As another semester begins I continue my trek into .hack Infection and Final Fantasy VI. I expect my play times to be more infrequent so I've started writing down what I was doing and what was going on after each time I play. Hopefully these games will be wrapped up sooner rather than later.

I'm about 15 hours through .hack Infection and I'm really warming up to it. I was pretty upset with the visuals to begin with but I've moved past that and found a lot of mechanics that I enjoy. Most notably, I've never once been lost in the game. Despite the fact that you have to manage information inside The World and from your desktop, the game is paced and designed perfectly so you are always progressing if you want to. It shows some real skill in pacing and story management that I just have to stop and admire.

Another great little tidbit are the books of Ryu. These books track your in game stats, like chests open and amount of money spent. The best part is that while you increase your numbers you unlock items outside of The World like wallpapers for your desktop or menu music. It's not a huge deal but it is nice to see.

With any luck it will be a while until I hit the grind wall. So far it seems like there are enough things to pursue that it will be a non-issue.

I'm looking less favorably on Final Fantasy VI though. The game is really jarring to me story wise. I just finished Sabin's segment and now everyone is together preparing for the epic battle. At first I thought the concept of the group splitting up was interesting but the more I played it the more I disliked it. The segments difference in length felt awkward, like the developers had clear favorite characters. The other story part I don't understand is the random narration. Kappas tell you game mechanics, moogles select what segment you want to play, and then random words show up to tell you what is going on in the story. It feels clunky and takes me away from the story.

The pieces are there, I guess I can understand how this would be someones favorite entry of the series, but not for me. I enjoy the characters but everyone's favorite villain Kefka seems dumb to me. Like is...it...supposed to be a clown? Also is it pure evil or humorous? If this is someone's favorite villain let me know what the point is. Actually, explain to me why this entire game is great. Right now it is missing the mark with me.

Have a good week.

-Chemystery