Superkenon

Jason is fantastic! I've loved the guy ever since he stepped foot in the Giant Bomb office, and even loved him retroactively when I went back to check out Game Informer's stuff! I love the energy and personality he brings to the shows and podcasts he's in, and he never fails to make me laugh. Being a one-man production staff is a rough task, and I commend him for soldiering on through it!

Way to be, Jason! You're a good man, and you consistently make my day!

(Also he basically has all of the correct game tastes.)

Around 2001 or so I got involved in a StarCraft modding community, and a good dozen or so of those folks are swell dudes who I'm still close friends with to this day. We've had something of a resurgence in this last year too thanks to Discord, where we've again got a central place to all hang out and yap collectively rather than individually as we had after our old forums fizzled out. I've even made some new friends lately through random folks we've tried to bring into the fold. It's good times, and can confidently say that a lot of my best friends were made on the Internet!

It does feel like it's harder - even if not impossible - to make those kinds of connections these days though. But is that really a The Internet Has Changed thing? Or is it a No Longer Being a Kid thing? I'm inclined to believe the latter, because it's not like I'm making a lot of new IRL friends either. I'm an adult and I'm busy and kinda already doing the things I'm doing and seeing the people I see. I'm also naturally more reserved and less likely to impose my presence on someone else and seek attention, as a child most definitely would, online or offline.

Always enjoyed Ben back in his Whiskey Media intern days. Awesome to see him back in the fold, now front and center!

Welcome home, Ben!

@zombiepie:

Here's my decidedly-casual take on these suggestions:

• Spend as little time in the “Calm Lands” as possible.

Yeah, though I'd phrase it more like "spend the time you want to spend in the Calm Lands, and no more." I thought it was a neat place overall, but to me it toes this fine line between being fun to explore and jolly plain tedious. The determining factor being... I dunno, just how I happen to be feeling that day? The moon phase? Point is, I don't remember the rewards around there being "worth it." So I'd say just tour 'til you don't wanna tour no mo'. Be free to move on!!

• Get all the Jecht spheres.

It's more story stuff, so yeah. If you're using a guide as a reference, most aren't so bad to find. Of course, as a reader of this blog, I'm biased here because I'm curious to hear what you'd think of them. I want you to find them!!!

• Keep fighting Belgemine.

Only if you're going for Aeon completion, I'd say. You eventually get something from her that will help you get the last optional Aeon, but other than that, she gives you pretty decent rewards but nothing crucial. My first time through the game, I passed up on most stuff with her and didn't suffer for it.

• Learn how to use "Mix" properly.

Mix is indeed very powerful and can save your life, so yes. It can be fun to experiment with to see what does what, but if you don't wanna fuss with that, you could just look up a list of combinations. On the other hand, if you really don't like using Rikku or having her out in battle, she's still far from a necessity to use to her fullest.

• Acquire every Destruction Sphere.

Might as well, since there's not too many more sphere dungeons left (and in my opinion, the ice one is the most annoying in the game... though there is another one that's a special kind of stupid that I can't believe anyone signed off on. I think you'll know it when you see it.) Getting all the destruction sphere treasures lets you get something pretty cool.

• Obtain the optional Aeons.

Meh! Personally, I consider it worth going out of my way for Optional Aeons #1 and #2, but not #3 (the one I referenced in the Belgemine answer). Mostly because the first two are relatively simple to get at, and are cool, while the last one requires more busywork and is more of a weird cameo than anything (a cameo from a FF game you haven't covered, at that). Not that the last one's bad, but I wouldn't feel like going through the trouble myself. There might be a little bit of story pay-off for one of the side characters, I think? Maybe? Nothing that left an impression on me. Since I can't remember what it is. Hm.

• Discover where the Cactuars live.

One should always go out of their way to experience the joy of Cactuars.

• Attempt the lightning dodges ONLY if you are “in a dark place in your life.”

Yeah, fuck this shit hard.

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By the way, much props and kudos to you again for going on this voyage! I haven't commented much, but I've been reading along ever since you began this bold initiative with Final Fantasy VIII (was that two years ago now? Jeez), and each subsequent entry has had me thoroughly entertained. I super enjoy hearing your take on the games, and I'm always looking forward to the next entry! Yer doin' the Lord's work, duder!

