Kingdom Hearts

  I have a very messed up style of playing games. I either play in very short sessions or I sit down and play a game for 2 days straight.  Usually on a weekend, and most the time I finish it in those days. This works with a lot of games, however I had some situations like with San Andreas where I played for the 2 days, and was still nowhere near beating the game.  
 
I think this is also why I really like the arcade style -- play it for 10 minutes -- stuff like Audiosurf, Guitar Hero, Street Fighter, Burnout, and the like. Anything based on 20 minute long missions is great too (Red Faction: Guerilla). 
 
Also, I have a strange way of buying games, that leads to me owning way too many. 
 Let me break this down for you: 

• I make an Excel (or Calc because I use Open Office) Spreadsheet of all the games I want to buy, sorted by platform. 
• I then wait for those games to go on sale (usually Steam, although Amazon, or sometimes Gamestop -- 75% off Xbox Games comes to mind) and then I buy them.
• Then I have a massive stack of games. 
• ???
• Profit?

 
Yeah, I have a problem. I have basically committed myself to beating all the games I have before I buy more games. And because I know you care... 
 
Here it is:  

The Pile of Shame:

 
I know, I know. I should be playing these games right now instead of writing this blog, but it's so intimidating. School really isn't helping either, although I imagine that's still no excuse. Looking at it, there's about 50 games on that list, and there's about another 50 on the spreadsheet I referenced. Also, before you call me a goddamn psychopath, keep in mind almost all of these games were bought on a sale of some kind, and I probably didn't spend much more than $5-10 on any of them. This is also years worth of accumulating games, which included gifts from Birthdays / Christmas. I know, still not a good excuse.   
 
Part of the issue for me too, is my inability to have decent patience for longer games. Kingdom Hearts was the first PS2 game I owned, and I never beat it. It's stuff like that where the games last for so long that I can't conceivably sit down for a weekend and finish them. The fact that I almost never buy games at full price also adds to this problem. For $50 / $60, you want a ton of content, but for $5? For $5, I'll be happy with like 2 hours. I usually get 6-15.   
 
Right now I'm staring down the barrel that is 4 different GTA's, 3 different Bioware RPG's, a bunch of Guild wars, Kingdom Hearts, Diablo 2,  and an Elder Scroll's. This is not a quick catch up kind of thing. Hell, this is almost a "I could launch a goddamn website about this" type of thing. 
 
I think the worst part of all this is the fact that this year is looking to be pretty damn awesome for video games. I'm excited about Super Street Fighter 4, Splinter Cell: Conviction, all kinds of stuff. However, if I'm ever to get this pile off my conscience, I need to commit. The way I see it, at least I have a lot of games to play. 
 
What the hell am I doing here? I'm about halfway through Geist, and I need to fire up the Gamecube. 
 
Please don't judge me. I know you all have a similar situation. Post your Piles of Shame. We can keep each other honest. 

