Exchange Rates

I have been thinking for awhile and I believe that it times for some changing.

Not some big life changing thing, nor a mid-life crisis.  Heck I am only 26.  Not there yet.


No, I need to juggle up my groups a little bit in terms of the console selection.

Currently I have Final Fantasy XIII-2 on the playlist, however I think I need to change that.  I just beat FFV and Crisis Core, and I am currently playing FFIV.  I also am working a lot on FFXI so I feel like I am just surrounded by fantasies that are all final (joke joke).

Seriously though.  I never thought I might get sick of Final Fantasy games.  I love the series.  Thats very easily known.  However I need a change though, especially on the console side of things.

I think the best thing to do is to switch FFXIII-2 out with Assassin's Creed.  I never did play the first game in that series and I now have that plus Assassin's Creed: Revelations.  So what I plan to do is to start playing AC.  Then after that see how I am feeling and reevaluate if I want to start up FFXIII-2 again.  I know for Group III I have FFVI slated to play.  I am going to see about changing that as well whenever I get to it.

FFVI has been something that I have been debating on what to do.  I do own it for GBA and I am pretty far on it.  I know the story of it however I am willing to restart it again.  If I did that I would want to purchase it for the PSP and play on there.  I do favor playing handhelds on my PSP and when I get the chance I like to play games on it.

However do I really want to spend money on something that I already have??

Knight on!!

Things have been a little slow lately.  I blame it on the fact that I have been pretty stuck on my comp as of late just making sure that the final adjustments are made and everything is running properly (i.e. testing its processor power in many ways, including FFXI and Half-Life at the same time).

Because of this I have been having issues committing to playing FFXIII-2.  That and the fact that I have been working every night since last Thursday and that will continue until Tuesday.  I haven't had the drive to really sit down and get working on FFXIII-2.  Since I am in the beginning stages of the game it does require a lot of effort to go through all the tutorials and get the basics of the story down.  My hope is to do that next week, however I have been contemplating switching it out for Assassin's Creed (AC) so I can not be completely over FFed.  I still have sometime however to make that decision.

Instead lets focus on FFIV.  I had made a lot of progress with FFIV awhile ago, but then as always I stopped playing it for awhile.  I tried my best to figure out what was happening in the game but I could not for the life of me figure out things.  Thus I decided to delete a 30 hour saved game so I could start from scratch.

I like the story of Cecil and his journey of being a Dark Knight and finding the "Light Side".  I love the Dark Knight job and its mystery that surrounds it.  Also the armor for it is pretty damn sweet.  Its my second favorite job in FFXI as well.


Its pretty late now and I think that I am going to call it a night.  However I will have more to talk about as I play further along.  I got a 2 hour one way bus ride tomorrow, so I will have enough time to play on.

My DS has taken a beating

I have been getting back into playing ffv more and I realized that my DS has seen better days.

DS in the dark

I know you can't see well with this picture, however I thought it would be artsy fartsy cool.

Things that are messed up on my DS:

• Won't recognize games in the game slots half the time
• The right trigger button has problems sending a signal.  You have to push the button in a specific way to make it work
• Crack in the hinge
• Freezes sometimes on start up
• Losing that luster white color

I have been tempted to get a new DS, or maybe even a 3DS, however I like being able to play Advance games on it as well as DS since I have a lot of Advance games that have yet to be beaten.  However, I do have the small foldup gameboy advanced:

I swear mine is Silver, not Purple

I was going through old things that I had and find a lot of old school Gameboy games and whatnot (original Pokemon, Donkey Kong, Zelda) and I can't believe I ever had all these titles just sitting around.

Will I add them to the list???

e

h

h

h

h

h

h

no.

Not yet at least.  As for now I think its time to juice up the ole clunker of a DS and give FFV a whirl.

I remember when I had a Big Ass Gameboy

I try a lot not to use this as a soapbox for agendas or anything.  However looking at my list of games I realized something.  Handheld games are pretty good.

Here is whats up.  I read Kotaku daily.  I am not a crazy poster or anything, just like the articles.  But from looking on there and reading other stories there is this belief at the least, and a solid though that the handheld system (DS, 3DS, PSP, Vita, etc) is on the way out to be replaced by the cellphone.

I got some qualms with that.

Looking at the different arguments that are presented I wanted to say things about each one and add my own two cents (then I want to steal those cents away from you since I need the monies :) )

No one wants to pay a whole bunch of money for another thing to carry around when they can just play on their phone.

As a casual to above average gamer I don't carry my PSP/DS around in my pocket.  That would just look really damn weird, and I don't like to have more than one bulky thing in my pant (BAM!!!!!).  I choose to carry mine in my bookbag that I bring with me everywhere.  If I go to the mall or store then I usually leave it in the trunk, however I have it with me at work mostly cause I believe I should always be prepared.  They make carrying cases for the systems which unless you have it fastened around your neck they are meant to be placed in a case or carried by hand.  Yes most people put their phones in their pocket but I don't think they have in the other pocket their Nintendo system or PSP.  Heck the last system that I think could fit in a pocket was the Game Boy Advanced SP and the Game Boy Micro.

