Popular Post YaManSmevz Posted December 1, 2023 Author Popular Post Share Posted December 1, 2023 (edited) Monthly Update with Ya Man Smevz November 2023 Well, shit - the 31 day countdown to yet another new year has begun. It's time for holidays, shitty eating, and of course writing up some year-end posts about all the media we liked. Woo! And now, I submit to Guinness the least amount of progress ever reported in a PSN checklist update: 93.40% Overall Completion (+0) 389 Unearned Trophies (-0) 3.50 Trophies Per Day (-0.08) 112 Platinums (+0) Level 416 (+0) As you can see, I didn't even bother getting a trophy this month - in fact, I'm not sure I even turned my PS4 on at all! Game of the Month Wordle. Rating the Month It's funny how at first it was a product of indifference, but eventually I started wanting to have a trophyless month, like I didn't have the time or desire to play anyway, but it weirdly became its own thing. Some men just want to watch their trophy averages burn, I guess? So yeah, this month was so bad that I can't even name a game I wish I'd like to think about wanting to have played on my PS4, so I've little choice other than to give zero letters out of five. December Goals In all honesty, I've kinda made peace with the fact that my year tripped and fell into a big puddle of curiously foul shit. I have at least proven to myself that I still know how to type words, and I'd like to at least do that consistently to finish off the year strong. Let's see if we can do... 1. Four reviews, and 2. A platinum. Any. Like seriously who cares at this point... Hmmm.... too far. But yeah, I got a few options! Gaming Hitlist 1. Mortal Kombat 11 All I need to complete a Kaleidoscope Challenge card is a yellow-thumbnailed game. That's literally it. We can do that much! 2. South Park: The Fractured but Whole I've been enjoying this one quite a lot, and got pretty far along. One of those "wait, why did I stop playing that again?" type games. 3. Silent Hill 2 Total longshot, but I'd love to have this one eligible for some awards. That's it for me. I'm gonna go blast A Long December like the old ass man I am; there's reason to believe maybe this year will be better than the last, after all. Happy December, y'all. Edited December 1, 2023 by YaManSmevz 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YaManSmevz Posted December 1, 2023 Author Share Posted December 1, 2023 On 11/28/2023 at 6:42 PM, Super_Mep said: @YaManSmevz Wow a Dead Kennedy's reference. Hell yeah dude! 🤘 Sorry this reply is from a post weeks ago just had to say something haha Sorry, I meant to respond to this! Yessir, I love me some Dead Kennedys💀 A good eye, there! And don't even trip, I'm always happy to see a new face. Thanks for dropping by👊😎 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super_Mep Posted December 1, 2023 Share Posted December 1, 2023 Just now, YaManSmevz said: Sorry, I meant to respond to this! Yessir, I love me some Dead Kennedys💀 A good eye, there! And don't even trip, I'm always happy to see a new face. Thanks for dropping by👊😎 I'm still trying to get caught up on reading your post so I'm sure I'll have more to say. But yeah seeing a DK reference on my favorite forum is always a sight for sore eyes 😁 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post YaManSmevz Posted December 15, 2023 Author Popular Post Share Posted December 15, 2023 Platinum #24: Final Fantasy VII I don't know anything, I don't know who I am It's a funny thing when a piece of media you've loved since its original release attains iconic status. Even if you and seemingly everybody else knew it was something special right from the jump, every so often it can feel strange, and you'll wonder “when did this even happen?” You remember hearing from friends, maybe seeing an ad, about this awesome new game. You buy it at the store, open up the case and take in that new CD booklet smell (unless you think that’s weird, in which case I do too and totally never did that) and read through the whole thing in utter excitement, so eager to get home and start playing. You love it, your friends love it, and you play it obsessively, learning everything there is to know about it in the process. Now, it’s a big deal – it turns out that damn near every gamer who was there had the same experience, and has been talking about how great it is this whole time. Even non gamers know it by name at this point, and it’s spoken of with such reverence, and such weariness for those who never got the hype. It’s just this game you loved in your youth, and now it’s a titan not only in its genre, but its form of entertainment altogether. I’m talking of course about the 1997 classic Diddy Kong Racing. Also, just a quick disclaimer: I'm not even going to pretend that I have any idea how one talks about Final Fantasy VII in this capacity (because I very much don't), but all the same, we will give it the old college try. Whatever the fuck that means. If I had to hazard a guess as to when Final Fantasy VII transcended “fantastic game that most people really liked a lot” to the immortal plane of beloved, legendary, iconic, classic, and whatever other word I should’ve used here, I'd go with 2005, when Square put out that tech demo of a re-imagined FF7 for the soon to be released PS3. And who could've made the very easy prediction that we gamers would