Paper Mario - Retrospective

Many people consider Paper Mario to be the sequel to SNES masterpiece Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. The game was developed by RPG juggernaut Squaresoft, so not only is Mario RPG touted as one of the best SNES RPGs ever, but also one of the best Mario games ever. Paper Mario was Nintendo's attempt to build upon the established Mario RPG format. Without Squaresoft's hand in the development, the core gameplay and feel of the game is very much altered from its predecessor. This doesn't make the game bad; just different.

Paper Mario picks up the torch by using the same revolutionary attack system SMRPG introduced: Timed Hits. By pressing the attack button at the right time, you could increase the strength of your attack, or decrease the amount of damage you took from enemies. This seemingly simple idea was nearly unheard of in 1996, but it makes combat a much more active experience. Instead of simply inputting your commands and waiting for a minute or so for the actual battle to play out until you get another turn, you had to actually provide additional input as the combat ensued. This kind of system rewards the player just for paying attention to the game they're playing.

Unlike SMRPG, Paper Mario is a much shallower game, both in complexity and story. This makes Paper Mario an easier game to comprehend, but leaves a lot to be desired for players who loved the depth of SMRPG. The story revolves primarily around Mario, with only passing footnotes on his 8 companions. Paper Mario is very linear, especially by other RPG standards, which makes story progression easy and straightforward, but also painfully predictable. As you might have gathered from my previous posts, I was practically able to tell you the whole story before I was even a few hours into the game.

Paper Mario is not without its charm, though. The Action Attack system is more versatile and easier to use than in SMRPG, and the Badge system lets you customize Mario's abilities to match your play style. Additionally, the characters and story scenarios range from dryly comedic to hilariously memorable. It also marks the first time, to my knowledge, the word "murder" is actually used in a Mario game.

Paper Mario is a fun and satisfying romp, but gamers looking for a hardcore 100+ hour RPG will have to look elsewhere. Paper Mario is likely intended as an introductory RPG, similar to Quest 64 or Final Fantasy Mystic Quest. It gets gamers interested in core RPG mechanics like HP, magic, and experience points without making it an overwhelming situation. This makes the game an excellent gift for RPG fanatics trying to get their friends or family into RPGs, but series like Final Fantasy or Tales are too complex.

Paper Mario is available on the Wii Virtual Console for 1000 Wii Points.

The Good

• Memorable characters and dialogue
• Princess Peach sub-missions add a break to the more action-oriented Mario gameplay

The Bad

• Formulaic and predictable story
• Too short for the player to really get time to appreciate the interesting characters
• Too easy for any experienced player to find challenge.

Defining Moment

• Mario being accused of murder
• Guessing correctly that the final Star Power attack would be called "Star Beam"

Burning Question

• Does "The game was fun and all, but seriously Square. Give us back Geno and Mallow!" count as a question?

Progress for December 16, 2008 - Paper Mario - COMPLETED!

And once again, Bowser goes down! The fight was satisfyingly challenging, but not overly difficult. The only thing that got tedious was that every time he charged up his star power, I just used Star Beam and removed it. This happens every 4 turns, and Bowser can't be hurt while he's using the Star Power, so the only possible way to continue the battle is to use Star Beam. And since Star Beam costs absolutely nothing to cast, and its only purpose is to eliminate Bowser's Star Power, there's no reason to wait or use it any time other than immedately after he powers up, making it both repetitive and ultimately pointless.

I was impressed with how expansive Bowser's castle was. It doesn't disappoint as a final dungeon; It's about 3 times as long as any other dungeon in the game and the enemies are certainly not pushovers. Dry Bones are the most annoying enemies in the game.

Final Stats
Play Time- Just about 31 hours (There's no way to see the final time, so I just estimated up from the last save file)
Level: 25
HP: 50
FP: 40
BP: 30
Coins Collected: 3878
Badges Collected:54/80
69/160
Tayce T.'s recipes: 1/50 (I didn't even bother at all with this subquest.)
Quizmo's Quizzes: 5/6
Battles: 511

I don't think I'll be going for 100%. It seems pointless, unless someone can give me a good reason to.

Progress for December 14, 2008 - Paper Mario

Thus begins the final countdown. One more star to find, then the inevitable Bowser battle. Will I try for 100% completion? It's entirely possible. But we'll cross that hurdle when we come to it.

Time: 23:33
Level 18
Coins: 9 (I bought a lot of stuff from the arms dealer in the sewer)
HP: 35
FP: 20
BP: 30
Star Spirits: 6
Star Pieces: 3 (I also bought a bunch of badges from Merlow

Progress for December 11, 2008 - Paper Mario

This game is just going by faster and faster, isn't it? I already have 5 of the 7 stars and I'm halfway (I assume) through getting the 6th.
I've maxed out my BP at 30, so now I have to actually put some thought into what skills I boost. But since I have 2 of each HP Boost and FP Boost badges, I can further customize my characters based on which bosses I'll be going up against. Not that the game really merits a great deal of strategy. It's a rather easy game overall. I should be able to finish by the weekend.

