Games! Lots and lots of them.

I actually haven't really been playing many games at all lately. :/ But I'll have all kinds of free time since I took 10 days off from work, woo. (Technically only 6, just including my normal days off with it.) The question is...what to play. I have two main options, really. Go for the games I already have current playthroughs of, or start something new. 50/50 on that right now.

I've also been having some major nostalgia attacks that make me want to play some older Final Fantasy games. The problem there...which one!? Too many to choose from...and of course I'm still in the midst of my FFX HD replay, at Macalania if I recall correctly.

I know I want to play through and finish at least one FF that I haven't before. I've played virtually all of the main games but I haven't completed about half of them. I'm also thinking about picking up at least one classic RPG off the PSN that I never got around to, since back then I played FF almost exclusively. There's a lot to choose from.

Basically, I want to pick 4 games to play. 1 Final Fantasy, 1 classic RPG, 1 nostalgic game and 1 of the games I'd already started but haven't finished yet. That might even be a little ambitious given the RPGs, but I'm only talking about story runs, not necessarily 100% completion. That can come later.

So here are my lists:

Final Fantasy main games - not completed yet:
I
II
III
IV
V
VI
VII

Notes: On some of these I did make it all the way to the final boss or final area, such as with III, VII and possibly V. I honestly don't remember and would be doing full runs on whatever I end up playing.

Nostalgic Game Attack:

VIII
IX
XII
XIII
Tales of the Abyss (isn't it on 3DS now? I still have the original)

Classic RPGs (open to suggestions not listed here as long as they are downloadable on PSN / 3DS)

Chrono Trigger / Cross (I did play Trigger before, been so long though)
FF Tactics
Grandia
Suikoden
Threads of Fate
Wild Arms
Xenogears

Games I'm non-playing:

Darksiders 2
Dragon Age: Origins - close to the end
Final Fantasy X HD - just entered Macalania
Final Fantasy XIII-2 - stuck on final boss
The Last of Us - just plain stuck

Other Games - have but haven't played, need to finish something else first, etc. Not including PS+ freebies...there's a lot of those.

Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood / Revelations / Black Flag - played Brotherhood but never finished it for some reason; haven't played the other 2.
LR:FFXIII - need to finish XIII-2 first
Tales of Symphonia - I have the Gamecube version...got it on release, played a few hours and my Gamecube died...kept the game but never replaced the console, lol.
White Knight Chronicles 2 - I know the online servers shut down ages ago, it would just be for the story; friend got it for me for Christmas >_>

I'm actually almost done with my Platinum run for Okami. Got three trophies left: the Kai race, the stray beads, and the cherry tree on game total results.

Kai is...tough. It'll take some practice to beat her through Yoshpet. Those thorn barriers get me every time, eh.

Stray beads took forever, I'm actually down to two left. The one from beating Kai and the one from beating Blockhead Grande. He will need both practice and luck.

I have no idea if I'll get that last one in this run, actually. I don't know what factors into it, well I can guess. I hope I do but if not it's not like I'll particularly mind another run. Okami is a lovely game, so worth it.

My mom finally admitted the Wii she and my stepfather bought (all the way back at launch) for their house is basically a really expensive dust collector. Soo...I'm taking care of it for now. Woo! Glad I kept the controller from my dearly departed GameCube, which died years ago and was never replaced.

First game I picked up for it? Mario Kart Wii! Forgot how fun it is. Anyone else still playing it? If so add me, my friend code is 3011-0232-9866. I'm working on unlocking everything, the computer AI is just so cheap. =/ Oh and I don't play custom tracks yet, no Homebrew for me for awhile.

Know what else really excites me about having a Wii? I sold almost all of my GameCube games (assumed I wouldn't be getting another Nintendo console, for a number of reasons), but I did keep a couple. One was Tales of Symphonia, which was the game I was playing when my GameCube died so I never got to finish it. Hell, I think I only made it a couple hours in anyway. But the other game...the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time / Master Quest bonus disc that sold with Wind Waker preorders! My WW copy is long gone, but I could never give up OoT. Woo! I just picked up a new GameCube memory card so I can actually save GameCube games, so excited. I plan in picking up the GCN version of Twilight Princess as soon as I can find a copy, I always wanted to play it but of course with my GameCube dead and me being less than thrilled about motion controls...never got the chance.

