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Monday Gaming Diary: The Franchise(s) You Never Finish

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Final Fantasy XI’d say we all have them–a franchise or two of games that you enjoy yet never finish–but I’m not sure everyone really does. I know many people have one, but I have two, and no matter how much I know I won’t finish these games, it doesn’t stop me from buying the next installment. It doesn’t matter if it’s a remake, a port, or a brand new game; I can’t seem to help myself. I’m talking about The Legend of Zelda and the Final Fantasy games, two long series of games that I can’t seem to finish and can’t seem to quit.

I own every Final Fantasy (mainstream, not counting Tactics or other off-shoots) game in the series except for the MMOs, FFXI and FFXIV. I’ve started I, III, V, VII, X, and 4 Heroes of Light. I rage quit III at the very end once I discovered that even after completing every single side quest, I needed to level grind about 40 more levels in order to survive the onslaught of multiple boss fights at the end. The story wasn’t great enough for me to do so or start over to begin with, so that one will remain unfinished. With V and I, I just got distracted and stopped playing them for arbitrary reasons. I played VII up to the point of recruiting Cid Highwind, but then the game released on the PSP, so I started over to play it there, and then I just got burned out. I played X all the way to the point where the game releases the linearity and opens up. I had been so focused on the game up to that point, I walked away to take a brief hiatus…about 4 years ago. Now that X is coming to the PS3 and Vita has an HD remake, I’m debating whether to forage on or start over. I have a feeling I’ll play it more if it’s on my Vita than on my larger console, for whatever reason.

The only FF games I’ve finished are XIII and XIII-2. I wish I never started XIII-2.

I’ve suddenly been thinking about my unfinished FF games as I played a little bit of Final Fantasy Theatrhythm this weekend. Listening to the music has reminded me that I really do want to finish the games I’ve started, save for FFIII. Not only that, but I want to finish the other FF games I’ve bought and not started, namely VI, VIII, and IX. Since all of these games are now on my Vita (except for V…not sure what is up with that one, Sony!!), and I’ve moved my handhelds downstairs to stare at me every night, I’m hoping motivation to play them will come to me.

But I need motivation for more than just FF. There are some Zelda games I’d like to actually finish what I start as well.

I’m still not sure if I’ll ever re-pick back up Ocarina of Time 3D after having so much difficulty aiming at a particular boss and all of the pots in the boss room having zero hearts in them, but there are other games I’d like to finish on my own one day. I still have A Link to the Past as a GBA game I can play on my DS, and since its spiritual successor is coming out soon, I’m feeling a stirring to pick it back up again. Also, I recently snagged Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons during Nintendo’s recent eShop sale. I never played either as I never had a Gameboy Color, but they’re part of the Zelda universe, so I feel the need to play them for whatever reason. I admit this is part of the reason why I want to buy Wind Waker HD as well. But maybe I’ll actually finish the game this time. I hope.

In other news, now that E3 is over and is no longer taking over my work day, it’s time to finish up Fuse (so close!) and start Remember Me. Should be getting The Last of Us strategy guide soon as well, so my writer extraordinaire can get cracking on that one. We’ll be fairly slow in July as usual, but we’re excited about things picking back up in August!

Confession Time: I’m Seriously Considering Buying a Wii U (and it’s Prima Games’ Fault)

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Yesterday I was perusing both Amazon.com and GameStop for any announcements of strategy guides for Xbox One and PS4 games. As I said in my post yesterday, this will greatly affect which next-gen console I will purchase first. Of course I found nothing in my search, but I stumbled across a couple of GameStop listings that piqued my interest:

WiiUguidescomingLike I said yesterday, I have to have 3 games for a new console/handheld to warrant a purchase. One reason why I don’t have a Wii U is because I’m not that into first-party Nintendo games. Sure, Zelda will always have a soft spot in my heart even though I’ve never finished a console game, but I’m not into Mario, Pikmin, Smash Bros., Pokemon, etc. However, the fact that Bayonetta 2 will be a Wii U exclusive has always tugged at my heartstrings. I want to play that game when it releases like you wouldn’t believe, but there’s no way I’ll buy a console just for that one game. Then I sampled The Wonderful 101 at PAX East, and I fell in love. That’s 2. Looks like Wind Waker HD is going to be my 3.

It’s honestly ridiculous for me to even consider that game. I still own it for GameCube, and I still own the GameCube. I meant to finish it, but I got distracted with something else, and when I tried to pick it up again, I was too far removed to really remember how to play. I’ve always known I would have to start over. So now they’re releasing an HD version of it, it looks gorgeous, AND Prima Games is coming out with a strategy guide for it.

I’ve tried to talk my way out of this. Surely I don’t want to go down the Wii rabbit hole again, just to sell the console again a couple of years later. But then I started to think of Gabe, how he has played Mario Kart on the Wii at his daycare and how he always asks about getting it at home. Even if I don’t play the Wii U a lot, Gabe most likely will. I could introduce him to Mario games, the games I was horrible at but still played when I was young. He may love platformers even if I hate them. Plus, I know he’d love LEGO Undercover City.

In other words, the time for resisting the Wii U is over.

And it’s all Prima Games’ fault.

So…What New Console Will I Buy Next?

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Console War

This past Monday was supposed to be my deciding factor with the new console war. Sony’s PS4 reveal conference really won me over, and Microsoft’s Xbox One reveal left me really disappointed. However, I didn’t want to make a call as to which console I’d commit to first (because honestly, I’m going to get both eventually, just not at launch or at once), since Microsoft’s reveal only presented two games. Neither of those games did anything for me. I was introduced to a rule by a friend, and I’ve tried really hard to adhere to this rule–do not buy a console until three games for it you want release. I’ve followed through with this rule with the Xbox 360, the 3DS, and the Vita (I really wish I had with the PS3), and it’s served me fairly well. It’s why I haven’t gotten a Wii U, even though my friends think it’s because I hate Nintendo with the fire of a 1000 suns, which is very untrue.

