Ingen in Japan!
Just to let you know, I created a brand-spanking New Blog, which I will be using for my misadventures in Japan. Aptly titled Ingen in Japan! it can be found at http://timinjapan.blogspot.com
Damn the dude who stole my ingen.blogspot.com 4 years ago!
The site will be entirely in Dutch, since most of my family will be reading it,
probably, and heck, most of the people reading this one are Dutch too, so there.
I'll keep this blog for my gaming life, since I don't think my family wants to know about my games, and I don't think YOU want to know about my personal life, so that takes care of everything nicely.
April 4th is when I will be leaving, and then things are going to change drastically around here. Cos I will have
Japanese Internet.
Woohoo!
Awaiting the End
I don't know if ANYONE's noticed, but apparently, the day after tomorrow is going to see the release of Final Fantasy XII (in Japan of course).
Now is it just me, or does it seem like this game is not getting the hype that is normal around the release of a new Final Fantasy? I remember everyone was in a total state of "WHEN THE F*CK IS IT GOING TO BE OUT?" when Final Fantasy X was about to hit stores, but perhaps that was understandable, since it was the first FF for a new console and it was going to be the first one to be in full 3D.
Then along came Final Fantasy XI, and everyone was like:
"When's it going to be out?"
"It IS out, and it HAS BEEN out for some months now!"
"Oh okay. So, what's for dinner?"
And that's good, cos it sucked anyway. That didn't stop Square from rereleasing it on PC and now even on XBox 360 though. Got.....to.....make.....more MONEY!
Or ANY money, for that matter.
But deep down inside, Square KNOWS that FFXI bombed like the piece of....uh.....bomb that it was, despite all the effort they put into it, and dammit, those bloody punters WILL play our great Online Experience whether they goddamn want it or not!
So in comes Final Fantasy XII, apparently. From what they've shown so far, the game borrows heavily from Online RPG-esque style gameplay, and THAT, my friends, is where they're going wrong right there.
Cos let's face it, the SOLE selling point of Online RPG's, is the fact that they're online. The fun in MMORPG's (God, I hate that acronym) consists largely of the fact that you can hang around with people from all over the world, form clans/guilds whatever, and team up to tackle dungeons and do some serious killing.
And that's great in its own right, very enjoyable, and scarily addictive, but let's be honest here, the gameplay itself is hardly every anything to write home about.
I like the whole Quest-based system and being free to do what you want, but combat, which I consider to be the axis of ANY RPG, is dangerously boring in most cases.
Let's be fair here, even the Almighty World of Warcraft, great as though it is, would not
nearly be as much fun when played in a static, offline environment, the kind of environment that is common in Console RPG's.
And that's fine, cos World of Warcraft is in fact NOT a static offline RPG, but a dynamic Online experience with millions of players worldwide.
From this point of view it makes sense to say that Console RPG's are, generally speaking, more fun to play on your own, and tend to have better fighting systems, simply because the better and more strategic and rewarding kind of combat (I'm thinking of Valkyrie Profile, Megaman Battle Network, Grandia, to name but a few) would simply not work in an Online Environment.
And again, that's all well and good, but the problem here is that Square is going to bring the stale kind of monster-mashing found in most Online RPG's, and turn it into a fully fledged OFFLINE RPG, including the Quests and whatnot, but EXCLUDING the most essential element, ie Other People.
The game has already been receiving a lot of bad rap from critics AND fans alike, not simply because it's such a significant departure from the original formula, but because it is in all actuality
just not a very good idea. I've seen enough in-game footage to have a rather negative impression of the battle system and from what first-hand reports have told me, I'm probably right.
Now don't get me wrong, I'm a total consumer whore, and I WILL be getting this game.
But it's not because the ideas or prospects of the game excite me, but merely because this is a Square game we're talking about, and they've enough Experience under their Mythril Belt to make something enjoyable even out of the dumbest RPG ideas. (That's a rule that goes ONLY for Square's RPG's though, I'm not touching their other games with a 10 ft. Masamune) even the moronic Final Fantasy VIII was still a joy to play, simply because Square knows how to put in enough interesting things to make a game fun anyway.