Time: 21:00
Level 17
Coins: 209
HP: 30
FP: 20
BP: 30
Star Spirits: 5
Star Pieces: 41

Progress for December 10, 2008 - Paper Mario

Up.... too.... late. Registering.... internet domain names. Creating.... website content.... for friends. Having trouble..... staying awakr.
Saved 2 more Star Spirits...... 3 more to go.
4. Itchy. Tasty.

Time: 15:57
Level 14
Coins: 382
HP: 25
FP: 15
BP: 27
Star Spirits: 4
Star Pieces: 26

Progress for December 9, 2008 - Paper Mario

Another day, another star spirit. Paper Mario seems to be pretty linear thus far, but I am enjoying the numerous side-missions that become available as you unlock new weapons and information. I also like how they use the Princess Peach stealth levels to break up the gameplay a bit and bring the player into the psyche of exactly what's going on while Bowser has the Princess captive. Not many of the other Mario games do that.

Time: 9:16
Level 10
Coins: 728
HP: 25
FP: 15
BP: 21
Star Spirits: 2

Progress for December 8, 2008 - Paper Mario

The journey begins anew! The last time I tried to play this game, after about 8 hours in, the A button stopped working due to all the pressure and sharp presses that a game like this requires. All the action prompts have wreaked havoc with its ability to snap back to its un-pressed position. A shame since the controller itself is really nice otherwise.

Paper Mario starts out, like every other Mario game ever made in the history of mankind, with Bowser a being jerk and trying to take over the world and the only person who can stop him is Mario. Not exactly Pulitzer material, but there you go.
I like the way the game handles levels and skill growth. Rather than give you a random increase of each skill at each level, the game lets the player choose a flat increase of their Health, Magic, or Ability points.

I'm about 5 hours in. I've gained 3 party members and rescued 1 of the 7 stars needed. Why the hell do mario RPGs always need you to find 7 stars? Oh well.

Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords - Retrospective

I LOVE THIS GAME!

I was first introduced to Puzzle Quest a year ago during my time working on The Spiderwick Chronicles at Vivendi Games. Some of us would play it on the testing consoles during lunch and breaks. I'd never seen anything like it before, but I was intrigued. I got the game as soon as I could spare the money from my paycheck.

Puzzle Quest is amazingly addictive, just like its forefather Bejeweled, but Puzzle Quest takes it to the next level and adds an amazing level of strategy to the game. The game really shines when you're low on life, planning every move several turns in advance, trying to prevent your opponent from matching those last few skulls it needs to kill you while simultaneously trying to gain enough mana to turn the tables.

Puzzle Quest is also a blast to play against friends. Unlike Pokemon, you can scale yourself to the level of your opponent, making combat less of a math problem and more of a fair measure of skill and strategy. My only regret is getting the DS version, which has no online play capabilities save for wi-fi battles against people in the same room as you. If I want to play against my friends from the comfort of my own home, I'm going to have to install the PC version and play through the game all over again. Not that that would be a bad thing.

Puzzle Quest is probably one of the most enjoyable games I've played in a long time. But it relies critically upon the backbone of the core bejeweled-like gameplay. If for some reason you can't stand match-3 puzzle games or RPGs, there's a chance you won't like Puzzle Quest. But for the rest of you who want something addictive that you can play for 10 minutes or 5 hours, Puzzle Quest is an absolute must own for any system you have.

The Good:

• Amazingly addictive core match-3 puzzle gameplay.
• Multiple classes and spells add high replay value even after completing the game.
• Monster capture, spell research, and item forging puzzles add fun modifications to the main gameplay paradigm.
• Memorable characters and dialog make the story worth continuing.

The Bad:

• Level cap of 50 is too easy to reach before the end of the game, but experience uselessly continues to increase. Why not a more logical cap of 99 or 100?
• If you set up your skills and equipment correctly, the enemies offer no challenge to completely annihilate. Not even the final boss is much of a challenge.

Defining Moment:

• Buying the game for my mom, and discovering that she plays it even more than I do.

Burning Question:

• Why the $#@^! is there an entire western continent that you never explore? What's the point?

Progress for November 29, 2008 - Puzzle Quest - COMPLETED!

This ending really caught me off guard. I had sensed that the game was reaching a climax when they spoke of Lord Bane, the God of Death, and I was hoping I was reaching an end point; I was starting to think the game was unbalanced since I'd already reached the level cap a considerable time before the end. If it didn't end here, I would have been really peeved.

Lord Bane does not disappoint as a final boss. He forced me to completely change my combat strategy. I decided to give up trying to use my spells and went purely for physical damage. I spent the last 20,000 gold on boosting my battle skill to level 66 and focused on matching skulls more than anything else. I only used Deathbringer when I could afford to miss a turn; Lord Bane's resistances were 20% in all areas. But I killed him in only the second attempt, which I owe mostly to my absurdly high battle skill.

Anywho. Expect a retrospective soon. Ta ta!

I am not alone

Apparently backlog syndrome is not a practice reserved for myself. Many other gamers come across the same problem, so much so that Tom Endo of The Escapist has written an article on the matter analyzing the current state of the gaming industry. What do you think? Do games these days defy you to finish them as part of a flaw in their own design? Let me know.

To Do: Finish Any Game

Progress for November 19, 2008 - Puzzle Quest

Deathbringer is fucking amazing! I've been able to deal upwards of 250 damage over the course of two attacks as long as I get my mana high enough. Some battles don't take longer than a few minutes. The only problem is if I run into an enemy with a high fire resistance I need to fight them the old-fashioned way.