This is really obscure too but I'd love to find a copy of Zoids: Battle Legends at some point. Apparently it's the only good Zoids game out there, aside from maybe the GBA Zoids: Legacy, which I also never played.

So anyone want to recommend some games for me? Primarily GCN games. I need to pick up another copy of Super Smash Bros. Melee, that's kind of a given. What else?

It's not always a good thing.

I'm literally at the end of XIII-2 in one file, as I mentioned yesterday. Well the thing is, I came across a guide that show me how to maximize Crystarium stats for Noel and Serah. I also did a lot of rushing to get to the next part of the story, as is my wont, and have become generally dissatisfied with the way I progressed. So I started a new file. Yeah.

Going much slower this time around, trying to make sure I complete as much as possible in each time zone (heh), including the bestiary. Dunno why I'm even bothering with the latter, aside from that one quest where you have to defeat one of each monster there's no reason to really be filling it out. But such is my quest. On the bright side it's already paying off, as I actually got a Pulsework Knight in this file and it made Atlas way easier. I also have a much better understanding of how the Crystarium works in general and specifically how it works for monsters, plus the whole infusing thing. So basically I'm going all the way back to start voluntarily in order to set myself up better for the rest of the game.

I've played for over three hours and so far have only opened up Bresha 005. I'd say at least half, probably more of that is just fighting mobs to get their crystals and fill out the bestiary. Probably spent over half an hour just hunting Exoray, which I still don't even have, I just got bored and went back to Bresha. Of course that was a little eh as all of a sudden the only mob that was popping up was Svarog, and those things aren't fun at all at this level. But overall I'm not displeased. I am not looking forward to all those Hands of Time puzzles again but I came across a puzzle solver to handle the harder ones, so it's all good. I wouldn't normally stoop to such a thing but dammit, I hate those puzzles so much. Especially when it seems SE gave up on variety and just did that for all the later-game time anomalies. Jerks.

Anyway, off to go hunt some more mobs. For all this work I'm probably just going to end up with a flock of chocobos for my battle team, hah.

I know, I'm quite behind the times. I've been playing this over the past week and have been pleasantly surprised. I remember being super confused by one of the mega trailers for it on PSN and that made me reluctant to try it. But when it went up on the store for just $20 well, who can resist.

I like the story. Sure it's not especially deep and as a given with time travel, the story suffers from some flaws and inconsistencies. But even with the flaws, I'm finding it enjoyable. It's entertainment, not a treatise on the human condition. It keeps me entertained and actively wanting to play it, and that's the important part.

I do like Noel a lot, surprisingly. He's not quite as over the top as some other characters, and I find him to be quite personable really. The fact that he's not super emo about his situation has a lot to do with it, I think, and makes him a good counterpoint to broody Caius. Speaking of, Caius himself is a relatable antagonist, which is pretty rare. The voice helps. :P He has a goal and for once it's not solely the destruction of the world for no reason. It's not a goal so much as it is a cause and while his actions are deplorable, it makes him heroic in his own way.

It's interesting how SE seems to be moving away from evil for evil's sake sort of villains and taking on some interesting questions about what defines good or evil. Sometimes it's a matter of perspective.

Anyway, I'm almost at the end of the story right now. I got my butt kicked repeatedly by Chaos Bahamut and I think a lot of the problem is that I haven't spent much time leveling up my monsters. Or catching good ones, for that matter. My Urdimmu has served me well for much of the game but it's time to upgrade. Right now I'm slowly hunting down a Green Chocobo, a Cloudburst and I haven't decided what to use for a sentinel mob yet. I might not even use the Cloudburst, I might go with whichever Chocobo is the ravager. The blue one? I also have a Behemoth to level. Just starting to get into really looking at infusing and how that all works. Probably should have done that sooner, but ah well. At least farming stuff is pretty easy at this level.

a coffee snob, that is.

