Wow, a post!

I haven't posted anything in quite a while, so here are my thoughts on Arc Rise Fantasia.

OK, so I'm not very far in this game, but I can give some first impressions. The graphics are pretty good for a Wii game, the music is OK (it's composed by Yasunori Mitsuda, but it's not as good as his work from Chrono Trigger or Xenogears), and the battle system is turn based but at least attempts to be different from other turn based games. So far, the story is also pretty good, but it is a little cliche. Overall, it seems pretty solid.

I do, however, have some major gripes with the game. The voiced dialog sounds completely unnatural, but not in an amusing way like Grandia. It sounds like the voice actors are all reading the script for the very first time, and that's not the worst of it. The female lead, Ryfia, is often monotone and emotionless. It also sounds like her voice actor speaks English as a second language. Now, in a way, that English as a second language thing could be a good thing. I mean, there is supposed to be a bit of a language barrier between her and the other characters... However, when you combine that with the monotone and the fact that it sounds like she's reading it for the first time, you end up with one of the most irritating characters in the gaming universe.

My other main complaint is the uneven difficulty level. Even when I fight every battle, upgrade all my equipment, and stock up on all my consumable items I still have not beaten a boss on the first attempt. And when I do win, I can't find a reasonable explanation as to why I won. For example, I died fairly quickly at the second boss during my first attempt. On my second attempt, I won fairly easily, but I hadn't changed up anything. I didn't level grind, I didn't upgrade anything, and I even used the exact same skills and spells in the same order as my first attempt. So why did I win?

Still, I am not very far in this game, and this is not a complete review. I'm hoping that as I progress my opinion will improve, but as of right now I have to recommend that only fans of JRPGs pick up this game, and even they should consider something else because there are plenty of solid JRPG choices on the DS and PSP.

Still Can't Decide... A Brief Post

I still can't decide what new game I want, or even if I want a game. I think the last set of Gurren Lagann came out, and I might buy that instead. Also, I think I should spend some more time with games that I already own... I'm still no where near close to beating Tales of Vesperia after giving it 20 hours. Also deserving of more time are BioShock and Battlefield: Bad Company. I'm a bit frustrated with both The Orange Box and Devil May Cry 4 right now, and I will never play Sega Superstars Tennis again. What a turd that game is...

I won't even get into my list of retro, Wii, and DS titles. That would be ridiculous.

A new dilemma

I have a new problem that needs solving. I want a new game, but there are too many good ones right now, and I can't afford them all. I guess that is a good kind of problem to have. Anyway, I'll make a list of games I want for each platform I own and hope for some advice. I doubt I'll get any advice here on blogger, but since this will auto upload to facebook I should get something. Anyway, here is each system and the games I want for it.

XBox 360

Star Ocean: The Last Hope
Resident Evil 5
Street Fighter 4
Infinite Undiscovery
Blue Dragon
F.E.A.R.
F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin
Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection
Call of Duty 4
Call of Duty: World at War
Fallout 3
Halo 3
Gears of War
Gears of War 2
Prince of Persia
Mass Effect
Left 4 Dead
The Last Remnant
Dead or Alive 4
Dead Space
Soulcalibur IV
Assassin's Creed
Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts
Dead Rising
Lost Odyssey
Quake 4

Wii

Mushroom Men: The Spore Wars
Castlevania Judgment
Deadly Creatures
Dead Rising: Chop Til You Drop
The House of the Dead: Overkill
MadWorld
Rune Factory: Frontier
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
Okami
Wario Land: Shake It!
de Blob
Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles
Sonic and the Secret Rings
Dragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors
NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams
Dewy's Adventure
One Piece: Unlimited Adventure

Nintendo DS

Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume
Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow
Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia
Disgaea DS
Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift
Planet Puzzle League
Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride
Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin
Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon
Bleach: The Blade of Fate
Avalon Code
Kirby Super Star Ultra
Summon Night: Twin Age
Lunar Knights
Luminous Arc
Luminous Arc 2
Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen
Dementium: The Ward
Heroes of Mana
Yoshi's Island DS
Kirby Squeak Squad


I guess that's one hell of a list... Anyway, it does not look that far into the future, and I'm sure that I forgot a few titles. I didn't consider any downloadable titles either. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Wow

It has been over a month since I posted last... That is quite a while, and I have quite a bit to say, though I doubt anyone actually reads this. Well, I have some things to say, and that's all that matters to me.

I have a bunch of XBox 360 games now, and I have actually played all of them. Here are my impressions about all my games except Tales of Vesperia, since I already did that one.

The Orange Box: I like this disc. It has a lot to offer, but I probably would have been willing to pay $20 just for Half Life 2. The rest of the games are just gravy. Portal is very interesting but I find myself frustrated more than amused by it. I haven't tried Team Fortress 2 yet. I wish I knew some other people who had it.

Devil May Cry 4: This is good, though not as good as the original. I feel like it is a bit too difficult. I am stuck at the ice toad thing. Even my buddy can't beat it, and he has beaten all 3 other games on pretty much every mode. I don't know why this one seems so hard.

Battlefield Bad Company: A very entertaining FPS, but it feels a little basic. Don't get me wrong, it's very well done, but the only thing super special about it is the humor. Great for $20.

Bioshock: This is like the 360's Metroid Prime, but with a much darker story and scary little girls. It's incredibly well done. I don't know what else to say, it's definitely something special.


Let's see, what else is going on...

I got Onslaught for WiiWare. It's an OK game. The real attraction for me is the fact that I can finally play another FPS with my brother, who only owns a Wii and a DS. We have only had Metroid Prime Hunters until now.

There are too many games that I want... I won't list them all because there are too many. I am having trouble justifying $60 for the new Star Ocean. The same goes for MadWorld and Deadly Creatures on the Wii. And while I want House of the Dead: Overkill, I refuse to pay $50 for a rail shooter.

That's all for now.