Over the last few months I've had a chance to play a couple of video games that I've heard a lot about over the years. One is considered a landmark title in its genre, and the other is often listed among the all-time best.
First I played Final Fantasy VII. While the graphics were clearly unfinished, the game itself was very good. The characters were interesting and relatable, the story was good, and the game mechanics were fairly smooth.
I didn't quite find the main villain, Sephiroth, to be quite as "cool" or interesting as he's often cracked up to be, and I already knew the main secret of the story, but the best parts of the game more than made up for that. After playing it, I thought it was probably the best role-playing game I had played, except for maybe Final Fantasy VI.
It does have the distinction of being the only Final Fantasy game that I've finished.
In December I began playing Dragon Quest VIII. This game was released about 5 years ago, but is still the newest RPG I've played. It was good. Like all-time top five good.
It is a very different game than those of the Final Fantasy series. The gameplay itself is rather simple, but fun. The graphics, the characters, the story, and the voice acting all are top-notch.
Like most Dragon Warrior/Dragon Quest games, the regular fights are often hard. The bosses are harder, and no mistake. You can't save on the world map or heal right before fighting a boss like you do in Final Fantasy games, but the game compensates for this in other ways that make it challenging but still manageable.
I haven't played through the optional ending sequence yet, but after finishing the main story, I can say I liked this game better than any other video game I've played in the last three years, with the exception of Lego Star Wars and Lego Indiana Jones (which are probably tied with it).
For those keeping score, I've now finished five role-playing games in my lifetime. They include: Dragon Warrior I & III (emulator); Dragon Quest VIII (PS2); Super Mario RPG (SNES); and Final Fantasy VII (on my PS2).
Others that I've played to a greater or lesser extent but not finished are: Dragon Warrior II & IV; Final Fantasy I, IV, & VI; and Chrono Trigger.
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2 comments:
I shall consider a gaming post a good place to return to the Weiled West... However, lately my gaming experience has been pretty pathetic: many hours in one decent (Prince level only) Civ III game as the Germans, some frustrating but tantalizing times playing Nethack (whip-slinging archaelogist seems to be the only fun 'class' for a dunce like me), and lately Mahjohng Titans only. Extremely pathetic, in truth.
Still, I miss old, RPGs and adventure games, and this post is a good reminder of how I am slipping. I have probably finished over 5 RPGs overall though, but that includes consoles and PCs...
Sephiroth might part have gained his 'rep' through FF's famous theme music for him, 'One Winged Angel'. The TV Tropes 'site has a whole (video game boss fight based) trope named after this theme tune. 'Ominous Latin Chanting' is an entire connected, but different trope...
For anyone unfamiliar with TV Tropes, don't go there unless you have either: a) lots of willpower or b)lots of time to burn.
TV Tropes...I wish I had some of those hours back! David Morgan-Mar, author of Irregular Webcomic, links to this site all the time. Despite it being a bit of a rabbit-hole in time it is a lot of fun, and I am grateful for their treatise on the "Heel-Face Turn".
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