Since I mentioned it down below, I might as well cover it.
You're a space ship, you fly to the right and shoot things.
Squaresoft was magical back in these days. They were good at everything they tried to be good at. Who can say why someone there decided to make a shooter, and lord knows why it got greenlit in the Lucasarts of the East, but it did, and it's amazing.
Einhander takes everything that was previously right about shooters (dying a lot, memorization of enemy patterns, insanity) and does it even better. Bosses, mini bosses, it's all so good. While some will say some other horizontal shooter's better, I will say they are wrong. While i love Gradius 5, it's not nearly as epic or as brilliantly laid out as this.
4 stars, and in the "Desert Island" competition
Showing posts with label squaresoft. Show all posts
Showing posts with label squaresoft. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy 7 and Chrono Cross
All three of these games are easy definitions of 4 star games, however Final Fantasy 7 ruined Chrono Cross for me and likely many others.
In Chrono Trigger you follow a group of heroes through the game, and after you beat it, you play through again with all your levels and gear. This is brilliant and was huge for the time. You can also fight the last guy at almost any time in the game. This opens up something like 10 endings depending on what you have and haven't accomplished in the game.
So I played through Chrono Trigger many times, and I love it to this day.
Final Fantasy 7 was the first major RPG to use the crutch of prerendered cutscenes. Don't get me wrong, the reason I bought a PS1 at all was because I saw one of these and it was so far beyond what I was accustomed to in games like Final Fantasy 6 and Chrono Trigger that I knew I had to own it. But they are a crutch and have done a great disservice to games in general and RPGs specifically.
I had always been fine with the bitmapped characters of the 16 bit era. I was moved by the stories, compelled to keep playing. But not in the 32 bit era. Now I needed a 10 minute plus full CGI ending to be satisfied. And if all the ads for these games are any indication, so did the rest of you.
I could also complain about the complete interchangeability of the characters, and the fact that all the summons with no exceptions were just large "damage all" attacks, but it's really about how the CG cutscenes set a new standard.
So late in the PS1 lifespan, we get Chrono Cross, a brilliant almost non-sequel to Trigger. something like 40 characters (all with different attacks and skills!) and a myriad of different endings.
Problem was, other than the stock CG piece that you got with every ending, it was all in game graphics. Star Ocean 2 had the same issue. Game graphics for the ending. Psssh.
So I have to say it was all a little ruined for me.
A long time ago I told my dad I wanted Friendly's for dinner. I was being driven home from the after school program at the YMCA. I still remember the intersection we were at. He said to me "If I had never taken you there, you wouldn't want to go." He didn't say it angrily or spiteful, just pointing out that fact. My mind was blown. He was right, but shit!
I don't know if Final Fantasy 13 is going to finally fix the issue. It's supposed to be all in game, which I would like, and it's being produced by the guy who directed Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy 7, so who knows. Besides, that game's not due till at least 2010.
Chrono Trigger - 4 stars
Final Fantasy 7 - 4 stars
Chrono Cross - 4 stars
In Chrono Trigger you follow a group of heroes through the game, and after you beat it, you play through again with all your levels and gear. This is brilliant and was huge for the time. You can also fight the last guy at almost any time in the game. This opens up something like 10 endings depending on what you have and haven't accomplished in the game.
So I played through Chrono Trigger many times, and I love it to this day.
Final Fantasy 7 was the first major RPG to use the crutch of prerendered cutscenes. Don't get me wrong, the reason I bought a PS1 at all was because I saw one of these and it was so far beyond what I was accustomed to in games like Final Fantasy 6 and Chrono Trigger that I knew I had to own it. But they are a crutch and have done a great disservice to games in general and RPGs specifically.
I had always been fine with the bitmapped characters of the 16 bit era. I was moved by the stories, compelled to keep playing. But not in the 32 bit era. Now I needed a 10 minute plus full CGI ending to be satisfied. And if all the ads for these games are any indication, so did the rest of you.
I could also complain about the complete interchangeability of the characters, and the fact that all the summons with no exceptions were just large "damage all" attacks, but it's really about how the CG cutscenes set a new standard.
So late in the PS1 lifespan, we get Chrono Cross, a brilliant almost non-sequel to Trigger. something like 40 characters (all with different attacks and skills!) and a myriad of different endings.
Problem was, other than the stock CG piece that you got with every ending, it was all in game graphics. Star Ocean 2 had the same issue. Game graphics for the ending. Psssh.
So I have to say it was all a little ruined for me.
A long time ago I told my dad I wanted Friendly's for dinner. I was being driven home from the after school program at the YMCA. I still remember the intersection we were at. He said to me "If I had never taken you there, you wouldn't want to go." He didn't say it angrily or spiteful, just pointing out that fact. My mind was blown. He was right, but shit!
I don't know if Final Fantasy 13 is going to finally fix the issue. It's supposed to be all in game, which I would like, and it's being produced by the guy who directed Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy 7, so who knows. Besides, that game's not due till at least 2010.
