FFIV’s 2007 remake is coming out on December 20th in Japan. I’m gleeing with excitement over here. I mean look at it…how can you not fall in love with this game again? (T_T) I will be stalking and camping import stores here for this game. I will update again once this game comes out.

Until then…Here’s a clip from FFIV’s theme song “Theme of Love” remade with some beautiful lyrics it aired on MTV Japan. If I could sing, I would definitely sing this song…believe me! But I can’t, so let’s watch someone who is better off doing this song justice:

Here’s the trailer + translations:

I got this in my inbox the other day and I want to go! But I’m not sure if this little guy is going to motivate me enough to wait on line for 6hrs, and did I mention it’s damn cold?! Unless anyone wants to PictoChat with me…I’m up for a duel of TicTacToe!

Long time no see! It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything up. I haven’t been up to much except work so I don’t really have time to actually play much of anything, let alone post about them. But don’t fret, Tally is here to blog about another game that a handful of you might be dying to play. After my last hiatus, I bought Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates to replace the void in my gaming addiction. I didn’t get to pick it up before the street date like I did with Phantom Hourglass, but I still think I’m a baller.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates came out in Japan on August 23, 2007 and it seems like it won’t be out in the US until the second quarter of 2008. Being me, I can’t wait for an NDS game to come out a year later in the US, so I bought the JP version. This game isn’t very easy on you when it comes to the language barrier so I don’t really recommend importing this game unless your knowledge of kanji is up there. Also, unlike Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass there are no furigana to help you translate the kanji and all the dialogue takes place in the upper screen along with the action.

To start things off, an opening cutscene takes place in small village where you meet the two main characters, Yuri and Cherinka, fraternal twins, as little children. Yuri and Cherinka are fighting over who gets to be the first one to chop up the logs. Their father, Ratov, tells them to do it together instead. Without their father’s guidance they can’t pick up the axe, but Ratov tells them to concentrate and try to work together. During this cutscene they introduce you to the other two playable characters, Misu and Aruhanaremu. Gnash, the archer won’t be introduce until later on. I’ve included a clip of the opening scene below.

Anyway, the story is your usual Final Fantasy style, young heroes/heroines embarking on an epic journey for peace and revenge…Need I add more? The gameplay is similar, if not the same as the FFCC for the GC. Instead of controlling your character’s movements and actions via stylus, the buttons are used. You still control where magics are cast with the directional buttons and just release the X button to cast it. Also, you can combine spells together with another character to turn it into a higher tier version of said spell. After every monster killed, they drop items either spell magicites, potions or items use for creating better weapons and equipments.

I have yet to try out the game with another owner of the game, but I did make an archer character and I tried one simple mission and it seemed like it would be quite fun if you had 1-3 other players along for the ride. The missions are based on your level and the number of party members (up to 4 players). In multi-player mode your character is separate from the character in single player mode…so yes you will have to create a “new” character; overall it would be a lot easier to grind through levels if you can co-op with someone else for the levels instead of soloing dungeons. You get rewarded with prizes accordingly to how well you did in the missions.

Overall, I really like this game. Sadly US gamers won’t be able to get it until next year. In the meantime, here’s a sneak peek:

Can I see it please? ▼

So with Ring of Fates and those two imports (just mentioned in the spoiler), not to mention the FFXI expansion which I might be interested in, my Final Fantasy cravings should be more than satisfied! Of course, for those you waiting for the US versions, don’t worry, I’ll be sure to let you guys know how they are.

Speaking of imports and US versions, one last note about Ring of Fate — I don’t recommend buying the import unless you understand a lot of kanji. If your overall Japanese is just conversational, that might not cut it here. So level up! Or wait til next year…

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (ゼルダの伝説 夢幻の砂時計) comes out tomorrow (the 23rd of June 2007) in Japan. Last night I asked Jon to stop by an import game store down in Chinatown, just in case there’s a slight chance they would have it. Turns out they just got it in. So yes, I own a copy of Phantom Hourglass even before the Japanese release, I’m such a baller… or maybe just lucky. I like to think I’m a baller…

The graphics are wonderful for an NDS game~! It’s probably over-the-top Japanese cuteness, but hey it is the Windwaker sequel. I’m not a cutesy type of gal, but if the game can do cuteness some justice, then I ain’t complaining. Just as long as you don’t see me with a pink DS…because you know that’s not how I roll. I’ve been dying for a new game to play on my DS ever since I stopped playing Pokemon Pearl (US version) so Dylan can catch up. Phantom Hourglass kept me up pretty late. I wanted to solve the next puzzle, but by then it was already 2am and I had work at 10am. As for the gameplay, most of the action happens in the bottom screen and you use your stylus for everything. You ocassionally have to use the mic for certain puzzles. The directional button isn’t really used for much except to pull the menu out. The same goes with the Y, X, and B, A buttons. I only played a bit of it last night and got to the second island.

Some of the puzzles are a bit tricky since they rely on you knowing Japanese. You will need to read the clues to help solve the puzzles, which are of course in Japanese. If you think that’s a little too difficult, I suggest you wait until the NA release of it. According to Gamestop.com the release date isn’t until October 2007.

What surprised me most wasn’t the game but the text interface. I like how the JP version has furigana over the kanji, for younger kids or even for adults who forgot how a certain kanji is suppose to be read. All you do is put your stylus over a kanji and the furigana appears above it. Pretty nifty if you ask me! This is cool for people who want to play Zelda in Japanese, but can’t read all the kanji. So, for all you importing this game, as long as you know your basic kana, you can still make out the more difficult kanji and look it up in a dictionary if you’re stuck. And as for people who don’t know what furigana is you can read all about it on Wikipedia.