I've also been using Sense Blood a lot. It's an excellent way to get an obscene amount of EXP in a couple of battles. I rushed through the 40's like nothing; I'm at level 49 now and only 3000 EXP away from the level cap of 50.

I expect my strategies will start to change when I reach the cap. I'll be more focused on gaining gold in order to build my skills at my citadel than gaining experience in the battles.

In fact, I think I'll start doing that now. one level won't make that much of a difference.

Besides, I'm still about 10 hours further in the game than my mom.

Progress for November 9, 2008 - Puzzle Quest

I have a competitor. You'll never guess who.

My mom.

I got her the PC version for her birthday, and she is completely addicted. She's only a few quests behind me. I beat Gruulkar about 4 tonight, and my mom just went up against him at about 8.
I'm still at a lower level than her, only 34. She's maxed out at level 50 already. So I suppose it's an accomplishment that I've gotten further than her at a lower level, but it's still a little embarassing. I can't even compete against her head-to-head since we're on different platforms, so the only real way I can dominate her is to beat the game before she does.

Still Alive...and Dead

You're probably wondering why I haven't posted anything in the last month. Have I not been playing any games? There is one game I've been playing for about 6 hours a day every day: Webcardz. But this doesn't really count because it's actually my job. For the last 2 and a half months, I've been doing QC Testing for SnapTV Games. While I do enjoy the money it provides, it's been wreaking havoc on the time I have for games.


Even though it's not on my list, you can expect a video review once I beat it.

xkcd rips off 53games!

A person with humorous observations on life?
A stack of games being played one after another?
depriving oneself of a new game until they're finished?
It's like looking into a mirror!
(53games does not condone absurd claims of theft that are baseless. 53games does condone the castration of people who don't understand sarcasm when they read it. Check out www.xkcd.com)

Progress for September 15-20, 2008 - Puzzle Quest

Sort of a meta-update all crammed into one week. I haven't been able to play much Bully with stuff like work interfering, so I've been playing a lot of Puzzle Quest on the bus. I have no idea how far I am from the end of the game, but it looks like I still have a LOT of map to cover. My warrior, Sadonyia, is at level 29. I've been pretty much spamming her red mana affinity the entire game and just spending my extra gold to boost the rest of the skills (it costs just as much to raise any skill from level 0-10 in gold, but experience can cost up to 3 times as much to raise it the same amount. It just seems economical to me.)

Mostly I've just been grinding for gold and runes, as well as spells from captured creatures. I like capturing creatures.

Oh yeah. I spent 3 hours on wednesday night trying to learn Call the Horde. I can count about 5 times when got within 15 gems of the goal totals before there were no moves available. I know randomness is what makes a puzzle game worth playing multiple times, but FUCK!

Progress for September 14, 2008 - Bully

Alright, well, there's not too much to report. I've been playing some minigames, doing a few story missions, odd jobs, etc. Bully doesn't really translate well from a storytelling standpoint.

But if you MUST now.
Pinky is a total overbearing bitch. She's comes from a long line of in-bred preppy socialites who want to keep their money in the family.. at the expense of their own genes. Her family wants her to date and marry her first cousin (which is apparently legal in that jurisdiction) but since he showed up more than 3 minutes late to their date, she wants nothing to do with him anymore.

Whatever writers they got for this game weren't afraid to break every taboo in the book with wanton disregard for tact and decency. It's a thing of comedic beauty.

Complete: 28.61%

Progress for September 10, 2008 - Bully

Been pretty busy with work, so trying to stay on a competent sleep schedule has sort of eaten into my gaming time. I only got about an hour in today.

Passed Gym.. so that's one more class I can stop going to. I'm tempted to just pass all of the classes so I'll have nothing keeping me from doing all the missions back to back, and I'll have all the power ups as well.

Complete: 22.71%

Progress for September 6, 2008 - Bully

Alright, now we're talking! The game is really starting to open up now. I've passed 3 of my classes (English, Chemistry, and Biology) so every so often I'll get free periods when I won't have to stop my missions and haul ass back to school and I WON'T get cited for truancy.

I can really see myself 100%ing this game, including all of the little "x out of 100" missions like the G&G cards and rubber bands, now that I have them mapped out.

I'm actually shocked and a little pissed off that art class is giving me so much trouble. It's essentially Qix, and I've been kicking ass at that game since the 5th grade. I've failed level 2 twice simply because the game doesn't have the common sense to make the collision boxes the same size as the sprites. Seriously, wtf Rockstar?

Completed: 21.16%

Progress for September 2, 2008 - Bully

Nothing much to say today. Expect videos more often now that I'm playing a console game and thus am able to capture footage easier than on the DS.

"Hattrick vs. Galloway"


"Prep Challenge"


Completed: 16%

Progress for September 1, 2008 - Bully

A new month, a new game. I'd heard a lot about Bully even before it came out on the PS2. Apparently parent groups wanted the game banned based purely on what they THOUGHT the subject matter involved. Then they played the game. The term "foot-in-mouth disease" comes to mind.