completely lose our minds? Apparently not Square. Us: OMG THERE’S GONNA BE A FF7 REMAKE?? Square: lolwut? No way! Gross. Nah, we just wanted to show what the new system hardware is capable of. Pretty neat, huh? Us: Well too bad, we want a remake now and will not stop bothering you til we get one. Square: Dammit. How could this innocent gesture have possibly backfired?? Then there’s talk about a new game with Zack, another new game with Vincent, and next thing I know I own a freakin copy of Advent Children. It was a wild time! With so much good to talk about, I thought we may as well start by acknowledging the mixed bags that are the translation and the graphics. The translation is famously iffy, with plenty of errors to pick from, like "This guy are sick," "Attack while the tail is up," the Touph Ring, or even one of our very character's names. It's my understanding that Aerith was named as a near anagram of Earth, which I thought was pretty neat. However, the translators were less impressed, as they spelled Aerith with an S (or perhaps instead thought it was a near anagram for Ears, cuz she's like, a good listener, or something). Back in the day the really hardcore fans would call you out if you referred to her as Aeris, and they have all been validated as being correct, but... I'm sorry. Whenever I write about the remake, she's Aerith, all day. But here? I mean, I was introduced to her as Aeris, so that's what I'm callin her. The other thing is the 3D models, which have not aged well at all. Even the non-blocky, lego-lookin renditions of our heroes looks a bit lackluster compared to the stunning pre-rendered backgrounds, but I… kinda don’t care? Brass tacks: does it look good? No, and anyone making that criticism is taking a fair hit. However, I personally don't feel the need to dock those points on a game that came out in 1997, an era infamous for garish designs and colors from over-excited developers who didn't know what to do with all the 3D they suddenly had. And also, the backgrounds just looked so good. For the time, yes, but I'd argue in general as well! Every new place you went to felt so different, and were all packed with details (Final Fantasy’s fellow PS1 trilogy, Resident Evil, is another great example of this). The incredible industrial metropolis of Midgar, with its blend of glitz and grime (a combo I've always loved), the tiny, almost FF6 looking village of Kalm, the huge, expensive ass house you can buy in Costa Del Sol, the Eastern paragon of Wutai, every place is so distinct and has so much going on. Cinematics were also blended in with gameplay at dramatic moments, something I had never seen before - perhaps the best example I can think of off the top of my head is that incredible intro. Final Fantasy VII has one of the best openings of any game ever, and I will happily die on this hill. It immediately sheds the series' longtime use of medieval aesthetics and dives deep into its futuristic, kinda sorta cyberpunk look with that aerial view of the Shinra building proudly standing tall over Midgar's &^#$# pizza. We then zoom in to the chaos about to unfold, along with these quick shots of a train screeching to a halt, and what started as something serene and beautiful has quickly devolved into utter pandemonium. That music is heart-pumping, and by the time we're introduced to Cloud, we're already like "let's GO, mah BOI!!" That entire first mission has such a sense of urgency that you'd be forgiven for forgetting that you're playing an RPG and thinking you have to move quickly! And can I just say... dat score, tho?? Nobuo Uematsu was already a big name, with some immortal themes under his belt just from FF6 alone, but he truly outdid himself here. The obvious high points like One Winged Angel and Aeris' Theme are utterly dizzying, but there's so many great pieces here that likely most people have a different obscure favorite. Mine is On Our Way, which comes at the end of the Midgar section. I've spent a great deal of time just sitting there and vibing to that scene alone! The gameplay, at least as far as your basic PS1 era RPG is concerned, is top notch as well. In addition to the usual weapon, armor, and special item equipping, we also have the brilliant materia system. Materia are the orbs you draw magic from, and they come in several different varieties. The most creative, I'd argue, were the support ones that you'd only be able to use if your weapon had linked slots. You could customize your party in damn near any way you'd like - fire enemies coming up? Link Elemental and Fire in your armor. Is your party taking a lot of damage? Add All to your curing magic. It was so dope, and it took a few playthroughs before I really started to get good at utilizing this system. I thought it was perfect, because it was easy to understand, and while it definitely helped a great deal, there was no need to go totally overboard. It wouldn't break the game once you got really good with its system, or outright punish you for not using it to your advantage, like certain other PS1 games under the Final Fantasy banner. Finally, let's get into the most important part, the story. Our main protagonist is Cloud Strife, a spiky yellow and purple pixel with a freakishly long sword. He joins his childhood friend Tifa's extremist group AVALANCHE (a secret organization whose name is only