As far as I’m concerned, I’m pretty pleased with the game. The music is awesome, although low at times. I guess my only disappointment is the constant usage of the stylus, be it for moving around, attacking, or even solving puzzles. As a New Yorker, this is just not a train game.

Images above: I scanned in the box art: front and back, the cover of the manual and the page with the main characters. I’ll post a video of the opening or something soon.

Just wanted to let everyone know that today is our (Jon H.) webmonkey’s birthday. He is officially old.

The game is coming out with a new expansion this winter. I’m all for a game trying to stay alive, but what happened to caring about what the players want, instead of trying to push more expansions? This will be the 4th expansion to the game. I haven’t beaten any of the earlier expansions, but I managed to have three level 75 jobs and many other jobs around the 50’s and 60’s.

This new expansion will be the same as the others. Right now there’s very little information about what the expansion will come with, but what we do know from the trailer is that there will be new areas to explore. Also, I’m guessing these new areas will not be new player friendly, they’re catering to the veterans of Vana’diel.

I’ve mentioned this before how I was a die-hard fan of FFXI. I guess most of it was for personal reasons, as well as it being my first MMORPG. The thing I hate about FFXI is the lack of individual growth. Everything end-game had to be done with 6-18 or more people. It was also a popularity contest. If you even argued with any one person, you would be hated by all members of that linkshell.

I believe that smaller circles for missions make it less daunting than the task of pleasing more than 18+ people at a time. After playing since the Playstation 2’s release of the game back in early 2004, I decided that I would stop playing while still keeping my account alive. Why is it still around? I invested a lot of time on the game and met a lot of people that I’ve shared lots of memories with. I don’t want to lose that just yet. My real life friend who still plays the game messages me pretty often about stuff that is happening in game, like the “Adventurer Appreciation Campaign”. I will most likely pick up the expansion, but even if I did I would only play a bit of it and then stop. Like I did with the Treasures of Aht Urhgan. I installed the expansion, downloaded the patches and found ways to get to the new areas. Met up with my small linkshell, unlocked the new jobs and that was about it.

Lately, looking back, I realize that I have a lot of issues with FFXI’s gameplay especially after playing FFXII. FFXII is a gorgeous game even though it has it’s own issues. I know I sound like some fangirl, but I’m not kidding. Compared to the lack of color and depth in FFXI, FFXII is both visually beautiful and meaningful where you actually care about the well-being of the people of Dalmasca. I also like it that the gameplay in FFXII makes it that more feasible that you don’t need a hoard of people to take down an evil empire. On the other hand, FFXI makes it feel like you’re replaceable by another person with the same job only because you have weaker gear and also because you’re a different race playing a job people think you’re not suited for and not because they’re more skilled. When I play FFXII I feel like I’ve accomplished a lot more after taking down the Elite Mark like Trickster with simple gambits, rather than depending on a guy who just wants to leech exp and he’s leveling a job like white mage because he knows he will get picked up faster than a dragoon, only to get you killed minutes later and your home point is back in Windurst.

Is Tally excited? No, not until FFXI actually makes some real improvement like: make it easier to play the game than to log on everyday just to accomplish one objective. Not everyone’s going to school and have summer breaks to “catch up”. Also, SE should look into making it more fun to solo, because I believe that people should be able to exercise and enjoy their individual freedom in addition to the forced conformity FFXI dictates.

This game was released alongside Pokémon Pearl (ポケットモンスターパール) on September 28th, 2006. I bought the game on March 15th, 2007, I just couldn’t wait any longer for the US release. The last time I played a Pokémon game was when my younger brother gave me his GameBoy Color (the lime green one that I lost during a move).

The game in a way, is very simple and very “cute” if you want to go there and call it that. I like games that pay attention to little details, for example the bike. I love that bike more than anything…if not more than my Pokémons in game. I would ride it everywhere I go except indoors…because you simply “can’t” (T_T)…anyway I digress…This game is finally hitting the US on the 22nd of April. Yippee! One step closer to getting Pokémon Battle Revolution (ポケモンバトルレボリューション) here in US.

I’ve been playing the JP version since I bought it and I’m in about 42hrs, maybe 43hrs? I finally got my 8th badge so now I am on my way to “Victory Road” (official English translation I believe from past games…. it’s referred to as “Champion Road” in Japanese). All I’ve been doing is using all the special “outside of battle” moves that I gained from beating each gym leader to find treasures I have yet to collect from areas I didn’t have access to prior.

I really enjoy the game, not because it has cute pixelated monsters that you capture in a ball, but because the game is a very simple RPG and the characters aren’t annoying. The game has a lot of WiFi capabilities that you can indulge in. I have yet to test them all out since no one else would play the game with me. Maybe when the US version comes out, I can get my DS buddies to play with me. If they refuse, I will just taunt them with how my Pokémons can kick their asses any day, until they give in. Ah…see it’s working already…just got some evil eyes from Dylan Garret, our resident music guru… He also just denied it by saying “I don’t resort to such petty tactics” while giving me more evil eyes…

WARNING:
There are SPOILERS up ahead. PLEASE refrain from reading this if you’re faint at heart and will “die” if you simply see any kind of spoilers. I will not be held accountable for exposing you to the awesomeness of Pokémon Diamond, which you could not handle. The following was brought to you by Tally (me) with my ghetto style of video capture (via my camera).

Click below for the video/photo spoilers:
Show it to me now! ▼