Its cheaper to just have a smartphone that can play games than to have both.

This might seem like it is pretty self explanatory but lets analyze things.  When you buy a cell phone, lets just say the new iPhone 4s for instance, you usually are going to buy a contract to go with it.  Normally you would buy a 2 year contract since you get the cheapest price for the phone.  So if we use Verizon, which I have, and say you want a 2 year contract with a 16GB iPhone 4s, you would pay 199.99 for the phone.  The price would go up $100 for 32GB and another 100 for 64GB.  So staying at the cheap end you have paid 199.99 for a phone.  You are buying the phone not for the express purposes to play game on.  You are buying it so you can make phone calls, text, get your email, and surf the web.  I consider those the 4 main reasons why you get a smartphone.  Its a phone so its main purpose is for communication with others.  Not for gaming.  If you break your phone and don't have insurance on it (which I have discovered is not that uncommon), for you to get another iPhone 4s it would run at least $649.99 without going onto ebay and getting a used one.

Now lets look at getting a PS Vita since its brand new.  Just getting a PS Vita WiFi (I really don't think you need to have 3g on all your stuff.  I have a wifi only iPad and I don't hate the fact at all that I don't have 3g on it.  Mostly cause there are so many places nowadays that you can get a wifi signal on while driving around) would cost you 249.99 at the least.  You can get on the internet with it and exchange information with friends.  You can play others as well, but it is a gaming device.  It it meant for you to play games on and not make calls and texts.  Its nice for little kids to have since 8 year olds don't need a damn cellphone.  If you or your child breaks a PS Vita it is going to cost you 249.99 to get another one.  Honestly though, handhelds usually are quite resilient so it takes a lot to break them.  By then the price could drop to $200.

When you combine prices for things, if you have to get a new iPhone your total for both phones would be $849.98, and for two PS Vita's it would be $499.98.  When you compare the two prices, you have enough money to get another PS Vita if you wanted ($350 difference).  You can also take into account the price of games for the system, but we will cover that next.  Therefore its cheaper in the long run to get a handheld since 1. You are getting it for gaming and not for phone calls, 2. If you break the system its cheaper to get a new one than it is to get a new phone.

Games for smartphones are cheaper than those for handheld games.
Ok.  I will give them this.  Yes they are cheaper.  Angry birds and quick little games are much cheaper.  Hell, you can get a couple of Final Fantasy games for about $15 for your phone.  But its the quality of the game you are paying for.  Look, Angry Birds is no FF game or mainstream console game.  I understand that it probably took a little bit of time to code, however the overall design and making of it is nowhere near most modern day games (we all know Call of Duty is just the same thing, they just change the maps around).  When you have a game that takes upwards of a year to make then it is going to be more expensive because you have to make up all the hours put into the game.  I do think they can work on dropping the price of video games by getting rid of the traditional medium used (Disc, cartridge, Blu-Ray, CD, etc.) and go to either a small flash card or download it.  Basic business says that if you can deliver the same product and remove just 1 element you can make it cheaper for the consumer, and with the way the economy is now price is a big time factor in purchasing a game.

With the above statements covered I think I will just address random things that are on my mind from here.

I know the screen on a smartphone is amazing in terms of its clarity, and can probably support some of the most taxing graphic wise games we have, however I can't really see someone wanting to put 60 hours into a game using a touchscreen as the control.  Its a bitch to use the touch screen to play games, especially if you have fat fingers like me.  Its like typing out an email on touchscreen.  Yeah you can do it, however it is a bitch and a half for long emails.

The ability to buy things in a game is not something that can be easily done on a hand held system.  However it is something that if people put their heads to it they could make it work.  Do I think its something that would be greatly used for handhelds?  Ehhhhh.  I mostly see it as a draw for certain games like Angry Birds and Cityville and all.  Maybe would be big for a FPS on a handheld when you want to buy a kickass gun, but who knows.

You might be thinking that I am dogging Angry Birds et al.  I am not.  I like Angry Birds.  I know that there is a version for the PSP of the game.  However I think its a good thing for just the smartphone.  Its a mindless game that helps to pass the time on the subway/waiting room/etc. without having to get big into the story (if you happen to have a hatred for bigs and want justice for all birds then you might want to seek therapy).  Yeah companies make big time $$ of these types of games however they are like solitaire.  Everyone plays it however does it need to be on a system that can also fly a spaceship?  No.  Also, I am not saying that a PSP can fly a spaceship.  I was just trying to make an analogy.