So far, Bully seems like it is to GTA what Small Brawl is to the Twisted Metal series. The game feels very similar to GTA in the mission format, map appearance, and even the types of objectives you need to complete, except scaled down to take place in a school instead of a city. I'm enjoying the cathartic motion-controlled melee system, although I was slightly disappointed there wasn't an option to swap the Wii remote and nunchuk left/right orientation.
But then, I was also disappointed when Link in Twilight Princess for the Wii suddenly became right handed. I guess other game designers don't care about laterality as much as I do.

I'm only slightly more than 5% through the game, according to the in-game tally, so I have a considerable ways to go.

Metroid Prime Hunters - Retrospective

The Metroid series has always been one of my favorites from the gaming universe. I'd heard a lot about the game from friends, and even though it was a launch title for the DS, I never got around to playing it until just this month.

Overall, I found the game enjoyable, but it lacked the level of polish that the other Prime games have. While some of this can be attributed to the smaller screen and lack of processing power on the DS, the rest is actually a fundamental flaw with the game itself.

There are a total of 3 bosses in the entire game, 2 of which you fight 4 times apiece. While the bosses change slightly each time in order to seem harder, the learning curve built into the game doesn't adapt as fast as the player; Every version of the boss is actually slightly easier than the one before it.

I admit I'm not the greatest gamer in the world, especially when it comes to FPS games. Even so, I didn't run into any points in this game where I simply could not continue due to difficulty. On the one hand, this was helpful in keeping me interested in the game, but I can't help feel like better players will end up getting bored quickly.

But no reviewer worth his salt will talk about Metroid Prime Hunters without mentioning the multiplayer. This is where the game truly shines. Some would say it's the only reason to actually own the game. In a way, I'd compare it to Super Smash Bros: Single player is fun for a while, but multiplayer is fun forever. But as a primarily solo player, I can't help but think the game would benefit from being able to play as the other 6 hunters in the regular story mode.

The Good:

• Shockingly good graphics and online gameplay for a handheld title, especially an early generation DS title.
• 6 new bounty hunters vastly expand the game universe.

The Bad:

• No way to play as the other 6 hunters outside of multiplayer.
• Controlling the game on a DS Lite results in cramps in the left hand after only a few minutes of intense combat.

Defining Moment:

• Finding out I beat Slench 4 before Slench 3, and discovering that it was actually far easier than Slench 3.

Burning Questions:

• So, the great power in the Alimbic cluster was just a big powerful monster that killed everyone?
• Why doesn't Nintendo make a sequel to this game for the Wii with online play? It could easily be their answer to Halo. They could have multiple story lines for each of the 7 hunters, essentially septupling the single player mode's life.

Progress for August 28, 2008 - Metroid Prime Hunters - COMPLETED!

Well, this was unexpected. I beat it! Even after my last post, I got bored while watching TV and decided to pick up my DS and make some more progress. I didn't expect to go all the way to the end, or even to defeat Gorea on only my second attempt.

I had a prediction what kind of battle I'd be up against after reading the scanned information from the Alimbic Phantoms or whatever they're called. A large creature that changes color and powers depending on its vulnerability. Gee, how original! I've never seen that in a game before! (other than Mega Man, Metroid Prime, Kirby 64, Final Fantasy IV DS, Super Mario RPG...)

As with last time, I'll be posting my retrospective tomorrow. G'night everybody!

Progress for August 28, 2008 - Metroid Prime Hunters

Now the endgame begins. I have 7 of the 8 octoliths, and 2 of the 3 cube thingies to get the last one.
I just wish I could remember which level I found those 2 on. At least there are only 4 of them; not too many I have to check. I'm a little curious what the last Slench will look like; the third one was actually considerably easier than the first 2 simply because of his easier to avoid movement pattern.

I expect I'll be done with this game by the end of the week. Any suggestions for the next game? I want to do something console-based so I can use my pinnacle capture device to record game footage and get more people interested in my blog. Gaming videos are really popular on youtube.

Complete: 61%
Octoliths: 87%

Progress for August 27, 2008 - Metroid Prime Hunters

Trace headbutted me out of the map!

Now, I've worked in QA, and I realize that it's impossible to get all of the bugs out of a game. So this caught me more off guard than anything else. I fell into the abyss and hit the failsafe built into most 3D games: death. What really surprised me was the announcement that the hunter had taken an octolith. I'd never died to another hunter before (I didn't die this time, technically) but I didn't want to do whatever I assumed I'd have to do to get it back, so I just quit without saving.

Anywho, I'm up to 5 octoliths. I almost died when trying to escape Alinos after claiming the fifth octolith (Trace held me up here as well) I made it to the ship with 1.03 seconds remaining. This leads me into my next complaint.

Now, I understand the need for the doors to hide loading times, but this should NEVER be at the cost of gameplay. I just don't understand why they have to have TWO between every room. It takes a billion years to get through them.

I don't know why we, as gamers, have decided to simply put up with this. The NES had a 1 mhz processor, and there were never any obtrusive loading times. Books don't load. TV shows don't load. DVD movies don't load between chapters. Why have we allowed games like this to tease us for 20 seconds at a time?

Complete: 54%
Octoliths: 62%

Who the fuck cheats at Tetris?

simplekid, that's who. I was playing against him in standard mode and every single piece he got was a straight I block. Needless to say I didn't bother with a rematch. Bastard. I really wish there were a way to report abuse from random worldwide wifi battles, but all I got was his display name.