     I remember I owned the strategy guide to Kingdom Hearts before I even owned the game. I'd sit in the back of choir class, and read up on all it offered me, poring over the stained-glass art and the simplistic, yet striking design of the Heartless in all of their incarnations. The story was simple, a boy named Sora lives in a world where he hangs out with his friends all day at their bitchin', tropical fortress of solitude, and by night, restlessly lays in bed wondering whether he will go snorkeling for blue tang or go on a bender over some magical starfruit. Either way life is perfect for him, and then shit hits the fan, he loses his friends, his family, and that awesome pirate's booty cove he had. The pacing was great, you were on the island long enough to get really accustomed to it, and then everything gets completely jacked. You come to bear a sword-like weapon shaped like a key which has crazy transcendental properties, then you got to hook up with Donald and Goofy and traveled to different worlds, trying to find your friends and Mickey, and saved the goddamned universe! It was an original, yet simplistic story that had a remarkable amount of depth. When they teased a sequel, I was perfectly content with playing nearly the same again. Give me more worlds, more magic and awesome, more allusions to both Final Fantasy and Disney and I'd be set. The two are a remarkable pb&j fit. 
     Yet, with Kingdom Hearts II I felt like they shafted a lot of what made the first game so special. It was an improvement in all ways, save for the story. They had a good mixture of both franchises, and the obvious choice(in my eyes) was to continue with a good thing with the sequel. The whole Organization XIII thing just added a lot of needless plot, and lame characters, in this case an order of incorporeal dudes and dudettes in raincoats, who are said to be without emotion, but clearly aren't, which was said to be the difference between them and humans. So, in my eyes, that kind of throws a lot of what they have to say and do into the "bullshit" pile. Granted, it does shed some light as to why they have yet to accomplish their goals, all but Xemnas, Xehanhort, and Roxas seemed unnecessary. That seemed like a fair amount more complexity that the story could retain. 
  So with Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, the whole reasoning behind what you're doing all feels very flawed, and needlessly complicated. I guess what I'm trying to say is that they've put too much attention on these "nobodies", who by definition are emotionally vapid dopplegangers, yet keep trying to establish some connection with me, the player. I'm not sure what I'm more irritated by, the fact that they're wasting their time by expounding on these characters who technically shouldn't be capable of doing more than your typical zombie, or the fact that they seem perfectly fine in having them be massive contradictions in and of themselves. It just feels like a lot of wasted expostion, which could've been used elsewhere.
     So, I'm hoping KH3 doesn't get as nearly batshit stupid as KH2. Granted, there are a whole mess of keyblades and it definitely seems they're getting darker in tone with it, which is cool. As long as they keep that original core group of characters interesting, keep the combat just as engaging, and give a little more clout to the Disney universe with this one, I'll be fine. Oh yeah, and maybe a nice and epic ressurection of Chernabog. That shit was sick.

365 Games To Play Before You Die

All RPGs or RPG-like games today and this is just part one. Seeing as my backlog is quite large I need to go through many games a day so that I'm back up to the original game a day schedule.

Previous 5 Games

• #96: Bejeweled
• #97: Picross DS
• #98: Audiosurf
• #99: Battlefield 2
• #100: Shadow of the Colossus

Full List

#101: Baldur's Gate II: Shadow of Amn

Platform(s): PC
Release: 2000
Developer(s): BioWare
Best Quote: 'Jump on my sword while you can, evil! I won't be as gentle!'
GB Wiki Page

Bioware classic.

#102: The Elder Scolls IV: Oblivion

Platform(s): PC, Xbox 360 and PS3
Release: 2006
Developer(s): Bethesda
Best Quote: 'I heard a rumour that you’re an idiot, is there any truth to that?'
GB Wiki Page

Dark Brotherhood was the most fun part of that game.

#103: Titan Quest

Platform(s): PC
Release: 2006
Developer(s): Iron Lore
Best Quote: -
GB Wiki Page

Not as good as Diablo II but then no action-rpg/hack-n-slah is. I did really like the variety of masteries you could choose from because it made your character customisable.

#104: Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King

Platform(s): PS2
Release: 2005
Developer(s): Level-5
Best Quote: -
GB Wiki Page

 The only Dragon Quest game that I've played and I had a great time with it.

#105: Final Fantasy X

Platform(s): PS2
Release: 2001
Developer(s): Square Enix
Best Quote: -
GB Wiki Page

My least favourite of all the Final Fantasy games (that I've played) but still better than many other RPGs.

#106: Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4

Platform(s): PS2
Release: 2008
Developer(s): Atlus
Best Quote: 'Aha! Is this our chance?'
GB Wiki Page

Never played it but I watched all the Endurance Run episodes and that was more then enough for me.

#107: Icewind Dale II

Platform(s): PC
Release: 2002
Developer(s): Black Isle
Best Quote:
GB Wiki Page

Like Baldur's Gate it's one of those classic CRPGs that put an emphasis on developing your character, something which I'm a big fan of. Also, I miss Black Isle.

#108: Vagrant Story

Platform(s): PS1
Release: 2000
Developer(s): Square Enix
Best Quote: -
GB Wiki Page

Amazing art style.

#109: Freedom Force

Platform(s): PC
Release: 2002
Developer(s): Irrational Games
Best Quote: 'For Freedom.'
GB Wiki Page

No game has paid a better homage to comic books then Freedom Force, it does it even better then game that are based on comic books.