Chrono Trigger - 4 stars
Final Fantasy 7 - 4 stars
Chrono Cross - 4 stars
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Final Fantasy 12
Final Fantasy is bought for the story. Even in the 16 bit days when it wasn't seven of the same character with different looking weapons sharing the same magic and armor, it was still far more about story than it was about any mazing innovations in gameplay, ATB or no.
The story? The story in this game is, well, it's Star Wars. Star Wars, only instead of Luke having everything he knew destroyed and no place to go but into his adventure that he had been unknowingly tied to since birth, Luke just had nothing better to do that day. There's lots of intrigue and assassination, which would be totally sweet were it not for the fact that no one in the story has any reason to hang around. Even Han Solo tried to leave every chance he could till they froze him.
Barring story however, it's the best Final Fantasy since the 16 bit days. The world and specifically the main city feel alive. The art direction--outside of the pig-nosed ladyboy lead character (who fortunately due to the complete interchangeability of the characters you almost never have to use)--is awesome. Against Final Fantasy 7's goth convention, 8's Minnesota teenagers and 10's beach eveningwear, 12's costumes look like they came from an orignal place; a place with culture, art and history all it's own.
The battles are a great improvement. No more "line up across the street and come over one at a time" nonsense, you get an open field full of enemies who'd rather be left alone. If you don't walk into their area of influence enemies will keep to themselves. While you can give commands to all three party members, you can also script different actions, such as "attack the enemy that the leader is attacking" and "if someone's HP go blelow 40% cast cure on them". This takes even more of the bland out of RPG fighting but at the same time is an autopilot. For example, i beat the last guy with the controller on the table in front of me. But that's A-OK with me. RPG battle systems have always been a chore, so the ability to have my team T C of B while I make a sandwich is pretty sweet. I'm still missing the "auto battle" command from Phantasy Star 3.
Small confession: all those collect-a-thon games I talk such shit on? I play the hell out of them. Got all the souls in Aria and Dawn of Sorrow. Have a 200+ hour Disgaea save file. It's like the game doesn't even begin until the last guy is dead (or might as well be in the case of my Final Fantasy 10 save: all my characters can kill it in one hit)
For every guy who's ever thought the worlds most insipid question, this game is the reason girls date assholes. Sitting there killing my hundredth fiery dog, hoping it would drop whatever it's rare item was I could barely remember why it was I was even playing. There was a vague goal of that sword I didn't need, but why wasn't I playing something else? There were other great games out at the time, but here I was in my dark cave doing the same repetitive thing for a goal I knew would not reward my effort.
Worst Story. Best Gameplay.
3 stars
The story? The story in this game is, well, it's Star Wars. Star Wars, only instead of Luke having everything he knew destroyed and no place to go but into his adventure that he had been unknowingly tied to since birth, Luke just had nothing better to do that day. There's lots of intrigue and assassination, which would be totally sweet were it not for the fact that no one in the story has any reason to hang around. Even Han Solo tried to leave every chance he could till they froze him.
Barring story however, it's the best Final Fantasy since the 16 bit days. The world and specifically the main city feel alive. The art direction--outside of the pig-nosed ladyboy lead character (who fortunately due to the complete interchangeability of the characters you almost never have to use)--is awesome. Against Final Fantasy 7's goth convention, 8's Minnesota teenagers and 10's beach eveningwear, 12's costumes look like they came from an orignal place; a place with culture, art and history all it's own.
The battles are a great improvement. No more "line up across the street and come over one at a time" nonsense, you get an open field full of enemies who'd rather be left alone. If you don't walk into their area of influence enemies will keep to themselves. While you can give commands to all three party members, you can also script different actions, such as "attack the enemy that the leader is attacking" and "if someone's HP go blelow 40% cast cure on them". This takes even more of the bland out of RPG fighting but at the same time is an autopilot. For example, i beat the last guy with the controller on the table in front of me. But that's A-OK with me. RPG battle systems have always been a chore, so the ability to have my team T C of B while I make a sandwich is pretty sweet. I'm still missing the "auto battle" command from Phantasy Star 3.
Small confession: all those collect-a-thon games I talk such shit on? I play the hell out of them. Got all the souls in Aria and Dawn of Sorrow. Have a 200+ hour Disgaea save file. It's like the game doesn't even begin until the last guy is dead (or might as well be in the case of my Final Fantasy 10 save: all my characters can kill it in one hit)
For every guy who's ever thought the worlds most insipid question, this game is the reason girls date assholes. Sitting there killing my hundredth fiery dog, hoping it would drop whatever it's rare item was I could barely remember why it was I was even playing. There was a vague goal of that sword I didn't need, but why wasn't I playing something else? There were other great games out at the time, but here I was in my dark cave doing the same repetitive thing for a goal I knew would not reward my effort.
Worst Story. Best Gameplay.
3 stars
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