Progress for August 24, 2008 - Metroid Prime Hunters

Instant death puzzles have no place in a Metroid game. Acid pools, 300-foot falls that make you have to climb all the way up again, deadly spike plants, these are all standard Metroid fare.

Instant death puzzles are not.

Anywho... I'm stuck now. I've been to all four planets/space stations and collected the 4 octoliths there. I'll keep exploring; there's probably something I missed, but I was expecting something a bit more climactic for the halfway point.

Complete 46%
Octoliths 50%

Nobody cares

Nobody really cares, but I haven't been playing Hunters much lately. I've been addicted to Tetris DS online play since I got my wi-fi working. I've got a solid 5800 score right now, still trying to break 6000.

If you want to play against me, my number is 700-964-917-235

Progress for August 21, 2008 - Metroid Prime Hunters

Magmaul get!

I've started to have to backtrack to several other planets now before finding where I'm supposed to go. I'm not even sure I'm doing things in the right order, or if there even is a correct order this time; although if more open gameplay is what the developers are going for, it's probably something revolutionary for the Metroid series.

You know what I'm talking about.

Complete: 39%
Octoliths: 25%

Progress for August 19, 2008 - Metroid Prime Hunters

Nothing much to report, other than I expect the game will open up considerably very soon. I just got the Battlehammer, so all of the green doors are accessible to me now. I also fought Sylux, so that leaves only Noxus and Trace to run into now.

On a side note, I love the names and designs of the other hunters. They all seem plausible and just as unique as Samus herself, giving a good cross-section of backgrounds and abilities and a feeling that Samus really isn't alone in the search for the great power. The developers could probably have gotten away with just creating 6 variations of Samus' power suit with different color schemes and called them the new hunters, but they went above and beyond. Kudos to you, Retro Studios. Kudos.

Complete: 29%
Octoliths: 25%

Progress for August 18, 2008 - Metroid Prime Hunters

New game - Start!

So far, the game is pretty straightforward. Enter planet, navigate a small maze, fight a hunter, fight the boss for the octolith, beat a hasty retreat before the planet explodes, (I'm assuming that's what'll happen. I haven't run out of time yet.) I've already come across Kanden, Spire, and Weavel, having visited 2 planets so far. I would have preferred very much a control scheme closer to Metroid Prime, but without an analog stick, that's not going to happen. I suppose the stylus works alright, but it makes my left hand numb after playing for a while.

Complete: 19%
Octoliths: 25%

Final Fantasy IV - Retrospective

Final Fantasy II was one of my favorite games for the SNES. I never beat it as a kid; Not until years later when I played the translated Famicom version on an emulator. Final Fantasy IV is a classic-era RPG in all respects: Travel through dungeons, visit towns, fight monsters to gain levels, rinse, repeat. There isn't any chocobo racing, no monster breeding programs, city development simulators, or card battle minigames; Just pure RPG goodness from start to finish.

I already HAVE racing games and card battle games for my DS; I don't want to have to master an entire new game mechanic just to find some special items. This is how Final Fantasy VI shines compared to so-called modern RPGs. There is nothing extraneous to take away from the simple joy of watching your characters grow from weak young adventurers afraid of floating eyes to nigh-godly heroes that can dispatch 25-foot-tall killer robots with ease.

If you're used to RPGs with lots of go anywhere/do anything wide-open gameplay, there is a good chance you will find Final Fantasy 4 very limiting. But for the rest of you who are just looking for an excellent story perfectly told, (With freaking amazing music) Final Fantasy IV may be the answer.

The Good:

• New updated 3D graphics, cutscenes, animations, and voice acting (Edge sounds exactly like he should.)
• Improved translations, especially over the original North American Final Fantasy II release (Edward is still a spoony bard.)
• New game mechanics add replay value and emergent gameplay to the standard game. (The mapping tool, while a cheap game-lengthening device, is still a satisfying way to get free items.)

The Bad:

• Some of the new features seem tacked on and too time-consuming to be useful (I summoned Whyt a grand total of once during the entire game)
• The opening montage of cutscenes, while impressive, is unrepresentative of the actual in-game graphics, and even the in-game cutscenes. (Cocktease!)
• Almost NO new areas to explore. (There's an entire second moon out there.. Optional super-hard dungeon, anyone?)

Defining moments:

• Being able to play as Golbez, (albiet as a child) and learning just how the schism between he and Cecil came to be.
• Learning I'd been pronouncing FuSoYa wrong all these years.

Burning questions:

• What exactly DOES Yang do inside the Tower of Bab-Il control room to stop the cannons?
• Anybody else want to see Rydia and Edge get together? They make such a better couple than Cloud and Aeris. At least they're both, you know, alive.

Progress for August 18, 2008 - FF IV - COMPLETED!

You know, Zeromus is not that hard when your weakest party member is level 92.

Allow me to set the scene for you:

The first time I faced Zeromus, I was on a plane for a 4 hour flight between Atlanta and Los Angeles. I didn't beat him then. I spent the next few days recuperating and relaxing (hence the gap between the last posts) before I finally decided to finish up the game. I spent a good 2 hours just leveling up in the crystal pre-core area before Zemus's lair. Once Cecil hit level 99, I headed out of the cave and finished up some sidequests. Once I had the Safe Travel augment, I knew it was time to finish up.