meant to be shouted, imagine that) for a few jobs as they wage war on Shinra, an evil capitalist corporation quite literally sucking the finite life force out of the planet in order to provide cheap utilities for the masses. Complicating things is the apparent appearance of Sephiroth, a well known, insanely powerful figure thought to have died previously, and his mystique looms large over the story long before we even get a glimpse of him. From there, it's your standard "crap, we have to save the world" while meeting new friends and foes along the way fare, and while this outline was played out even in 1997, everything is so well laid out, and the characters are so deeply written and easy to get attached to, that you get sucked in very quickly. I'll be delving into pretty heavy spoilers territory here, so if you haven't played this one (and I'm sorry, but seriously, where the hell have you been?), just scroll on past the italic paragraphs. Don't worry, they'll fly by so fast you'll barely even see them! So many of these characters have their own arcs that are incredibly fulfilling to see through - Aeris coming to terms with who she really is and where her responsibilities lie, Red resolving his daddy issues, Barrett confronting his survivor's guilt, Cid accepting that his dreams weren't meant to be, and of course Cloud's intense denial. Aeris' death is what's largely talked about as the big twist, but I think the honor should go to the reveal of Cloud as an unreliable narrator. When Sephiroth explains everything, at first we're with Cloud, like what the hell are you talking about bro, this is my guy right here. But Tifa's overwhelming discomfort is unsettling, and the reveal with the picture and the truth of the Nibelheim scenario is just unnerving. Cloud can't handle the truth, and his psyche completely shatters. It’s amazing how you can trick yourself into believing your own lies. I have a personal example I'd like to share - during the recession in 2008, I was having a really hard time and developed a drinking problem, to the point where I got fired for showing up to work intoxicated. A few months passed with me unable to find another job, and I bumped into a friend from the place where I got canned. He told me about how they closed down after New Year’s Eve, and talked about how they were handing out champagne when the ball dropped, knowing they were all soon to be out of work. So I took and used this tidbit, acting as though I myself had experienced that in job interviews, using it as an excuse for having left there. Eventually, I found work, stopped drinking like a selfish jerk, and righted the ship. However, a few years or so ago I was telling a friend about that job, and I started telling the story about handing out champagne on New Year’s Eve, before literally stopping, thinking about it, and laughing as I explained that that wasn’t the truth. For a moment, I truly believed that to be the genuine memory. The fact that we can do that to ourselves is terrifying, and it is no less the case when we see our party’s fearless leader do it as well. Upon replays, you really see the burden that Tifa carries through the majority of the game, being the only one who knew all along that something was seriously off with Cloud. I also wish the hidden scene with Cloud and Zack wasn’t so… well, hidden! It explains SO MUCH and is absolutely devastating. When Tifa helps Cloud piece himself back together, it's a really powerful moment, and it's capped off by that final confrontation with Sephiroth - Cloud just gives him this look of disdain, so tired of living in his shadow. And we think we're getting a proper 1v1, but then Cloud unleashes his Omnislash limit break - which my first time playing, I hadn't seen before - and it's absolutely jaw dropping. When it's over, he may as well be Walt telling Skylar "I won." It's so fantastic. I mean come on. Okay! Now that I've taken up ungodly amounts of your time, let's wrap this up! I think Final Fantasy VII has been a bit of a victim of its own success in the same way as Nirvana or Citizen Kane; the people who were there lavished it with such praise, that a lot of people who weren't probably grew tired of hearing about it and were unimpressed to find something so tremendously dated to have all of this good will. But I mean, it comes with the territory, there's not a lot you can do about that. Obviously nobody can experience the game the same way my friends and I did way back in the day, but I'm really happy that it's still getting play, and that it's become the gargantuan name that it is. Fuck, I'm old. Anyway, as always thanks for reading all my word vomit! Stray Observations - Final Fantasy VII was the intro for a lot of kids to more long-form gaming. I know this because I can’t tell you how many times I heard at school, “Oh, Final Fantasy VII? You need a memory card to play that one!” - It's so charming how quickly we become attached to both Tifa and Aeris. They're so warm, friendly, and (at least Aeris) comfortable in their own skin, everything Cloud is not. People talk about a love triangle between them and Cloud, but let's be real, that ain't what's goin on. It's because we as gamers love them so much - again a testament to the quality of these characters! - Wall Street is FANTASTIC. I love how slimy it all feels, particularly with Don Corneo, and