Ever since I stumbled across r/coffee, I've massively upgraded my coffee experience. I have a French Press, an Aeropress, a Hario Mini Mill grinder and I've been buy locally roasted whole bean coffee.

For all that, I wasn't really noticing a difference in taste between that and the regular store brand ground stuff I used to buy.

Until this morning.

I ran out of my whole bean and haven't received my next bag yet so I figured I'd just borrow some of my mom's from next door to tide me over. Big mistake. Ugh it was awful. All I could taste was burnt. Like, it didn't even taste like coffee anymore. I still drank it for the caffeine but I did not enjoy my morning java at all.

So I am officially a coffee snob. Does that mean I have to wear a hipster hat and buy Apple products? Say it isn't so!

Just saw the post on Facebook, Distant Worlds is going to be back in Boston this October. So psyched! It was fantastic the last time, and it'll be even better this year. Why? Because Nobuo will be there. <3

If there was one song I wish they would play, it's The Darkness of Eternity, aka Kuja's Trance battle theme. Boston Symphony Hall has one of those mad old giant organs, it would be so epic. I don't know if they've gotten permission/licensing for it though. Sigh. Probably stuck with One Winged Angel again. Not that it's a bad song, but we aren't all VII fanboys/girls.

Not all the time, but every cat is one at least some of the time.

Case in point, Connor, who's having issues with a mouth infection, has been very grumpy lately. He was sitting with me earlier today while I wasn't even doing anything, just browsing like usual. All of a sudden he flips out and smacks me in the face with his paw. Claws out. Got me right in the corner of the eye, right above my eyelid.

That shit hurts, man. And bleeds. A lot. It's been hours and it's still oozing occasionally, but I can't really put any pressure on it because ow. Plus it's freaky, every time I do touch it (with a tissue, because blood) I'm basically touching my orbital bone because that's where he got me, right on the ridge.

It's not just a cut either, he caught me at just the right angle to basically scrape a fair amount of skin off. Well, there is a cut too, a smaller vertical one right above my eyebrow.

Just call me Captain Basch.

Setting: Desert Palace, Kuja's...Study?

[Kuja and Zidane are speaking.]
Kuja: What do you say? Isn't it a simple task? I'll even send you on my luxury cruise ship, so you won't have to worry about transportation.
[Pause, thinking.]
Kuja: Perhaps it's too much for you. I'd better send you with three of your friends just to be safe. Besides, nobody likes to fight against himself.
Zidane: ???
Kuja: Heheh, nevermind. Speak their names when you've chosen your partners.
Zidane: [choses partners]
Kuja: Fine. I shall summon them.
[Does so.]
[The party prepares to leave.]
Zidane: Wait a sec.
Kuja: ?
Zidane: I have a question.
Kuja: You really are that stupid...[sigh] Fine. What?
Zidane: ...Do you play Tetra Master?
Party: [Facepalms.]
Kuja: ...
[Three hours later.]
Kuja: Hahaha, I win again!

As you can guess by the title, yes I have decided to replay one of, if not my favorite Final Fantasy games.

Currently on Disc 1, just left Lindblum, made friends with Choco and allied with the useless blob we all know and love as Quina. Every damn time I forget to equip it and it dies in the first random encounter we run into. Sigh. So back to town to rest and restock. Also get some better equipment cause I forgot about the synth shop.

I've also been playing way more Tetra Master than ever because I'm tired of getting stuck in Treno for the stupid card tournament. I have come to the conclusion that TM is the worst designed in-game game ever. It's so random and terrible. I spent an embarrassing amount of time collecting and leveling up the best cards I can get at this point and I still end up losing to the crappiest cards ever. No saving throws to be rolled. And ragequits often, generally when I lose one of my good cards. If you don't win it back immediately and lose another card, the first card you lost disappears forever. That's just evil.

But anyway. As usual I'm kind of rushing through the beginning of the game to get to one of my favorite parts: meeting Kuja for the first time. Not gonna lie, I love Kuja. He's a fantastic character and the only villain I've ever truly felt sympathy for. I just can't hate him even after everything that happens. His Dissidia Duodecim story even reinforces that feeling, even if it's not exactly canon. (Yes, he is my Dissidia main.)