In other words, I need to see a launch lineup for games for each console, and the one with the most appealing [to me] exclusives will win out. Unfortunately for Microsoft, the pricing of the consoles has also been heavily weighed in, so the PS4 ran to the front after the Sony E3 conference.

I have not found an official launch line-up list for either the Xbox One or the PS4 as of yet. The closest I have found comes courtesy of GameStop, which is currently offering “bundle” pre-orders online. Each bundle includes the system and one game, and the games offered are launch games. Based on this alone, I won’t be buying the Xbox One first, because they show absolutely zero games that I want. Notice something missing? Ryse, one Xbox One exclusive I’m really interested in, is not listed at all. In fact, the game isn’t anywhere on GameStop’s site at the time of this writing. It’s not on Amazon.com either, curiously enough. I know this game is a launch title, so I have to wonder if anything else is possibly missing from this list.

If you go to GameStop’s PS4 page, I see three game bundles I want right off the bat, and two are exclusives (at least they claim to be exclusives now): Killzone Shadow Fall, The Order 1886, and Watch Dogs. But now I have to question this list for a different reason. I’m certain that Shadow Fall is a launch title, but I have heard nothing of the sort for The Order. I would be ecstatic if it was true, but at this time, without hearing anything definite myself, I remain skeptical.

What about upcoming games? From what I have seen of the Xbox One’s upcoming games for Spring 2014, nothing appeals to me at all. I know that The Witcher 3 is coming in 2014, but I don’t know specifically when. Since the game will utilize The Witcher 2 save files, that seals where I will buy the third installment. I really hope this lack of games [for me] changes, because I’ve grown to really like my Xbox over the last couple of years. I want to continue to support it, especially since it is my console of preference for shooters.

If I look at the PS4’s upcoming games, I’m a bit more excited, specifically for inFamous: Second Son. I have loved everything about this series, and I’m thrilled they will continue it, even without Cole.

So that’s four games in favor of the PS4 and the console is $100 cheaper? Yeah, I know where I’m leaning at this point. Granted, a lot can change between now and the holiday season, and that’s the beauty of preordering from Amazon. I haven’t preordered anything yet, but I’m getting dangerously close. Oh so close.

All I need now is for strategy guide companies to confirm with me if they will be producing guides for these games. That will pull the preorder trigger in a heartbeat.

Monday Gaming Diary: It’s not another brown shooter! It’s orange, thank you.

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Fuse

See? It’s orange. Not brown.

When I have been playing games this last week, it’s been all Fuse all the time. Yeah, yeah, another shooter that’s probably just like every other one. Believe me, I’ve heard all of the snooty snide remarks and seen all of the eyerolls. Bottom line is, I’m reviewing this strategy guide and I don’t care that it’s cool to not like shooters right now. I’m having an absolute blast playing.

First off, before you criticize, get one thing straight: it’s not a brown shooter; it’s actually quite orange.

Secondly, it’s actually quite fun. It has that Binary Domain vibe, and I absolutely loved Binary Domain. Each character has their own unique abilities and weapon, and you’re able to switch characters whenever you want to tap into these abilities. I could see how this game would be more fun to play with another person, like Binary Domain, but I’m having just as much fun on my own.

One complaint I am seeing is that the game is too hard to play on your own, and I have NOT found that to be true. The #1 reason why I quit playing Epic Mickey 2 was that I found it to be impossible to play well without co-op. While you could switch to Oswald whenever you wanted, it was incredibly difficult to manipulate him to do what you needed him to do, especially if he had to team up with Mickey for a purpose, such as flying across a chasm or tossing Oswald up to an out-of-reach area. With Fuse, even though some areas would definitely be easier with a co-op partner, I’ve found nothing to be impossible or even frustratingly difficult to accomplish on my own.

I’ve enjoyed the story as well, but I’ll get more into that when I write up my mini-review. But I know no one cares about this today, as today is the day of the E3 press conferences, something I actually have to cover as part of the home team for both Game Revolution and Action Trip. I’m curious if today will dictate which next-gen console I will buy first.

The Last of Us Free Guide Friday Giveaway

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The Last of Us strategy guidesE3 may be going on the week that The Last of Us releases, but that just means those of us not going will get our hands on the game first. So why not increase your edge with a free The Last of Us strategy guide from BradyGames?

Yeah, that’s what I thought.

I don’t think I’ve ever been asked on Twitter about whether I’ll have a FreeGuideFriday for a strategy guide as much as I have for this particular strategy guide. If the number of entries reflects this frothing madness, then I wish all of you the very best of luck.

Yes, it’s another Twitter contest, and yes, it’s for US contestants only. As another clarification, I do not know if the winner will receive a paperback or a Collector’s Edition of the strategy guide. Please do not make specific requests as this is out of my hands.

  • Follow both @strategyreviews and @Brady_Games on Twitter.
  • Tweet something about wanting The Last of Us strategy guide from @strategyreviews and @Brady_Games for #FreeGuideFriday. Both twitter accounts must be mentioned as well as the hashtag and the following shortlink (http://strgygui.de/14wfDOE) to be a valid entry. If your tweet is creative, I’ll most likely retweet it, if you care about that sort of thing.
  • All entries must be in by Friday, June 7th, at noon. I will randomly pick a winner at that time.

Good luck all!

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