Hey kids, it’s the second issue of the GameSpite online magazine. Which is slowly transforming into a replacement for the lost-to-life’s-unhappy-changes ToastyFrog Zine, it would seem. This issue has mutated dramatically over the past week or so, transforming from a big round-up of all sorts of things to something very specifically centered around Final Fantasy’s 20th anniversary (which happens in about three weeks on the the Japan side of the ocean). This ties in neatly with next week’s big-ass retrospective at 1UP, I guess, and also tidily frees the site up to talk about less obvious things. It also means the third issue will be along quite soon, since I had to push a bunch of completed articles aside to make for a nice, tidy theme. So! Let us begin.
The Final Fantasy series hub page isn’t quite complete, but it’s off to a decent start. Which is something, I guess.
Final Fantasy
Us old-timers remember well Nintendo Power’s (vaguely manic) determination to hype the living insanity out of the original Final Fantasy. Mightyblue kicks things off by revisiting the game in a quest to determine whether hype in 1990 translates to playable goodness in 2007.
Final Fantasy Portmania
And as a side stop on the Final Fantasy retrospective route that MapQuest planned out for Mightyblue: A look at all the various and sundry ports of Final Fantasy. Which (if any) are worthy of the series’ legacy? And which are pretty much complete crap cashing in on a big name?
Final Fantasy III
Next, wumpwoast pontificates on the merits of Final Fantasy III. Mainly he focuses on last year’s DS remake, although a cosmetic downgrade is available for those who prefer the original Famicom edition.
Final Fantasy IV
A journey into the mind of Torgo to study the merits and demerits of the game that effectively defined what the Final Fantasy series would be. Don’t worry, it’s safe. He’s not the Torgo from Manos: Hand of Fate.” Or is he?
Final Fantasy IV Advance
Nah, he’s not. He also provides a detailed analysis of the good and bad of the most recent iteration of the game, its GBA incarnation. Note that this is only “most recent” for another couple of weeks, when the DS remake arrives in Japan. Ah, Square. Also: a look at FFIV’s genre-defining cast. How many stereotypes can you spot?
Final Fantasy VI
Next, bobservo reevaluates fan-favorite entry Final Fantasy VI with the cynical eye of grim adulthood. Does the game wither under his baleful gaze, or does it flourish? Only by reading will you know for sure.
Final Fantasy VIII
Our look at the eighth Final Fantasy comes from chud_666, who, despite the name, is not actually a man-eating hellbeast hiding in America’s sewers. Or if he is, he does a pretty good job of keeping abreast of and writing about video games.
Final Fantasy IX: Fantasy Made Reality
Kolbe sent a carrier pigeon from Mexico (it was cheaper than using post). Attached to its leg was not a full-fledged review of Final Fantasy IX, but rather a specific look at the game’s strongest elements: its characters and themes. I was never that crazy about FFIX, but who doesn’t love Vivi?
Final Fantasy XII
And finally, I decided to contribute something myself. Unfortunately, it’s merely a long, rambling and ultimately pointless discourse on Final Fantasy XII — and not even one as fun as that old Advent Children review, since all the vituperation has been replaced with something akin to glowing affection. A nice reminder of why the word count limits at 1UP and EGM are such a good idea.
An excellent issue indeed! It almost makes me want to play some Final Fantasy again. Kudos to bobservo for critiquing my favorite FF in a mature manner. And double kudos to Kolbe for piquing my interest in a game I would otherwise never have investigated.
Great articles all around, and now I’m set for my FF info until December ’08.
I figured you’d be done writing about FFXII after how many times you did articles for 1up over it last year. I figured wrong, but no complaints!
You.. you drew a tonberry. That is the coolest thing ever.
My father once referred to FFIV as “a bunch of inch-tall midgets running around in a sophomoric love story.” I was offended at the time. In hindsight, he was a wise, wise man.
Was there no article on FF VII?
sraymonds: You could check the Final Fantasy hub linked above and find out.
Procus: That is a beautiful story.
You’re right, I should have checked the hub. I have forgotten the face of my father and have dishonored my family.
Fantastic work, folks. Love the drawing, Parish.
Great collection of Final Fantasy articles, looking forward to issue #3!
Excellent articles. One thing, please find a way to better scale the images, seeing nearest-neighbor sprite art of Final Fantasy makes me very sad. I know it can be hard to fit them into a layout when you straight out double them, and too small when kept at normal size. I’d prefer a bit of blur in medium quality jpgs to having random pixels be double height/width. Secret confession: I never owned FF2/4 on the SNES. I rented it over 12 times from the mom and pop rental shop. I used to use the a/v cable to hook it into my moms 1,000-watt Pioneer Stereo. It was awesome. Then my mom would be all like “quit listening to James Bond Music”. My favorite videogame music might be the boss music from FF2/4 (regular boss, not elemental).
“I’d prefer a bit of blur”
What? Ew, no.
I never actually owned FF2 back in the day either. It was frigging expensive!
Wow. Kolbe, dude. Way to highlight exactly the best parts of a criminally underrated game. I love it.
Also, your hagiography of FFXII is some of the most important gaming jabber I’ve ever seen.
Is that Tactics A2 I see in the hub icon link?
Is T-Frog doing a Chrono Trigger box pose?
Parish: I didn’t mean to invoke visions of N64 Ogre Battle. When I said blur, I meant as seen on the SNES on a really good crt television, not the artificial overdone “smoothing” as on Nintendo 64. Of course jpgs bring the curse of artifacting at all but the highest quality settings, so carry on…
Oh, video games, the activity for nerds that would love to think its not. Gamers are like John Kricfalusi who would love to think Ren and Stimpy are a more bold artistic statement than just a cat and a dog buttfucking each other.
Oh my god: I’m all for poo-poohing everything, but why come to a site like this at all then?
Chud, didn’t you know? Anonymously spewing hatred on the internet is the favorite pastime for people who have nothing better to do in their life.
Haha – I suppose, but I mean we have nothing better to do than write it! Yeah I done it… but it aint enough. SO here’s this!
How dare a gaming website feature writing about video games?! These fools will feel the sting of my anonymous comment!
You guys rose to the bait. The troll won.
I love how the FF8 article makes no mention of the story and the FF9 article makes no mention of the technical aspects. That was actually really cool.
Didn’t we just get done watching this on Gametrailers though?
Also, isn’t everything nerds do an “activity for nerds that would love to think its not”? I lost track of this crazy person somewhere along the way when it lost track of its grammar.