For fellow PS3 users, no doubt you've seen this game plastered all over the PSN store, as it's both a new release and a weekly deal. On the surface it touts itself as an old skool style RPG, with its generically clever title that is clearly a mashup of Dragon Warrior and Final Fantasy.

Well. I picked it up mostly out of boredom. I played for perhaps 30 minutes before recognizing I'd made a terrible mistake. This is a game trying to emulate the charm of classic RPG franchises and failing, because it has none of its own. Filled with juvenile humor and sexism, it's basically what you imagine a 15 year old fanboy would make with a pirated copy of RPG Maker. Ugh. Avoid.

I thought being short-handed last night would be the worst of our problems. I was very much wrong.

So let me set the scene here for you. I was scheduled to work with certain people last night, but due to whatever, we ended up with an entirely different crew and also short one cashier after 6:00. Aggravating, but it happens.

So everyone gets there and the usual stuff going on, blah blah. Well, both myself and the shift supervisor on noticed that our coworker was behaving strangely, very much off. I mean, he's usually on the rough side with customers to begin with but it was like he was trolling for complaints. Arguing with customers over silly little things, no filter on the side comments, etc. We both thought it strange but it was busy and there was work to be done, so whatevs, just soldier on. This kid tends to be moody and actually, the running joke is that he's a werewolf, for various reasons.

Anyway so we get around to breaks. I go on mine, he goes on his, we're managing with what we've got. The shift goes on his break so it's just me and the werewolf kid up front, there's a bit of a lull. So I talk to him a little bit, just trying to suss out what's going on with him today. He's the sort who always has something bringing him down. I thought maybe he got in a fight with his girlfriend, or was brooding over the second job he quit the week before. Something like that. Little did I know...

He's so quiet I can't hear him mumbling a few times, then just after I ring out a customer, he drops this on me:

"I tried to kill myself yesterday."

Um...wtf. Ok, so I've dealt with emo people before (I went to high school too), but this...I have no experience with this. Totally out of my depth.

I tell him the usual stuff you're supposed to tell suicidal people. I'm here if you need to talk, what's going on in your life, that sort of thing. It's made rather difficult because he's a newer employee so I know a little bit about hobbies and such but I don't know anything about his, shall we say, life situation. I think I met his girlfriend once, that's about it. I think this might actually be why he told me, because I don't know him all that well. I can't say for sure. He did say a few minutes later he shouldn't have told me, so it wasn't intentional or anything. I'm that kind of person, sort of. I know everything that goes on in the store because people always talk to me about things. Most of the time whatever I hear goes no farther, except maybe to one coworker I vent to occasionally.

But even I know this can't lie as is. I mean, I would never effing forgive myself if I told no one and his face was on the morning news. So I text said coworker to ask advice as soon as I can get away from the front, she's a shift and we've been working together for over a decade, so I trust what she has to say. Not that I don't trust the shift who's actually there, he's just traditionally not someone you bring higher level stuff to.

I don't tell her his name but she knows. I mean, it's the worst kept secret in the store that this kid is really depressed and apparently has no home support or something. So she tells me to tell my boss, because well, what else do you do? She also tells the shift who's on so he can help me handle this matter of extreme sensitivity and importance.

Boss doesn't answer and I'm needed back up front, so the shift tries to call my boss. His wife tells him that the boss is at hockey (he's a coach) and did not bring his cell phone with him. Awesome. So he's unreachable. We try another shift who is much better equipped to handle the situation but she's asleep because she has to be at the store at like 5 a.m. for the weekly delivery. This whole time I'm trying to both stay up front and work this problem out without alerting coworker, because who knows wtf he'll do, right? The shift also texts one of our other coworkers who is a good friend of suicidal friend to basically get her to talk to him asap and do whatever she can to get his spirits up.

Finally bossman calls the store, I have to direct him to the shift cause I'm main cashier atm and it's busy. So the shift gives him the story and...that's about as far as it goes since it's the end of the shift. I don't know what happens from there.

