final fantasy Archive

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Has Final Fantasy Lost Its Magic?

I think I’ve officially outgrown Final Fantasy.

Don’t get me wrong, I used to love the series. Most people had their formative video game experiences with Super Mario Bros. I had mine with Final Fantasy II on the SNES. I remember begging my parents to purchase an obscenely priced Final Fantasy III cartridge for $74.99 at a specialty shop. I even had my relatives pick up an import copy of Final Fantasy V from a trip to Japan even though I knew no Japanese whatsoever. Hell, I was determined to learn kanji as a 12 year old solely to play that game.

Final Fantasy used to be the reason I chose a particular console over another. It was why I wanted the Super Nintendo, Playstation, Playstation 2, and Playstation 3. Each new entry in the franchise was an event. I would spend every free moment lost in the world of Final Fantasy until the epic tale was over.

It took me nearly five months to finish Final Fantasy 13. There were stretches of multiple months where I didn’t even touch the game. I eventually finished the game, but it took a herculean feat of self-motivation to do so.

What happened?

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Nintendo Launches Wii Ware, Final Fantasy

wii ware logo

Fire up your favorite song about kings and airships (Coldplay – Viva La Vida) if you have a Wii, because today is the day you get Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life As King!

Nintendo’s much anticipated Wii Ware service launches today with six titles, including the aforementioned FFCCMLAK.   Wii Ware essentially allows for original games to be distributed digitally to your Wii, ala Xbox Live Arcade or the Playstation Network.

More platforms for games is always a good thing, especially if it means original Homestarrunner games.

The six titles are (divide by 100 to get actual dollar amounts):

Final Fantasy: 1500 Wii Points
LostWinds: 1000 Wii Points
Defend Your Castle: 500 Wii Points
Pop: 700 Wii Points
VIP Casino Blackjack: 700 Wii Points
TV Show King: 1000 Wii Points

Full game descriptions after the jump.

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Review: Crisis Core Final Fantasy 7 (PSP)

crisis core final fantasy 7 logo

If you’re a fan of Final Fantasy 7 and own a PSP you owe it to yourself to play Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 ASAP. Just stop reading and head over to your favorite retailer and pick up a copy – you won’t be disappointed. If you’ve never played a Final Fantasy game before, or are on the fence about starting with this one, then read on.

Crisis Core is the prequel to what is considered one of the greatest role-playing games of all time, Final Fantasy 7. However, unlike other titles in the series, Crisis Core does not have a turn based combat system. Rather, you control one character (Zack Fair) in an almost real-time action title. Combat almost reminded me of my time with God of War: Chains of Olympus as there is a button to roll/dodge and one to defend. Quite often I would play encounters like I did with GoW, dodging and blocking judiciously. Make no mistake, though, the game contains elements that are undeniably Final Fantasy.

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