemon, and PATF DvD, March made a solemn promise to me a long time ago that it would be a bank-draining month. So far my wallet has been surprisingly spared by a loving boyfriend who took me on a date (Alice) and decided that he owed me a Valentines Day present (FF). Thaaank you, Stripes <3 You take me on all the nicest, Carroll-and-Burton-induced acid trips and buy me all the best addictive, shiny, visually-stimulating adventures. (Obligatory TWSS.)
At any rate, I'm going to be dual-wielding my XBOX controller and DS in about 48 hours when Pokemon comes out...For anyone who is planning on getting this game, get thee to Gamestop before the 13th. Take your DS and Old!Pokemon game with you to pick up your limited-edition Jirachi. This message brought to you by nframe, for if he had not told me of this, I would be devastatingly Jirachi-less. You wouldn't like me when I'm Jirachi-less.
And, onto Final Fantasy. From here on out, this is relatively spoiler-free as long as you've gotten past the first half hour of the game. Even then, nothing said here could be really categorized as a teeth-gnashing, hair-ripping, robe-rending spoiler. Just consider yourself properly forewarned.
My impressions of FFXIII are pretty positive so far. I don't hate most of the characters, which is a good start. As an added bonus, the whole game is just damn shiny. Though I really wouldn't mind tying Hope and Vanille together with a chain attached to an anchor before dropping them into the ocean. Between his displaced, angsty whiny-ness and her on-again off-again pseudo-Australian accent, I find myself muttering obscenities to our TV whenever they're around. Which is usually.
However! Sazh is totally my bro-cobo...or fro-cobo? The point is, he is a downright awesome character. Quickly shaping up to be one of my favorites. There is one little thing. And maybe it's just me, but I find it a bit...odd that the only black dude we've had in the FF series since Barrett is sporting a fro, loves a chicken, and that the first paradigm I saw him in was called Diversity. I could probably go into a full diatribe about this. I'm certain I could. But I won't, because the dodgy stereotypes Squeenix may or may not have given him aren't what I want to focus on.
Sazh's story is endearing and interesting. I am able to sympathize with his current plight, and his snarky comments usually voice what I'm thinking at certain points in the game. I love that they made him a father. I recall reading an article recently concerning 'gamer dads' and how more parental figures are being placed into video games nowadays. If you think about it, it makes perfect sense. The original Nintendo generation is growing up. Many of my own friends are spawning tiny pixel-pushers of their own, so it's good to see the gaming industry adding characters that the dads can relate to.
Although, I will say that XIII hasn't done much so far to boost the PR of motherhood. "Moms are tough," exclaims Hope's mum while picking up a gun the size of a doberman and abandoning her whiny
daughter son. Five minutes and one cut scene later........
Way to roll a 1 on that Fort Save, Nora.
On the subject of the game's main character, I will say that it is pleasant to run around as someone who, from what I can tell, drinks a large glass of No-Nonsense grade STFU-juice every morning and just gets shit done. Granted, Lightning is a bit stale, but I'll happily take a slightly stoic main character over the series' past few attempts at a tolerable hero. Here's lookin' at you and your IQ score of 4, Tidus.
Regarding the mechanics of the game itself. Boy, oh, boy. Linear game is linear. I am in a tiny, shiny funnel of painfully guided progression. Everything from my character "development" to my environment restrictions seems pre-decided for me. The game tells me "no" when I try to modify who my Group Leader is. I can't even choose to talk to NPC's because - hey - so far, there are none. Where's my damn airship that can take me to the cities? Oh, that's right, no cities, so no airship. Very well, then. I shall use my non-existent flying vessel to transport my characters to vast invisa-cities, in order to mingle with the local ghosts and not buy the items they are not selling. Excellent.
That's the other thing, there are no shops. True, I'm playing the game as an outlaw, and so going into places of commerce may not be an option, but come on! I'm forced to buy my wares on what would be the equivalent of that world's Ebay! Granted, I'm only on Disc 2 and about 15 hours in, but all that means is that the tutorials just ended. You made TWO planets for this game, Squeenix. Give me a little chance to spread my wings and check out at least one of them.
I also just realized that I'm writing about this game, rather than actively playing it. I had a few things to say about Alice but I think that deserves its own Blog Post that Nobody Reads. Plus I plan to see it again this weekend, WITHOUT the 3D glasses, and it's my recommendation to everyone to do the same. Don't give into the glasses gimmick; this movie needs no flimsy plastic accessory to enhance its visually-stunning quality.
Crystarium, here I come!
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