#110: Fallout 2

Platform(s): PC
Release: 1998
Developer(s): Black Isle
Best Quote: -
GB Wiki Page

Another classic.

#111: Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga

Platform(s): GBA
Release: 2003
Developer(s): AlphaDream
Best Quote: -
GB Wiki Page

Much funnier then I expected it to be and a very good RPG too.

#112: Golden Sun

Platform(s): GBA
Release: 2001
Developer(s): Camelot
Best Quote: -
GB Wiki Page

Probably the best pure RPG that I've on the GBA.

#113: Divine Divinity

Platform(s): PC
Release: 2002
Developer(s): Larian
Best Quote: -
GB Wiki Page

More hack-n-slash action.

#114: Chrono Cross

Platform(s): PS1
Release: 2000
Developer(s): Square Enix
Best Quote: 'Fate has no forgiveness for those who dare stand against it.'
GB Wiki Page

Convoluted, yes, but it's still a damn good JRPG.

#115: Ultima VII: The Black Gate

Platform(s): PC
Release: 1992
Developer(s): Origin Systems
Best Quote: -
GB Wiki Page

Out of all the Ultima games (and I haven't played them all) this comes out on top.

#116: The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

Platform(s): SNES, GBA and VC
Release: 1992
Developer(s): Nintendo
Best Quote: -
GB Wiki Page

Not really an RPG, although it does have some RPG elements.

#117: X-Men: Legends

Platform(s): PS2, Xbox and GC
Release: 2004
Developer(s): Raven
Best Quote: -
GB Wiki Page

X-Men + RPG = Fun, fun and more fun.

#118: Dungeon Siege

Platform(s): PC
Release: 2002
Developer(s): Gas Pwered Games
Best Quote: -
GB Wiki Page

Nothing to say except that it's good.

#119: Final Fantasy Tactics Advance

Platform(s): GBA
Release: 2002
Developer(s): Square Enix
Best Quote: -
GB Wiki Page

The GBA game into which I've put more hours than any other. I really love the Ivalice world and even though the story is a bit so-so, the setting and gameplay are top notch.

#120: Jade Empire

Platform(s): PC
Release: 2005
Developer(s): BioWare
Best Quote: -
GB Wiki Page

Bioware does it again, this time in China.

#121: Planescape: Torment

Platform(s): PC
Release: 1999
Developer(s): Black Isle
Best Quote: 'It insults the dead when you treat life carelessly.'
GB Wiki Page

Planescape: Torment is one the best example of a story driven game. Most of the quests can be completed with dialogue rather then confrontation and even the times when your supposed to engage in combat can be avoided with persuasion and speech.

#122: Secret of Mana

Platform(s): SNES
Release: 1993
Developer(s): Square
Best Quote: -
GB Wiki Page

Surprisingly the only Mana game I've played.

#123: Lands of Lore: The Throne of Chaos

Platform(s): PC
Release: 1993
Developer(s): Westwood
Best Quote: 'Welcome to the Chieftain's compound.'
GB Wiki Page

Patrick Stewart!!

#124: Anachronox

Platform(s): PC
Release: 2001
Developer(s): Ion Storm
Best Quote: -
GB Wiki Page

Hard to spell and slow to get going but once it does, it's a treat.

#125: Kingdom Hearts

Platform(s): PS2
Release: 2002
Developer(s): Square
Best Quote: -
GB Wiki Page

I like it but it's not as amazing as some make it out to be.
 
125 down 240 to go.

             While searching the interweb late Thursday night I came upon such a weird headline I couldn't do anything but read it and just say WHAT THE F#@*!!!!  Of course Giant Bomb is my one and only videogame website but when I saw Destructoid had an article detailing Tetsuya Nomura's original ideas for Kingdom Hearts I just had to look.  I am a big Kingdom Hearts fan, possibly one of the first people to actually take notice of it and not be like, that's crap or that is sooo stupid, because for every possible a combination of Disney and Square, namely Final Fantasy games, it should seem moronic.  However, for some reason I never found it that way, call it nostalgia to the days of when Disney was still making good cartoon movies instead of everything being computer generated, not that pixar isn't awesome, or the fact that it wasn't a turn-based rpg like all the other ones I had seen at the time.  Safe to say I bought the game the day it arrived in stores in my then local Circuit City, automatically I enjoyed the game and it was what really made me like RPG's, now I feel I have grown out of them or at least I can't find one that intrigues me enough to purchase besides Persona 4 of course.  Safe to say I loved Kingdom Hearts and then proceeded to get Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories on the GBA and finally Kingdom Hearts II, and plan on getting the future DS and PSP titles of Kingdom Hearts.