Very stressful, very upsetting situation all around. My hands were shaking, and I'm not even particularly emotional most of the time. I have no idea what I'm going to walk into on my shift today. Suicidal kid is scheduled to be at work this morning. I can only hope that we can get him the help he needs.

But damn, suicide intervention is not what I expected to be doing yesterday. What is this I don't even--what do you effing do in that position? Ugh. My head hurts. This is a terrible week.

I haven't thought of a title yet but screw it, I'll just start typing.

I went to see Jurassic Park in IMAX 3D today with my oldest friend. Even after twenty years (by the gods, am I that old?) and at least a hundred viewings, the magic is still there. The life-sized T-rex on the giant screen probably helps. I know this movie backwards and forwards, every line, every sound effect, every tiny inaccuracy some bored nerd picked apart on the internet. And I still get swept into the adventure every time.

You know that movie you had as a kid that you watched every time you were sick or feeling down or just because you were bored? For me, Jurassic Park is that movie. Even today I still watch it when I'm sick. Hey, I'll never feel as bad as the lawyer who got chomped by an angry tyrannosaur. For one thing, I'm not a lawyer.

But even looking beyond the film itself, as wonderful as it is, I can see the ramifications manifesting even today, years down the line. I got really into dinosaurs for one, and that evolved (heh heh) into a love of fantasy when I first saw Dragon Heart, yes it is my namesake here. I also love Godzilla, for the record. You can see a trend here. Dinosaurs didn't evolve into birds, they evolved into dragons and were then hunted to extinction by medieval knights. Assholes. I want a pet T-rex...

That was '95. Then a year later in 1996, something fundamental changed. A novel called The Lost World, written for the upcoming movie sequel to Jurassic Park. To this day I feel so very, truly fortunate that my mom let me buy the book that day. I was 10 years old and had never read an adult novel before. I started reading it in the car on the way home. I devoured all 400 and some-odd pages in no time at all. Dinosaurs and technology and a badass female character (nothing like the movie, for the record), it was all there for my young mind to take in. I was hooked.

I read every book by Michael Crichton I could find. I went back to Jurassic Park, the novel version. And Airframe, which probably played no small part in my present day fascination with all things aerodynamic. And The Andromeda Strain, and Timeline, and...the list goes on. I read and reread and more importantly, I learned about things I never would have been interested in before. Computers, technology, science. The stories may have been fiction, but I still learned a hell of a lot. Some of his works are even true, like Five Patients.

When Michael Crichton died a few years back, I felt like I'd lost my best friend. Seriously. Never met the man, but in a lot of ways he was a hero to me for what he wrote. I actually never read his last few books because if I do that, I'll have nothing new left of his to read and it's like the final acknowledgement that he's gone, to read the final page of his final book and know there will never be another. It's dumb, but that's how I feel. He opened my eyes to concepts and ideas and worlds far beyond anything I'd ever known, and I'm sure that has changed my life in ways I'll never be able to measure.

Watching Jurassic Park today brought a lot of those thoughts back to the surface. I think the saddest part for me, watching the credits roll with "Based on the novel by Michael Crichton", is that I'll never get to tell him, thank you.

Let's call this what it is, shall we?

I finished the main story last week but have been spending quite a bit of time in the post game, hence why this took longer to write than TR did.

The Story

On the surface it seems pretty simple. You play as Oliver, a young boy raised by his mom in an average, old fashioned neighborhood. Until the White Witch from a parallel world intervenes and attempts to assassinate Oliver, the consequences of which send our young hero on a desperate quest to save his mom and save two worlds at the same time. You know, no pressure.

The story is amazingly deep for being so generally straightforward, dealing with themes like depression, loss and sacrifice in a very moving, heartfelt manner. If you've ever lost someone close to you, this game will hit you hard. Right in the feels, as the saying goes. It's also a very sobering reminder of how the best intentions can sometimes go horribly, terribly awry.

But it's not all doom and gloom, there's plenty of humor and of course, it wouldn't be much of an RPG if our young hero didn't triumph in the end.

