A Week of Gaming - 7-4-12 (along with some changes)
By AdzPearson 4 Comments
First of all, thanks for the response to my last blog. Thanks to ZombiePie for mentioning the blog on Twitter, too (and this week's community spotlight). I enjoyed responding to all your comments about JRPGs. I could do it all day. As a result, I'm going to make one or two permanent changes to my future entries. I'll be looking to add more stuff than just a weekly round-up. I like discussing various subjects about games, so I'll be encorpating that. I also have a new feature at the bottom of this entry...
...but first, my usual write-up.
Final Fantasy V
I've made a lot of progress this week. I'm not far from the end. Since my last blog on this, one thing has changed...I'm actually dying with some regularity now. The enemies (especially the bosses) have really turned it up a notch. While I spent most of the game feeling overlevelled, I may have some more grinding on the way. That said, two of my characters are still stupidly powerful physically. One's a master Samurai (with the 'two-handed' ability, which doubles his attacks), one's a master Monk (with time magic).
The game is beginning to provide a bit more information of where to go to advance the storyline. After my previous problems with not knowing where the hell to go, I welcomed it with open arms. Again, it's not something I'll hold against it in my final thoughts. It's an age thing.
Like most of the FF games, I really like some of the music in it. I'm a big fan of the 2nd and 3rd world map themes. I think they really capture the mood of the storyline. Nobuo is truly one of the greatest game composers.
I suspect I'll finish FFV by next week. It certainly looks doable if I'm tenacious enough. It really depends on other stuff that I'll be doing.
Other stuff
After a lot of recommendations (and my personal interest in time travel), I finally decided to take the plunge and buy Radiant Historia. I ideally would have waited a bit longer, but that would have been a bit risky. It'll probably become another Suikoden II once the reprint is gone. I bought it on eBay on Sunday and it arrived on Thursday. Very quick delivery considering the postage was 'free' and the seller is in Canada. I was surprised. However, I won't be touching it until I finish FFV. I'm so close to finishing it now, so I can't leave it. If I do that now, I fear I may never get back to it.
After PixelPrinny's tip-off for Arc The Lad being on PSN, I had a little look at the other PS1 games on offer. I was pleasantly surprised to find Vagrant Story and Front Mission 3 on there (and for cheap, too). I've had my sights on Vagrant Story in the past, but Sparky_Buzzsaw's blog about it made me even more curious...
As for Front Mission 3, it's a game I've played before. Some friends and I spent a couple of weeks playing through one of the storylines. We were in a student house together and we played a bunch of old games until we had the Internet installed. We completed it by taking turns. I really enjoyed the game. Seeing how stupidly cheap it is on PSN (£2.79, I believe), I'll probably pick it up and play through the other storyline one day.
I liked what I saw in the Xenoblade Chronicles quick look. It's been out in Europe for a while, but it's the first footage I've seen of it. I think it definitely merits a purchase from me at some point. Nice to see more British voice acting, too (even if it is the usual Cockney accents. What about some Scouse, liiike? Or some south-west accents. Ooh arr.). However, I may very well be one of the people that can't play it due to the dual-layer disc. My Wii is a launch unit, so I'm guessing that'll be the case (although I'm not sure that's how it works). Either way, it'll be a while before I buy it. Plenty of games ahead of it at the moment.
...also...The Human League...in Lollipop Chainsaw? REALLY?! 8D I was going to buy the game anyway, but wow...just wow.
Without further ado, here is my new feature...
Video Game Music Corner
From now on, I shall be posting up three music tracks from games each week. I thought it would be nice to share some game music that I love. I have a lot of favourites and I'm finding new ones all the time, so there's no danger of me running out of stuff in the foreseeable future. I'll be mentioning music from all kinds of game genres (not just RPGs, I promise).
Next week, I'll probably have a banner for it. I whipped up something basic for this week, but I'm not happy with its quality. I'm not a photoshop wizard, but I think I can do a bit better than my previous attempt.
Ridge Racer Type 4 - Lucid Rhythms
Ridge Racer Type 4 was one of the games bundled with the PS1 when my family got one. This is, without a doubt, my favourite track from the game. I love being in a car while chillout music is playing. It especially works well while driving inside the tunnel of the circuit this track is tied to.
...also, I'll never forget the day my parents played against each other. The race went on for ages due to their complete inability to avoid the walls. They were even driving backwards at one stage. My siblings and I were amused for a while. My dad was a gamer, but he played games on the PC. As for my mum...she's never been into technology full stop.
Chrono Trigger - Corridors of Time
This probably won't be the last time a Chrono Trigger track appears on the list. That game is full of memorable tracks. I've chosen this one in particular because it's my personal favourite from the game. I think it suits the mysterious aura of the time period it appears in. I really wish I could discuss it more, but I respect that some people may not have played it.
R-Type Delta - Crazy Machine
Continuing with the PS1 theme from the first track, R-Type Delta was another game that came with my family's console. I may not have ever played it had it not came with system, but I'm really glad it did. Despite not being a huge shooter fan, I enjoyed playing R-Type Delta. The game also had a nice soundtrack. If I had to choose one, it would have to be the track in the first level. It's the one I think of straight away whenever R-Type Delta gets mentioned (which isn't often, I'll admit).
That's all for this week. Next week's entry may have a round-up for FFV and some opening thoughts for Radiant Historia (if all goes well). That and anything else that springs up during the week.