             But I digress, imagine my surprise however when instead of news on the new Kingdom Hearts games or, as I was hopeing, Kingdom Hearts III, Nomura discussed his first desire to have Sora's main weapon be a chainsaw like weapon instead of the now famous Keyblade.  Just like my reaction the Disney and Square guys were stunned, I however loved the idea they thought otherwise.  Of course a chainsaw is far too violent to be taking Captain Hook or Jafar down with, but dang that is some kind of awesome.  But that was not all of the inside info that was shared Nomura also discussed Square's original idea of using Mickey Mouse instead as the main character and Disney  was thinking Donald Duck or Goofy instead, but Nomura didnt like any of those ideas and instead made Kingdom Hearts a broad Disney / Square expierence neer focusing too much on one set Disney character and instead telling a new and fun story.  That I think may have been what saved the game cus if I was playing as Mickey or Donald both very cartoonish characters I doubt I would have taken as seriously as Kingdom Hearts is supposed to be.  Because at its heart it is a very serious story, albiet with humour and cartoon's thrown throughout, that could have been ruined with a different main character or a crazy violent weapon, one would have to be a heartless to not understand that.   (HaHa you see what I did there I  used the enemy in the game to represent my point of understanding, pun is deffinatelly intended on that one, 10 points to Griffendor)


BTW:   Here is the link to that article  http://www.destructoid.com/kingdom-hearts-keyblade-was-originally-a-chainsaw-wut--139111.phtml

Surprise to see me again so soon.  I certainly am.  Well, I decided to do this short video just to show you guys my latest purchases and my first steps into buying video game soundtracks because well, video game music for the most part is awesome.  Some people will recognise the music in the video (I mention it anyway) instantly, as its from one of the soundtracks I got.  Anyway, I hope to pick some more up in the future and also would like your suggestions as to what soundtracks I should get.  Eternal Sonata/Trusty Bell is one I am gunning for and Chrono Trigger also especially if there is some sort of orchestra version since the free CD I got with the game just showed me how awesome that CD would be. 

Anyway, enjoy and keep on gaming good people. Toodles.

Hey guys. It's time for part four of my Top 30 Games list, covering numbers 15 through 11.

15. Resident Evil 4

Resident Evil 4 is filled with incredible boss battles

PlayStation 2 (2005)

I was very apprehensive going into Resident Evil 4. I didn't enjoy any of the original games, despite having given them all a chance, and was worrried that the fourth iteration was going to be exactly the same. Still, I decided to pick it up on the recommendations of others and give it a chance. Boy, was I wrong. Resident Evil 4 was slow to get started but within a few hours it had me completely hooked. While the story and characters were largely forgettable, maybe because I never played through any of the other RE games, it was the quality of the combat and the game's atmosphere that sucked me in and refused to let me go. Every gun in the game felt powerful, and the Ganados seemed practically unstoppable as they resisted the firepower pumped into them, making for some real heart-in-throat moments in combat. The inventory management and weapon customisation aspects were also well-executed, adding extra depth to what was already a very satisfying shooter. Although the story is forgettable, the game looks amazing with some truly scary monsters gracing the screen. More than anything, though, it was the boss battles in Resident Evil 4 that made it so memorable for me. Every one looks more hideous than the last and requires careful thought and strategy to overcome, making for some of the most tactical and intense boss battles of any video game. This unexpected experience caught me completely off-guard, which is probably why I remember it so fondly.