his little dance after the trap door opens kills me. - Dude, J-E-N-O-V-A is a fucking jam. Surely some DJs with nerdy tendencies have tried dropping at least a few measures of that into a dance mix! - Finishing off Midgar feels so dramatic! And not even just the boss fights and wildly bad ass motorcycle sequence, but just how huge it feels to be leaving in general. Like wait, I have a world map now?? I’ve already seen so much and hadn’t even hit the world map yet?? Fuck! - Orthopedic underwear! - A buddy of mine did a painting of Sephiroth standing in those flames, I think he still has it (I hope so, that shit came out killer). Also, gotta send some love to Sephiroth for being the iconic villain he is.. I mean is he a bit of a momma's boy when compared to Kefka? Yeah, but so is everybody! - The Golden Saucer is so dope, it's such a fucking fever dream. Really can't wait to see what it looks like in the remake. - I didn't even know about this one til a few years ago, but that you-know-what moment garners a different reaction from every single playable character. Crazy. - Highwind Takes to the Skies is the song that should play the second you either clock out from work, are dismissed from class, or really any time you leave a room that contained any sort of unpleasantness. - I love how even after Cloud has just bared his soul and intense struggle of finding himself with the group, and apologized profusely for the risk he's put everybody at, Cid can't let the "let’s mosey" go. And rightly so, that shit's corny as fuck. That's why Cid's the #&%$ GoaT. - Play this game naming Cloud Zack, Red Nanaki, and Cait Sith Reeve. It made me laugh, at least. THAT Trophy: Best Bromance It's not hard necessarily, but it had me paranoid because I'd actually never experienced this before and I didn't wanna fuck it up! There's a lot you gotta do right for this one. It's funny too cuz I've beaten this game at least forty or so times, but never got this to happen until this playthrough - I guess I just had that much trouble being mean to the girls at every turn! 14 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrBloodmoney Posted December 15, 2023 Share Posted December 15, 2023 Dude - that was nostalgia to the max reading through that! Nice work! also… 58 minutes ago, YaManSmevz said: Play this game naming Cloud Zack, Red Nanaki, and Cait Sith Reeve. It made me laugh, at least. …I think you and I have a similar idea… though I recall playing through, naming all 9 namable characters “Sephiroth”… …that made my dopey young self giggle 🤭 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YaManSmevz Posted December 15, 2023 Author Share Posted December 15, 2023 19 minutes ago, DrBloodmoney said: Dude - that was nostalgia to the max reading through that! Nice work! Thank you, sir! I appreciate that a lot. Especially from a homie, but especially from a fellow 83er👴👴 19 minutes ago, DrBloodmoney said: also… …I think you and I have a similar idea… though I recall playing through, naming all 9 namable characters “Sephiroth”… …that made my dopey young self giggle 🤭 🤣🤣🤣 I love it! "Alright, everybody! It's time for the final battle with Sephiroth. I, Sephiroth, will have Sephiroth and Sephiroth in my party attacking Sephiroth from the front, while Sephiroth, Sephiroth, and Sephiroth will attack from another party, and meanwhile we'll have Sephiroth team up with Sephiroth and Sephiroth!" 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum_Vice Posted December 16, 2023 Share Posted December 16, 2023 It goes to show how loved this game is, that despite my lack of having played it and despite having really played any JRPGs, I knew about everything that you've written and followed with the understanding of someone who has "book knowledge, but no real world experience." Also: comparing Aeris to the Moops was class. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StraightVege Posted December 16, 2023 Share Posted December 16, 2023 THERE'S NO MOOPS, YOU IDIOT! You deserve a like for that reference alone.😄 My somewhat interesting childhood story regarding the whole Aeris mistranslation: after finally beating the game normally, I started experimenting with GameShark codes during my second playthrough, such as infinite Gil and fast leveling. An unintended side-effect of doing so was that her name somehow got set to Aerith upon recruiting her into the party, which obviously confused the heck out me at the time. Guess the original code was still in the game, and messing around with it to cheat triggered this somehow. Later, I read about the regional differences in PSM or something, and it was a big "ah-ha" moment for me. Oddly, besides going through hell with all the Chocobo stuff to access Knights of the Round for those intimidating ultimate bosses, probably what I remember most about FFVII is the little RTS mini-game you play after reaching some mountain fort. The name escapes me at the moment, but I want to say the location was called Condor, maybe? Strange what sticks in your head sometimes. Well-written, as always! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YaManSmevz Posted December 16, 2023 Author Share Posted December 16, 2023 17 hours ago, Platinum_Vice said: It goes to show how loved this game is, that despite my lack of having played it and despite having really played any JRPGs, I knew about everything that you've written and followed with the understanding of someone who has "book knowledge, but no real world experience." Word! That's like me with Star Wars, I never got into those movies but I learned everything that happens through cultural osmosis. There are people in third world countries that could tell you both who Luke's father is and what happened to Aeris..th..ssth. 17 hours ago, Platinum_Vice said: Also: comparing Aeris to the Moops was class. 17 hours ago, StraightVege said: THERE'S NO MOOPS, YOU IDIOT! You deserve a like for that reference alone.😄 Hah! Thank you and thank you! Once again, Seinfeld saves the day✊️ 17 hours ago, StraightVege said: My somewhat interesting childhood story regarding the whole Aeris mistranslation: after finally beating the game normally, I started experimenting with GameShark codes during my second playthrough, such as infinite Gil and fast leveling. An unintended side-effect of doing so was that her name somehow got set to Aerith upon recruiting her into the party, which obviously confused the heck out me at the time. Guess the original code was still in the game, and messing around with it to cheat triggered this somehow. Later, I read about the regional differences in PSM or something, and it was a big "ah-ha" moment for me. Yooo that's what's up! I vaguely remember using Game Shark codes as well, putting the Turks in my party and, less interestingly, adding an extra letter space so I could call Cloud Ex-SOLDIER like he was called in the intro😂 You're much smarter than me, you actually took note of the -th and made the connection later on, I completely forgot about that and was blindsided by it later🤣 17 hours ago, StraightVege said: Oddly, besides going through hell with all the Chocobo stuff to access Knights of the Round for those intimidating ultimate bosses, probably what I remember most about FFVII is the little RTS mini-game you play after reaching some mountain fort. The name escapes me at the moment, but I want to say the location was called Condor, maybe? Strange what sticks in your head sometimes. Dude yes! You spend so much time fucking around with chocobos. Less time at Fort Condor, but I dunno, as far as the litany of mini-games went, I'd say it was fairly memorable! As you say, it's funny what our memories will hold on to.... tho damn if you didn't just get me wanting to play that😂 17 hours ago, StraightVege said: Well-written, as always! Thank you, sir! Always appreciated😎👊 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StraightVege Posted December 17, 2023 Share Posted December 17, 2023 2 hours ago, YaManSmevz said: I vaguely remember using Game Shark codes as well, putting the Turks in my party and, less interestingly, adding an extra letter space so I could call Cloud Ex-SOLDIER like he was called in the intro😂 Ah, now that you mention it, I do recall having Sephiroth in my party for a time. It ended up being quite disappointing for deluded kid me, since he wasn't as overpowered as I had expected, and it was buggy (could crash the game). There were a lot of Sephiroth codes, though, so maybe I just used a bad one. 2 hours ago, YaManSmevz said: You spend so much time fucking around with chocobos. Indeed, especially when it's 1997 and you can't simply ask for advice on the Internet. The strategy guide I owned was inaccurate regarding how to breed a Gold Chocobo, so I wasted far too many hours trying to figure it out myself. Eventually, my older brother got lucky with his experimentation and made one at last, which resulted in a big celebratory moment I'll never forget. That first cast of the Knights materia was mind-blowing to us, haha. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Briste Posted December 18, 2023 Share Posted December 18, 2023 On 12/15/2023 at 4:27 PM, YaManSmevz said: You remember hearing from friends, maybe seeing an ad, about this awesome new game. You buy it at the store, open up the case and take in that new CD booklet smell (unless you think that’s weird, in which case I do too and totally never did that) and read through the whole thing in utter excitement, so eager to get home and start playing. You love it, your friends love it, and you play it obsessively, learning everything there is to know about it in the process. Excellent write up sir! This part here literally brought me back to the day I got my copy lol It was the first game I ever owned that needed multiple discs to contain the awesomeness. I remember opening the CD case and catching that whiff of new game, counting the THREE CDs encased and immediately opening the manual to look through it on the drive home from Electronics Boutique. I didn't beat it 40 times like you, but it's the console game I've played the most in my life. I think I still have my memory card with my first play through ever saved, a triple master materias for each materia type, and a save right before that scene to re-watch whenever I was feeling down. Well done! I'll be replaying the PS5 version of FF7R in late January/February to get prepped for part 2. I can't wait! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shrooba Posted December 18, 2023 Share Posted December 18, 2023 (edited) Dang, the odds of you releasing this while I'm playing on FF7R! It's my first Final Fantasy, and I am absolutely loving it to death. And to think I'm not even halfway through the overall narrative of what the OG set out yet! 