Famitsu scores it 40 out of 40, which is....
odd to say the least, but I'm sure I'll get it eventually. It's just kind of weird that what was once a Giant Happening in Videogame Land now seems to be going past without too many people noticing. But perhaps I merely have the wrong impression, I'm not in Japan right now anyway.
The Japanese Amazon states that the game is already sold out, even though it hasn't been released yet, so I'm sure Square'll be okay, and I don't really know how much buzz there is on the streets (Bert?), but it seems that Western Press at least is less than excited.
We'll see how this goes. Keep watching these pages ;)
Misc.
Alright, ALRIGHT!
I can take a not-so subtle hint.
Let me assure you that this is only the proverbial calm before the storm, so to speak. That is to say: not really.
What with my departure to Japan drawing ever closer, my daily life is becoming increasingly hectic and busy, so I'm not exactly taking the time to write "extensive" reviews anymore.
I still prefer actually playing games over reviewing them, and if I have to cut time-corners somewhere, this blog is most likely to be the first thing to be compromised. I guess I just don't love you as much as you do me.
But rest assured, plenty of gaming is STILL being done, every day, relentlessly.
It's just that, now that the Project has officially gone to the Gods more or less, there's no real use in writing about it anymore.
In due time, I will leave this Godforsaken country and take up residence in a country that has been forsaken by even more gods, and I cannot tell right now if I will have ready access to a computer. I'm sure they have plenty of computers at University, but I don't know where I will be stationed, so to speak, and when I hear the stories about this University apparently lying in the middle of the mountains
(photo courtesy of www.niallmurtagh.info)
I kinda hope I won't be getting a room on Campus, but that inevitably means I won't have easy access to computers, unless I resort to Internet Cafés, which I usually don't.
I will write the occasional review, but probably only for new/obscure games, so that at least there is SOME journalistic value to this blog (yeah, right).
Like I've stated before, it is extremely likely that this is going to be more of a Diary than anything else. I'm considering getting a decent Digital Camera so I can post pictures of my Misadventures in the Kansai Area, and regail you with my many tales of undoubtedly Chinese nature. Bastards.
I'm also considering starting an entirely New Blog altogether, since it seems like Sacrilege to befoul these Sacred Project Pages with everyday mundane banter, and since my Family will also probably be reading my Daily Blurb (and I say 'daily' only in the purely figurative sense) I might want to keep Game stuff and Boring stuff apart.
Did you know about this?:
Song of the WeekIt's a kind of contest for obscure Video Game Music, where VGM enthusiasts nominate music from the more obscure games for an officious reward of sorts, like Eternal Fame or something. It's like elections, only interesting and fun. It's a weekly contest and anyone can join, provided you like Game Music.
Apparently it's been going on for 50 weeks now, but I only learned of it recently, so I started participating from week 48 or something.
I made my first own nomination,
Deadbolt from the Johnny Bazookatone Soundtrack, and it's nice to see people affirming that I have good taste.
This is what one of the Moderators at the Gamingfore Forums said about it:
Johnny Bazookatone - Deadbolt - I haven't heard of this game in years. Such an awesome name for a character. The track though, it definitely blew me away with its ambience and cool funk slickness. It's smooth as rich, chocolate mousse and practically flows from the speakers in mellow, syncopated waves of bliss. I LOVE the synthesized trance beat and resonant guitar. The sax wails with grace and charm. I can't get over how eclectic and really, really stylish "Deadbolt" is.
Also, this track was submitted by a newcomer, making it an even more pleasant surprise. Thanks!
So, basically, I rule. Not that I have anything to do with the music itself, but seeing one of your personal favorite songs getting critical acclaim because of your nomination just feels like a nice pat on the back.
Oh, and if there's actually anyone out there who cares, please gimme some feedback on what you want me to do with the site, and if you would be interested in my Japan adventures AT ALL.
- Ingen out -