Another thing to think about is battery life.  I like being able to get in contact with someone for an emergency or work.  If I am playing a game that eats up my phones battery, where am I left at??  Its nice to have another system that is made for games and not being interrupted by every damn text or update on the internet.  I hate not having enough energy to do things.


I think that I am going to end with this final thought.
The Handheld has a good life ahead of it.  Companies need to make some changes to keep it in the fight, however the smartphone is not really its major competitor.  I think that belongs to the people who choose to give up on it.  Handhelds have a bright future for them if we decided to allow it to be that way.  If we give up on them now I think that we will be greatly disappointed by what we find is waiting.  Cause right now my damn phone can't catch me some Pokemon.

Moore and more forest

Currently walking through the great Forest if Moore. Halt. There it is. One really big ass tree. What's inside you ask? Oh, nothing major. Well, except for those four crystals that attack you till spill your blood so you don't destroy them to let loose massive evil.

Yeah. Oh joy for myself in fighting them. The complexities in the plot. The crystals are for good you think, and they are. Yet you are to destroy them. I get so confused on what to do.

Luckily by looking ahead in my trusty guide I realize that I am maybe at the half way point now.

Halfway. I have about 26 hours playtime. More than one Earth day has been played on this game by myself and I am halfway.

.........

I can't wait to get through this.

Don't get me wrong. I enjoy FFV. It's a great game. I am just in a mood where I feel things are dragging right now. I have a couple jobs for each character mastered which places me in a good position, but I need something crazy to happen. Just one little really crazy thing.








Please?

Wish updates to the DS were able

One of the joys of my quick 10 minute drive to work when the traffic is crap is that I could pull out my PSP and play it while I waited for the light to turn.  Some of you might think that that is horrible and I could be placing other people in danger with this, however there are far more issues with driving that this that occur in my town.

My beef is this.  I am currently working on FFV and possibly looking at doing a long haul on the DSlite with some other games.  Now FFV Advance is a GBA game and it works on my DS, however since it is not a DS game I can't just close the screen and it will freeze it where I am and allow me to start back off immediately, as well as not burn the battery down.  That is what I loved about my PSP.  I could put it on standby, and then when I knew I could slip in a couple of minutes I would just fire up the machine and have no problems.  However with having to start the DS, select the game, click start at the start screen, skip the little montage at the beginning, click to load my game, and begin time has passed.  Precious time.  Time that I could have been playing the game and forget about the monotony of this damn left turn light.  Or even worse, the traffic light on Paulson.  That is a complete cluster if I have ever seen one.

Simply put, I just want to have a quick start and end from and to standby.  If not then I feel like this might be a little long to get through things.

Bring on the 16-bit madness!!

So, I have finally decided to delve past the time of the Playstation. Before the the DS.

It is time to go to the era of 16-bit, and the first Final Fantasy game that I will talk about on here (I have completed many other ff games, however this is the first one blogged about for me).

Let me get this off my chest. Plain and simple, I am a fan of Final Fantasy games.  Maybe I should rephrase that.  I love Final Fantasy games.  The first one I can remember playing was Final Fantasy III on SNES, which was actually FFVI.  If you want to know more about that weird change up then look it up.

I remember renting FFIII on SNES as a lad.  I remembered Terra and Lock and so on.  Squaresoft/SquareEnix has always done well with a story, especially in the beginning of the series when they were still trying to prove things.  The graphics and gameplay have always pushed the envelope as well, and this is what sucks the player into the coding of the game.

This entry is not about the Final Fantasy series though.  I could write about it, however that may come on a down day.  The center stage belongs to Final Fantasy V, or in this case Final Fantasy V Advance for the Gameboy Advance.  The background for this FF game as with the previous games is the crystals.  The foundation of the world (cause it is not Earth is the game) is maintained and balanced by these crystals.  Usually 4 crystals, earth, wind, water, and fire, but I do believe that sometimes changes.

I think the enjoyment of this classic game comes because it was original and during a time when the series was still working on its rise to fame.  The class system in FFV is so enthralling because of the combinations available, but as well the customization and strategy available to play the game.  It's this to me that makes a good RPG.

Now I know I said that I would be restarting each game I play, but this is one that since I did remember the story, I decided to continue off where I was.  Plus, I am pretty far in the story now and I really really did not want to restart after hours of grinding to get up in level.

SPOILER!!!


I am at the point in the story where I have just gotten the power of the meteorites to send me to the other world, and Exdeath almost got me.  But being the total badass that Bartz and company are they escaped.  I found this idea of going to other worlds kind of repeating in some of the FF games, however it is entertaining cause there is a purpose behind it and not just some excuse to go to some other planet.

It is exciting to me to be playing these classic games again.  It just seems to be very refreshing and exciting to have these games, even though they are soo different from the modern batch of stuff coming out today.