I started off by berzerking Edge, having Rydia start casting with her Stardust Rod, and having Kain jump before I had Cecil use the crystal. This gave me a good 25,000 damage right off the bat. I continued to jump with Kain, attack with Cecil, and Edge, and cast Stardust with Rydia. when I didn't need her to heal, I had Rosa cast Holy. I was consistenly dealing 9999 damage with everyone, but Zeromus wasn't going to go down that easily. He took out Cecil with a combination of Whirl and Flare, and everyone else went down after a combo of Big Bang and Meteor. Only Kain was left alive, BARELY.

I was sure it was over; I knew I'd have to try again. I had Kain jump again and waited as the battle ran its course. With nobody for Zeromus to attack, we both just sat there and waited for Kain to come down...

CRASH!
9999
*pause*
*flash*
*crackle*
*rumbling as Zeromus dissolves below the battlefield*

Take that, forces of darkness!


I'll post a full review of FF4 tomorrow, including a short retrospective of my experiences with it.

Progress for August 13, 2008 - FF IV

I'm finally back in town. My flight from Atlanta to LAX took about 4 hours, which gave me plenty of time to make it through the final dungeon all the way to Zeromus. He looks... unimpressive to say the least, compared to his appearance as a sprite in the original. I did fairly well against him, but I just hit a stretch of bad luck when Rosa kept dying to Big Bang, leaving her unable to revive the others. Death ensued soon after. I'll try again later (I have to, don't I?) I just have to focus on sleeping to help fend off my cold. Not looking forward to watching that 10 minute cutscene again, but thems the breaks.

Progress for August 10, 2008 - FF IV

The final dungeon is really pissing me off. I've now started my FOURTH attempt at clearing the path to Zemus, every time met with an unnecessary restart.

First time: DS battery died in standby mode.
Second time: Ambushed by a pair of blue dragons (Which I've normally been able to beat rather consistently in the past) who refused to do ANYTHING other than cast Icestorm over and over and over again.
Third time: Ambushed by a single red dragon who kept casting Solar Rays. Son of a bitch.

I'm not messing around this time. This dungeon will pay!

Death in the Family

Today we mourn the loss of one of the greats. My beloved laptop, Wyvern, is dead. It suffered a head crash during a fight with Ghadie Rashal, the boss of Arabia in the emulated NES game 8 Eyes. It went blue screen almost instantly; it did not suffer. The hard drive could not be saved. I lost everything since the last backup. He is survived by his big brother, Tiamat.

I will finish Final Fantasy IV soon. I just need a few days to grieve.

Progress for July 30, 2008 - FF IV

Whoever designed the encounter table for the Lair of the Father is a sadistic asshole. Dark Sages are ungodly powerful, and have an insanely high attack speed, and Moonmaidens are just evil bitches. They're not even worth fighting, since they give you CRAP experience.
Someone please find this guy and throw a brick through his window. Then while he's focusing on fixing that one, break all the others.

(53games does not promote or condone the use of violence against any people who are not polygonal.)

Lego FFIV DS Grinding Machine

After spending half an hour grinding for the four special monster summons for Rydia, I decided there had to be an easier way.

Progress for July 27, 2008 - FF IV

One small step for a Paladin, one giant leap for a Dragoon.

Yep, I've made it to the moon. I finished almost all of the subquests in the game (at least the ones that are in the original) I just need to pick up my Excalibur from Kokkol, and find a pink tail to get my adamant armor. I am not looking forward to that grind, but there's no way around it.

If I remember correctly, the Siren item summons the rarest enemy encounter to occur. In this case, it will be the pink puffs in the lunar subterrane. I have 5 of them.. so I guess I'll summon them 5 times, hope to get it, and if I don't, reload the game.

(For those of you who don't know what the hell I'm talking about, Pink Puffs are an enemy that only appears 1 out of every 64 encounters, and only drops a Pink Tail one out of every 64 of those encounters, making the odds of getting the item 1 in 4,096 normal encounters. Suffice it to say, it's damn rare. However, the item you can trade it for is the most powerful armor in the game, so it can be worth it.)


Tomorrow, I tackle the moon and the giant. Possibly complete the game.

Progress for July 25-26, 2008 - FF IV

No update yesterday. But who cares; nobody's reading this anyway.
I did the underground, the tower of Bab-il, Eblan, and the tower again, as well as the sylvan cave, and the Cave of the Eidolons (Land of summoned Monsters in the original. I got my rat tail and Asura, So now I just need to get Leviathan before I tackle the sealed cave.

Oh yeah, I managed to get some rainbow pudding for Cheatingway. Now if only I could find him again to get my reward, or whatever you get for it.

Cecil: Lv 60
Kain: Lv 59
Edge: Lv 46
Rydia: Lv 52
Rosa: Lv 57
Total Gil: 141,628
Playtime: 31:02

Progress for July 24, 2008 - FF IV

I spent a good hour leveling up in the Eblan region before going to the Tower of Zot. my level 36+ characters made short work of any monsters I ran into there. But when I got Kain and Rosa, they were only at level 30 :( so now I'm back in the Eblan region leveling them up to at least level 40 before I head underground.