14. Kingdom Hearts

Kingdom Hearts is enchanting, beautiful, and a lot of fun

PlayStation 2 (2002)

Every now and again, a game will come along that will surprise you. Resident Evil 4 surprised me because it was better than I thought it was going to be. Kingdom Hearts, on the other hand, surprised me simply because it actually worked. Being a Disney fan in my youth and a Square fan in my adolescence, I was worried that this amalgamaton of the two worlds would have catastrophic results. Again, I was very wrong. Kingdom Hearts works because it remains faithful to both sides of its inspiration, while at the same time succeeding in delivering something original. The characters and worlds of the Disney universe have never been better realised in 3D, and both art styles seems to merge effortlessly into one another. Gameplay-wise, the game offers an interesting take on the action RPG with some excellent combat (particularly the boss battles) and an endearing story. I picked the original over Kingdom Hearts II because, while the sequel is a better game, it loses a lot of the focus on remaining faithful to the Disney source material and in doing so ends up feeling more like a Final Fantasy game with Disney cameos, rather than a legitimate mixture of the two. It also lacks a lot of the charm that made the original game so likeable. I mean, who could ever forget the time spent with Winnie the Pooh in the Hundred Acre Wood? With charm like that, I can even overlook the dreadful Gummi ship stuff. I've played through Kingdom Hearts countless times, and every time I find more new things to like about it. Anybody who spent their childhood watching Disney movies owes it to themselves to check this out. Whether they like JRPGs or not, they're bound to get something out of this.

13. Sonic the Hedgehog 2

This is the game that made me love video games

Mega Drive (1992)

Every gamer has a starting point. That firsf game that made them fall in love with the interactive medium we're all so crazy about. For many, it's Mario. For others, maybe Pong, or Pac-Man. For me, it was this: Sonic the Hedgehog 2. I remember owning the game and playing the hell out of it almost every day, but what I remember even more vividly is the time I spent playing it at my cousin's house. This was back before we owned a Mega Drive, when we were still playing 8-bit games on the Master System, and Sonic 2 was such a leap forward from this that I just couldn't get enough of it. I used to make excuses to my parents in order to stay at my cousin's house and play more of it. It was the first time I ever became truly obsessed with a game, something that hasn't happened very often since (I won't specify which games, as most of them will be appearing later in this list). Everything about this game was perfect in my eyes. It looked incredible, much better than the Master System games I was used to playing, and conveyed an incredible sense of speed. The gameplay was simple but addictive, complemented by some excellent level design, truly memorable themed zones and well-crafted boss battles. I also loved Tails (yeah, I'm in that camp on this issue. Tails rocks!). Like Streets of Rage, I never actually completed Sonic 2. I remember reaching what I imagined to be the final boss several times, always armed with a bevy of lives and continues, only to fall foul of it yet again. What made it even worse was the lack of a save feature or password system, meaning every time I played, I had to start from scratch. That may well be one of the reasons why I remember it so well, though. I'll have to go back to it and see if I can finish it all these years later.

12. Canis Canem Edit

Canis Canem Edit does so much right in such a small space

PlayStation 2 (2006)

Up until a couple of months ago, I would never have considered Canis Canem Edit for inclusion on a list like this. It's always played second fiddle to Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto games, notably Vice City and San Andreas. I'm not going to lie. I too shunned it for a long period of time, refusing to give it the chance it deserved. That changed a couple of months ago, when I finally decided to play through the game. I was rewarded with a game that not only turned out to be a hell of a lot of fun, but also ended up being better than San Andreas (more on that here, if you're interested). The characters and story were of a higher standard than any other action game by Rockstar at the time of its release. The GTA-style gameplay translated almost effortlessly into the school setting, offering some memorable missions and some interesting ways of completing those missions, too. Most of all, the game was tight, focused and full of little details, something severely lacking in the wide scope of San Andreas. Exploring in Canis Canem Edit was rewarding because you never knew what you were going to discover, and the countless ways of interacting with the other inhabitants of Bullworth made every encounter an interesting and hilarious one. No other open-world action game on PS2 has quite as much attitude and personality as Canis Canem Edit. It left me breathless after the ride, longing for more. Here's hoping Rockstar will continue experimenting with new settings and concepts for its action games. If they all turn out to be as good as this, then we're all in for a real treat.

11. Fallout 3

Open-world, free-form questing, post-apocalyptic style!