The Characters

There's a large cast of characters made twice as large by each character having a kind of soultwin in the other, nonmagical world. They are quirky and lively, with distinct personalities. Oliver is of course the most developed. Swaine proved a surprisingly complex character, though most of the details are left to your imagination. Esthar was a bit of a disappointment in that of the main cast, she had the least amount of backstory and ends up being a bit bland in comparison. Marcassin, who is apparently Howl's soultwin, despite being a very late addition to the team is just as intriguing as Swaine, for different (and spoilery) reasons.

Is it a coincidence that Esthar is the only playable female in the game? Who knows.

Even the White Witch herself, through a rather convoluted and really depressing series of events, ends up being sympathetic in the end.

The World

Ni no Kuni's world is vast and varied, with all the RPG favorites. Ice caves, haunted trials, floating castles. The usual. The world design itself is whimsical and playful as often as it is ominous, giving a nice balance throughout the game. It's also not as tedious to navigate as is too often the case in RPGs, with the addition of some very lovely magic spells.

The animation, done by Studio Ghibli, is of course smooth and beautiful. I wish there had been more of them, or that they were a bit longer. Or just do a movie version, I would totally watch it.

Gameplay

This is the one major flaw of this game. The AI is ridiculously stupid and you have very little control over your teammates in battle. This combination is the kiss of death in battle. Literally. I lost more than one boss fight due to this lovely mix. If it's not your healer chasing glims instead of, you know, healing, it's the pathfinding, or I should say, the lack of it. When autoattacking your familiar will not, say, walk around an ally if they are in your way, thus wasting your attack and depleting your stamina unnecessarily. Ugh. It got to the point where I stopped bothering to revive my allies because it was easier to just solo. Yeah.

The other huge problem I had was the stupid attack animations. If anyone uses a skill that has an animation that interrupts the battle, it also interrupts whatever you were doing. Like healing yourself or someone else on the brink of death or attacking to cancel a dangerous enemy skill.

That said, battles are Pokemon-esque, with you catching and training your monsters (called familiars) and using them as your primary weapons. You can also play as your character (you can take control of any ally in battle) to cast spells and use other special skills, or even charge in and smack things around with your magic wand. Hey, I bet those orbs hurt. I feel like gameplay could have actually been stronger without the use of familiars, primarily due to the AI issues and general lack of control. Some basic gambits would also have been much appreciated, as the available tactics were woefully unhelpful.

Post Game

After finishing the main story, a fair amount of post game content opens up, as well as unlocking any sidequests you didn't get to yet. There's plenty to do between errands, bounty hunts and even a Colosseum, but it's not too challenging either. It could be good or bad, depending on how much you enjoy challenges. I might have a somewhat skewed perspective as I stumbled across the joy of Toko very early on and also ended up with two dinosaur-things that pretty much wreck anything and everything in their path. Even bosses.

Some errands will annoy you with their tedium, though. Like the alchemy master one. Ugh. I'm still farming that one.

Trophies

The game itself is very easy to platinum, just be prepared to invest a lot of hours on farming familiars, both to recruit and for alchemy items.

Last Word

A must for RPG fans, despite the faulty AI. RPGs are few and far between these days, and this one is well worth it.

Ah, Sunday. The traditional day of rest. Considering that I work Tuesday-Saturday every week, tis a sorely needed one too. And since nothing really happens on Sundays, a good time to hang around and do things around the house.

Like cooking. I'm still not very experienced. I can bake fine but cooking, not so much. So today I'm "cooking" with the Crock Pot. By cooking I mean dump stuff in it, forget about it for the afternoon, then come back at dinner. Making shredded BBQ chicken and I will be making oven-baked seasoned fries on the side. Like chips only way better, because fries. Unless you're on the other side of the pond, in which case chips and fries are the same thing. Confusing. But delicious either way.

I thought about making some fancy shmancy dessert for afterwards but eh, screw it. I'm just not that ambitious right now. I'm probably just going to have lunch and laze around playing Ni no Kuni for the rest of the afternoon. Had I been more motivated, I was actually considering some sort of spiced apple cake type thing. But I don't normally make cakes, just cookies and bread. So yeah, one new thing at a time.

Anyways, if anyone else does some Crock Pot cooking, feel free to post recipes! This is actually the first time I'm actively using it to make something.