I'm not leveling Cid, though; He's staying dead in the back row. I'm going to lose him for good as soon as I go down the hole, so I don't have any reason to keep leveling him up.

Stats:
Cecil: Lv 42
Kain: Lv 36
Yang: Lv 40
Rosa: Lv 32
Cid: Lv 37
Total Gil: 36905
Playtime: 16:29

Progress for July 23, 2008 - FF IV

I'm about ready to head into the Tower of Zot. Eblan is just as hard as I remember it, if not more so. I almost died in every single battle with the treasure monsters. What sadistic bastard programmed those things? Crimeny.

Progress for July 22, 2008 - FF IV

This game freaking rocks!
I loved the original, but now with full 3D characters and pre-rendered cutscenes, as well as the top notch voice acting, it just pushes it over the line from sweet to fucking awesome!
One major difference in the gameplay from the original is the higher amount of level grinding you need early on in the game. In the original for the SNES, you could blow through the beginning all the way to antlion's nest without having to stop. In the DS version, I had to grind for like 8 levels outside of Kaipo to ensure Rydia wasn't getting her ass handed to her at the start of every battle.

As for the scene in Damcyan, Tellah still calls Edward a "spoony bard.

Right now, I'm at the base of Mt. Ordeals, and I'm planning to continue through the night until I pass out. Then I'll get some sleep, wake up, and play some more. Yay!

A special announcement

That is all.

Progress for July 20, 2008 - Hotel Dusk

No update yesterday? Crimeny, can't a guy take a break?! I watched a bunch of movies; the full Saw series, King Kong, and Batman Begins over the last 2 days. Didn't have much time for games.

But, I got to the end of chapter 2. The plot continues to thicken, and the interrogations become more heated.. I've pissed off Dunning a lot in my curiosity and keep having to reload the game. Uptight bastard.

Progress for July 18, 2008 - Hotel Dusk

Now we're in business! Ghosts, rooms that grant wishes, mute girls living with hot cleaning ladies. Crowbars. I got my first game over; I didn't even know it was possible in this kind of game, but I guess it is. Dunning caught me lifting up his filing cabinet to get the note out from under it.
Luckily I'd saved right after I entered the room. Time to try again!

Progress for July 17, 2008 - Hotel Dusk

I started a new game for, I suppose the third time. But this time I actually played the game and read the story. I solved Melissa's puzzle, and I just now interrogated the bellhop about his past. So far, I'm stuck trying to pick the lock of the suitcase. I'm hoping there's a bolt-cutter in the packages I can use to "borrow" the coat hanger from the corner of the room.

Progress for July 16, 2008 - Diablo II

I finally killed that bastard Duriel. Barbarians, Necromancers, Amazons, whatever I threw at him in the past, he annihilated. But he was no match for my Assassin. I had her dual-weilding socketed Cestuses with Perfect Emeralds and Perfect Skulls in them, treating me to a large amount of refilled Health and Mana whenever I attack. Also, I used her Python Strike with reckless abandon to continually refill my meters. Despite this, he cost me three full rejuvenation potions. Oh well. That's what they're for.

Progress for July 15, 2008 - Diablo II

I played a few hours of Diablo II. My Assassin, Krensalia, finished assembling the Horadric Staff and accessed the Arcane Sanctuary waypoint.

Inventory management is beginning to be a bitch. I have so many charms, It's impossible to hold them all and have any room left for any spoils of war. I need to decide which to get rid of. And soon.

Fifty-Three Games

Over the years, I have developed a large backlog of games that I own, but for one reason or another, have never beaten. Some of these are games that I started playing and got bored with, or simply lost interest.
However, I have always been taught to waste not/want not. So until I beat these 53 games, I will not purchase another system. It is helpful that there is nothing spectacular planned for release over the next few months, but I need a project to keep me motivated. So that is where you, the reader, come in. I will post videos and progress reports as I play, and I want my readers to keep me motivated. Many of these games are considered masterpieces and must-plays among the gaming community, whereas a few others are just cool games I've been wanting to play.

Is this a pipe dream? Maybe. Honestly, who the hell cares about what some random guy from Southern California wants to do with his time? But I'll try to keep this project going.

Here are the games, separated by system, in no particular order:

Super Nintendo Entertainment System:

• Chrono Trigger - Regarded by many as the best RPG for the SNES, and possibly the best RPG ever. (COMPLETED ON APR 20, 2009)
  
• Final Fantasy VI - Ditto.
• Breath of Fire - I like dragons. (COMPLETED ON SEPT 17, 2010)
  
• Breath of Fire II - Ditto.

Nintendo 64:

• Paper Mario - This spiritual successor to Mario RPG is loved by many for its anarchic sense of humor (COMPLETED ON DEC, 15, 2008)
• Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask - Transformation and time travel. What's not to love? (COMPLETED ON MAR 9, 2010)
  

Nintendo Gamecube:

• Pikmin 2 - Even better than the first simply because they got rid of the running timer.
  