Xbox 360 (2008)

To be honest, I could just as easily have put The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion in this spot. Both games offer a huge open world to explore, free-from questing that rewards exploration and encourages different play styles, and an incredible amount of attention to detail. I sided with Fallout 3 for two reasons. The first of these is, more obviously, because I've spent more time with it overall. The second is because I enjoyed the post-apocalytpic setting a little more than the fantasy one of Oblivion. Fallout 3 was my introduction to the genre of open-world western RPGs, and it did an excellent job of getting me hooked. The quests were well-constructed and, for the most part, really interesting. While a lot of people didn't take to it, I really liked the combat and wasn't too put off by VATS. Similarly, I didn't mind the game's aesthetic, and I actually found the game world eerily beautiful to look at and explore. As soon as I emerged from Vault 101 I found myself getting slowly absorbed in the game, listening to the c.1950 soundtrack as I trekked across the desolate wastes. In fact, I got most of my fun with Fallout 3 from simply wandering across the Capital Wasteland, seeing what I could find. I still have yet to complete the game's main quest, actually, and with the sheer amount of things to do in the wastes, I doubt I will any time soon. Fallout 3 is far from perfect, but it does a hell of a lot of things right and I commend it for that. It's also far and away the most fun I've had with a game so far this year, and a deserving entry onto this list.

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As always, thanks for reading guys. Be sure to check back tomorrow when I'll be moving into my top ten favourite games. Please feel free to comment, I'd love to hear your opinions. If you missed them, you kind find parts one to three by clicking on the links to numbers 30 to 26, 25 to 21 and 20 to 16. As a minor gaming update, I've been working my way through Grand Theft Auto IV again in my second playthrough. The story and characters are just as strong as I remember them to be from my initial playthrough back in May last year. When I finish the main story missions, I'm going to get stuck into The Lost & Damned. After that, who knows? Maybe Dead Space. Maybe Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts. Maybe BioShock. I have so many games to play through it's unreal. Perhaps playing some of those games will result in alterations to this list in future. We'll just have to wait and see. In the meantime, I have a bank to rob. See you around.


DanK

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Currently playing - Grand Theft Auto IV (X360)

I've decided to make a list of the things I want to do/complete in my games.

• Finish Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake
• Finish the 15 years of manager mode in Fifa 08
• Finish Devil May Cry on the Hard difficulty
• Beat all the games I have yet to beat

• 5 star all the Hard songs in GHII and GHIII

That's just about all I can think of right now.

Nothing, probably. I need to buy a new motherboard soon, I need to keep working on my game so I don't miss my new deadline (the 16th), I need to get ready for SAGE as I am supposed to be covering the event for the website I work for. Not to mention Microsoft wants to talk to me about my "Xbox Experience" (which reminds me, I need to respond to that email after I write this blog). And then there's simple house chores stuff like mowing the lawn.

Busy weekend and very little of it will be spent playing games. What I do play will probably be whatever is on my old laptop - so Sega Genesis emulators, etc. Usually when I cannot access this PC (it gets too hot and the motherboard starts shorting out and giving me blue screens) I get on my laptop and do whatever stuff I can to pass the time until about 11pm or so when it cools off enough to get back on the main PC. I've been lucky in that the past two days have been fairly rainy and cool, giving me lots of extra time to work on my game - but the heat is supposed to be returning as early as today. So yeah, I expect I'll be going back to Sonic 3 & Knuckles sometime soon - or maybe Mega Man X4. Pretty good PC port, that one. Runs very well on my 266mhz laptop. Maybe start up an RPG. Tried to get in to Crusader of Centy a few days ago to no avail. But I guess that's no more an RPG than Zelda's an RPG - but let's not get in to that argument here. Started a new game on Earthbound on this PC a few months ago, may try and go for that one on the laptop.

There is also my monstrous backlog; Zelda: Twilight Princess, Resident Evil 4, Jak & Daxter, Ratchet & Clank, Shadow of the Colossus, Metroid Prime 2, Kingdom Hearts... all of those need to be finished, but I never feel like playing any of them and I don't know why. Most of them feel like I have to sit down and invest too much time in them. I seem to be drifting away from the "sit down for a few hours and play something" and gravitating more towards "sit down for a few minutes and play something".

Maybe an RPG isn't such a good idea after all.