Really appreciate that you were able to see past the rampant memery surrounding "THAT SCENE." I always thought it was a very humanizing moment for our two protags. Yuna tries to cheer Tidus up by asking him to smile and laugh, Tidus gets embarassed/realizes how silly it is, leans into it super hard, and turns the tables on Yuna to make her laugh too. This is kind of a backhanded compliment, but it feels like one of the few interactions in the game that could, like, actually happen in real life. Two people gently yet supportively ragging on each other, and having a fun goofy time.

So, I'll argue the cringiness is definitely intentional to a point. Though to be fair, the stiff animations do add an extra layer of discomfort that goes well beyond the mark they were aiming for, I think.

Unfortunate that the flak for it falls on James Arnold Taylor, who definitely performed it exactly as directed -- if you look at the japanese version of the scene, Tidus is still laughing the exact same laugh.

From the quick look I thought the point was delivered almost a little too heavy-handedly, with the guy actually talking out loud about what an untouchable big shot he was. Thanks for the exposition, doucheboat?

The situation is undoubtedly unfair for the protagonist, but his frustratingly-undeserved reputation seems to very much be the point.

i'm a game person who likes the games, and i've gone swimming before too

I named my Persona 3 protagonist Kirk Thornton, after the voice actor. Mostly just a whimsical joke, but I tried to justify it as the character being a foreigner living in Japan. Nothing in the story really conflicted with that notion, so yay!

For Persona 4 I decided to follow the rules a bit more and come up with a technically-Japanese name, and went with Kisuke Kisaragi. Kisaragi being the traditional word for February, and Kisuke being a super outdated name that has weird connotations with red-light districts. Thought the name sounded dumb enough to work.

Haven't thought about it for Persona 5 yet. Should probably go with another 'K' sound since I seem to have inadvertently done so twice already...

@chobobot: Do it. Everything in life is a learning experience, a chance to learn more about yourself, and if you can approach dating that way too, you'll be fine. You open yourself up for rejection, but it's such an opportunity to put yourself, your wants and your needs in a perspective you may never have had the chance to see before.

I never went on a single proper date before the age of 27, myself. The very notion that I might be able to meet someone seemed, to me, crazy and unrealistic. The idea of even trying, kinda scary and weird. I had no self-confidence to speak of, and it didn't take much to make me anxious about anything remotely social. But I eventually got myself over many of my hurdles, and I'm on a good track. Even got myself a nice girlfriend on the way, go figure.

My getting over anxieties and hesitations has been an ongoing step-by-step process... working myself up to getting myself out in the world more, building my character through more interactions with folks. Wish I had a real solid answer that helped me flip my switches, but it was really just a progressive series of "I'ma do this" moments that occurred when I felt ready for them. Chatting up people more than I normally would. Accepting invitations to social events when normally my anxious nervousness would turn them down. Making friends and slowly becoming more outgoing with said friends. Working up the nerve to ask a girl out. I've found myself steadily being rewarded by life as I've begun to be less passive and more proactive -- which kinda sounds like dangerous advice to give, I guess, but that's my experience. It's still important to pace yourself and really have honest conversations with yourself, "am I ready to do this? Do I want to do this?"

Therapy's a good thing too. I started seeing a therapist recently, because even though my situation in life is vastly improved from before, the anxiety I suffer is still very real and I still will get attacks with the right combination of stressers hit. But therapy has helped with that immensely, and if there's one thing I could force my younger self to do, it'd be "go see a therapist." Fear, shame, and pride on some level, kept me from ever considering it an option before. But the therapist I'm seeing, she's really helped me to understand and contextualize how and why my brain works the way it does, and given me good tools to mitigate anxious episodes. She's also done a lot to boost my confidence, managing to instill in me that there's more roads open for me than I ever allowed myself to see before, and is helping me kick my latent mental habits that keep me down. I can't recommend it enough.

Rambled a bit there. Surely not all of that story is applicable to you, but I figured I'd share in case any of it is helpful to hear.

@ralphmoustaccio: I don't think intuitive is the right word to use, because it's just as easy to get used to confirm on the right button as it is the bottom button. They're two, equally-viable standards that just happen to be competing.

Personally I've never been messed up by it. Somehow when I'm switching between Nintendo and Sony platforms, my mind needs no reminder that A is confirm for Nintendo, and X is confirm for PlayStation.

Get a goddamn Xbox controller in my hands though, and I'll press X instead of Y every time.