• Viewtiful Joe - Renowned for its fluid action gameplay and intriguing art style.
• Ultimate Spider-Man - I'm a big fan of Spider-Man, and this was one of the better versions that actually let you play as him in a free-roaming environment. (removed)
  
• Super Mario Sunshine - The true sequel to Super Mario 64, though criticized for its considerably higher level of challenge.
• Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker - Zelda on the Gamecube. Need I say more?
• Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem - Loved for its fourth-wall-breaking and mind-bending presentation. (COMPLETED ON JAN 21, 2011)
• Metroid Prime - Samus's first foray into first person was a thing of beauty.
• Metroid Prime II: Echoes - Sequel to the first. As a Metroid fan, it's a must-play.
• Tales of Symphonia - The only Gamecube RPG on my list. I like Tales of Phantasia for the Super Famicom, And the gameplay style is refreshingly different from other turn-based RPGs.

PC:

• Doom III - People seem to like it (removed)
  
• Diablo II - I loved the original when I owned it for the playstation, but I still have never gotten past that bastard Duriel. (COMPLETED ON JUL 12, 2010)
• Half Life 2 - Sequel to what many call the absolute greatest PC game of all time (COMPLETED ON NOV 30, 2009)
  
• Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb - This was a gift to me from a friend at a Christmas party. I figure I owe it to him to play through it.
• Left 4 Dead - I bought this on Steam when it was on sale, but realized I can't even run it on my computer. D'oh!
  
• Starcraft - Not a big fan of RTS games, but I'll try my best.
• Warcraft III - Ditto.

Sony Playstation:

• Xenogears - I started it a long time ago when it first came out. I loved the combo-based battle system, but never finished it.
• Final Fantasy VIII - I didn't really like the tedious draw system, but a lot of people love the story.
• Final Fantasy IX - Criticized for being too stylized, but it was Hironobu Sakaguchi's favorite of the series. And that's saying something.
• Legend of Dragoon - People that turn into dragons? What's not to love?
• Jade Cocoon - I bought it for its more adult take on the pokemon style of gameplay, but never got too far in it.
• Chrono Cross - Beloved sequel to the greatest RPG ever. A friend of mine roleplays as a character from this, so I figured I should see what all the fuss is about.
• Breath of Fire III - Dragons! Yay!

Sony Playstation 2:

• Guitar Hero 2 - I beat the career mode, but I suppose 100% completion would be to unlock all guitars and outfits.
  
• Kingdom Hearts - People freaking love this Disney/Square crossover. I liked what I've played of it, but my interests later drifted.
• Gun - I found it in a bargain bin and played through 2/3 of it in a single night. I should finish it. (COMPLETED ON AUG 17, 2009)
  
• Resident Evil 4 - The critical re-imagining of the series was critically acclaimed.
• 24: The Game - I loved the TV show. I found the game used for cheap a few years after I forgot I wanted it. (COMPLETED ON FEB 4, 2009)
  
• Dragon Rage - Dragons! This game was a gift from a friend, so I figured I owe it to him to finish it.
  
• Okami - I got it at release but simply stopped playing at a certain point. Why? (COMPLETED ON JAN 8, 2010)
  
• Ico - I beat Shadow of the Colossus, but never the spiritual predecessor.
• Kill.Switch - I seeked this out for the innovative cover system. I'm not usually a fan of shooter games like this, but I liked how it played. (COMPLETED ON AUG 12, 2009)
  
• God of War - Greatest. Action. Game. Ever. (Yeah, right. Completed July 19, 2011)
  
• God of War II - Sequel. To. Greatest. Action. Game. Ever.

Wii:

• Zack and Wiki: The Quest for Barbaros' Treasure - I sometimes find this game insulting when it kills you for just being curious, but I will not let it beat me!
• Metroid Prime 3: Corruption - So far the only Metroid game on the Wii (At the time of this writing)
  
• Lego Star Wars - So far, I've only played this with my friend in party situations.
• Manhunt 2 - Rockstar's dark DARK wii game. I haven't even popped this in yet.
• Bully: Scholarship Edition - Rockstar goes to school. Haven't popped this in yet either.
• Super Mario Galaxy - I have gotten 3/4 of all the stars and beaten it with Luigi. Now I just need to get the last 61 stars and I'll be able to finally call it quits.(COMPLETED ON MAR, 30, 2008)
• Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess - Zelda on the Wii. Yeah. (COMPLETED ON Jan 21, 2011)

Nintendo DS:

• Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass - Damn I have a lot of Zelda games on this list
• Pokemon Diamond - My girlfriend loves it, My friends love it. I got 4 badges and then... stopped.
• Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - I loved what I played of it, and then... stopped.
• Hotel Dusk: Room 215 - I've heard it's a good game with a freaky art style. (removed)
  
• Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords - The best puzzle RPG ever made. Well... technically the only one... but still. (COMPLETED ON NOV, 29, 2008)
  
• Final Fantasy IV DS - I loved FFIV for the SNES. I'll start playing this once it comes out.(COMPLETED ON AUG 17, 2008)
• Metroid Prime Hunters -Hopefully I can get over the uncomfortable controls to get through 1-player mode so I can play online with all the hunters. (COMPLETED ON AUG 28, 2008)

XBox 360

• Assassin's Creed - Parkour style gameplay set in the holyland. (COMPLETED JUN 22, 2011)
  
• BioShock - Game of the year 2007. (Completed April 27, 2010)