Review: Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep - Aqua and Final Episode

Completed Aqua's story on Monday 4th October, quickly followed by the Final Episode the next day. Can I just say, before launching into my opinion of her arc, I am really not impressed with Aqua's VA. I appreciate the fact that voice-acting doesn't come naturally to some people and that this may be her first foray in the field, but she really didn't sound comfortable in her role. Especially when hearing Terra and Ventus sound so natural, and then to have her mumble her lines in that croaky fashion like she's trying to sound cool/keep her voice low for a YouTube video. Yes, a lot of people on YouTube sound like that when recording "How To's" and their own reviews and whatnot, and it's annoying; Croaky Voice DOES NOT = Cool.

I'm sorry, this has just been bothering me throughout the game and to sit through 11 hours of her arc plus the 1 hour for the Final Episode...ugh.

Anyway, apart from that minor gripe, her arc wasn't too bad, though again the pacing was off. For all three arcs, there seemed to be this disconnection from what the characters were doing, the development they were going through and the story that's trying to be told. It's interesting, however, how the origins of the more familiar characters has been told...though a few things could have warranted further thought. I just wish I knew whether Nomura either had this all planned from the beginning, or is throwing this all together as he goes because he never saw Kingdom Hearts I to be such a big hit. There was a magic in that flagship title that I haven't felt since, and rather than each successive title building on that magic (bar Chain of Memories), there seems to be a dynamic that he just won't give up. There are various elements that frustrate me about each new title...but this isn't the place for them, and nor is it the time.

Review: Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep - Ventus

Last Sunday (26/09) I completed Ventus' story in Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep and have since started Aqua's story. Yes, I completed his arc in one day...around 13 hours to be exact.

Going into my opinion of his arc, I have to say it's quite cute with his quest for friendship, but the pacing seems to be pretty off. The majority of the arc is dedicated to bouncing around worlds and making friends, while realising that his relationship with Terra and Aqua is unshakable. The last hour is then spent speeding through the important bit of the game's story...the χ-Blade (pronounced: 'ki-blade') of which we have a vague understanding about, taking Terra's story into account. Also, there is a major spoiler I'm very confused about...

Again, I reserve judgement until completing the game, but I shall leave you with this one thought...Zack is too freaking cute! He has always - even as far back as Final Fantasy VII - struck me as the kind of guy who made friends easily. I wish I could be more like that, or perhaps even have someone like that in my life...ah such childish dreams...but I'm learning. Though that line in Terra's arc was a little weird...wouldn't 'freeing one's heart' in effect kill them? I know what it was in reference to...but surely there was a better choice of words.

Speaking of 'kill', why oh why does everyone in a game/anime/manga/cartoon/comic/book whose death is a pivotal point in a story never do the deed themselves...why do they always expect someone else to do it for them? DRAMA!

Review: Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep - Terra

I received my copy of Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep on Thursday 9th September - one day before release this side! I experienced a mix of excitement and trepidation, but I guess this could sum up my reaction:

Well, really the last 3 seconds, but I love that clip. Cracking open the box, I looked at the artbook first and frankly, I'm disappointed by it. It could hardly be called an 'artbook', for it was full of promotional art and CG renderings and images - where was the concept art?! The only hint of 'artwork'/'concept art' was a 2-page spread on world designs. Now I may be a little picky, but Tekken 6 had a better 'artbook' supplied with it's Limited Edition - and I wear the hoodie with pride.

Going back to the game, I haven't even sampled the selected OST yet, but it was strangely addicting. I was hooked on Command Melding and maxing out my D-Links. I've chosen to complete it Terra - Ventus - Aqua, as recommended, and while his story was an innane tango with Light and Dark, the ending to his arc was a twist I did not see coming. Clearly, someone has learned from the master that is Hideo Kojima *cough*Snake Eater*cough*

Seriously though, I loved that twist, though I really feel that the division of Light and Dark is too simple - would one consider 'Anger' an aspect of Darkness? Surely the force behind the sense of 'Anger' is what determines it's classification? There are also a few a things I don't quite understand, but am hoping the other arcs will explain, though if not, I'll revisit them in a summary post.

Final Fantasy XIV - To Buy or Not To Buy...?

It's September...I have my pre-orders in for Valkyria Chronicles II and Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep Limited Collector's Edition - the latter of the two somewhat (actually pretty much) grudgingly. You must wonder why I even bother buying a game, let alone the collector's edition, that I'm not too fond of...and I'll cover that another day - actually, I just thought about the content of this post and you'll most likely find out why a little later on.

One game I'm not sure about putting my hard-earned cash towards is Final Fantasy XIV. I'm probably not the only one who thinks this, but from what I've seen it looks like Final Fantasy XI repackaged - why would I want to pay for an essential clone? I'm not fond of MMORPG's - I see the upside of community, teamwork and playing with real people, but for me the downside lies in monotony, subscription fees and playing with real people. Why would playing with real people be a plus and a downside? Well playing with people is fun, you can talk and login for reasons other than hacking away at enemies and progressing the story - you can complete sidequests together. One fond memory I have of FFXI is when I was around Lv. 6 or so and I logged in to meet a friend, I had somehow earned the aggro from a Goblin and it nearly killed me when my friend swooped in and killed it at the last moment. Totally something out of an anime.

What I'm not too fond of when it comes to playing with people is 'teamwork'. If you're unlucky and end up in a crappy group, everyone will be out for themselves, or there'll be an evident imbalance in the team make-up. What frustrates me is that the very nature of the game forces you to play with other people and it's nigh impossible to play on your own after a certain point. Sometimes, well me in any case, one needs to be able to login and hack a few things, perhaps progress through a quest without the help of someone else, simply because rather than waiting for a team to be put together, I could handle it more quickly solo.

Final Fantasy I and II for the iPhone?!

So, surfing through the Apps available on the iPhone, I decide to browse the games - I love playing video games; if you came to my house you'll be in awe of the sheer number my brothers and I own. I think I'll take a picture and put it up, though there's hardly any point as the collection keeps growing. However, the more games I buy, the more I have to get through and so I have a great number in backlog...there's just not enough time in the day - what with work, TV and sleep!

Anyway, while browsing the games, I'm surprised to find that Square-Enix has actually released the first two games in the Final Fantasy series. Looking at the screens, the graphics, while still 2D sprites, are actually quite nice! However, this makes me wonder what version of the game this was ported from - it's been so long since I last popped in my Final Fantasy: Origins for the PSX that I'm not sure if it was ported from that...What if it's ported from the PSP or the DS version of the game? Or perhaps even the Wii?

Actually...I just Wiki-ed it and it turns out the iPhone version is a port of the PSP version.

Now I'm faced with a dilemma...since I actually like the graphics for these ports...should I buy the PSP version? Perhaps the load times will be faster? You see, what ultimately prevented me from completing Final Fantasy II were the awful load times upon enemy encounter.

This is all quite perplexing, especially when considering the scenario for a comic-strip I have yet to draw...Yes, I'm a comic fan too and an anime and manga one as well.