😅 I'll definitely give the OG a go some day. I think FF7 was definitely ahead of it's time, with it's emphasis on protecting the planet and scrutinizing organizations that would disparage the ecosystem for militaristic and economic gain. Of course though, these conversations always existed, but in terms of recent years with division and misinformation on the topic, I feel it makes FF7 much more stronger, narratively, in retrospect. The music, as you said, is something that's been absolutely huge. You've got Jenova, the Airbuster, Sephiroth's iconic One-Winged Angel, but also some great ones that set the mood, like the bombastic battle theme-- especially, as you note, where Cloud triumphantly hops off the train at the beginning of the game. You get an idea of the absolute scope of Midgar, and here comes a blond-haired, sword-wielding warrior willing to overcome any force that stands in his way. With how intense it is, it really does put you in his shoes, going up against what essentially IS the government of Midgar, with just you and a ragtag group of other new faces who want to make change. It's great how you mention the importance of materia, as well. Whilst I've yet to experience the full story, and the original game as a result, I feel as though FF7R's hard mode playthrough emulates the same feeling of mastering materia, based on what you've said in regards to the OG. How and what you equip on your party is ESSENTIAL for battles, and it turns what felt like standard "I'll wallop and cast the occasional spell" in fights to "alright, I'll build ATB with Tifa for the group, and use Cloud to build pressure, and Aerith to either heal when necessary or unleash devastating spells to stagger the enemy". Materias-- and how you level them up to increase their effects-- are a necessary aspect. There's even the case of the last couple chapters where I just went about bosses by using Cloud's counterstance ability, and having Manawall casted to make him a tank. It's funny, because there's a particular fight in the "combat simulator" where you use thundaga and firaga spells not even with the intent to cause damage, but simply to keep the boss preoccupied. In that regard, it's awesome to see Square Enix translate this detail into the more action-based gameplay of FF7R. Also, it's funny how Avalanche is supposed to be this super secretive organization, yet you have Barret and the others openly proclaiming their next goals on a frickin' public train!!! 😂 Edited December 18, 2023 by Shrooba 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post YaManSmevz Posted December 19, 2023 Author Popular Post Share Posted December 19, 2023 Platinum #2: Final Fantasy VIII This could be us, but you're playin To call Final Fantasy VII a success wouldn't just be an understatement, it might actually be mildly insulting. It was one of those games that came along and changed everything, setting a new bar for storytelling, character development, music, and detailed open worlds. Its influence is so vast that ideas from its production appear in games as early as 1995's Chrono Trigger and as late as 2009's Final Fantasy XIII. The runaway success put its genre on the map for good as well - we call FF7 a JRPG now, but at the time it was more commonly referred to as simply an RPG because there was scarcely any need to make the distinction! Quite a tall order to follow all that, no? Word was they wanted to go in an even more modern direction, and go for broke with realism. We saw the magazine articles, and had an idea, but it wasn't til we got our hands on Final Fantasy VIII in Spring of 1999 that we got to really see the scope of what they were working with; I remember very well slapping that first disc (of four!!) into the PS1, and how thoroughly the intro knocked my socks off. Of course, it's not long after this that FF8 says "Alright y'all, if nobody minds I'm gonna get weird with myself," and keeps re-upping the weird all the way to the very end. Which is admirable for sure, they could have very easily given us another VII and nobody would've complained, but VIII was a very bold game indeed, for better and for worse. So as interesting as it was to see a game I loved as a youth become the stuff of legend, today I get to write about how it's also interesting to see a game I loved as a youth become.. well, not that. We can start again with the flaws, which admittedly is a considerably longer list this time around. To be clear, I love Final Fantasy VIII, and will always stand up for it, but uh... yeah, I ain't blind, either. The first offender is a pretty big one: the very gameplay itself. The junction system is odd from the jump, doing away with something that pretty much every RPG has had before and since: MP. Rather, magic is a finite item that you must stockpile, and are discouraged from using, so that you can save them to improve your stats. Also, you can't simply junction magic spells to improve your stats yourself, you need to have a Guardian Force assigned - this game's version of summons/espers. In fact, you're utterly dependent on GFs, as your stats across the board are all utter shit without a GF and some magic spells junctioned. "Oh," you think. "Well, I'll just level my characters up so that I don't have to deal with that shit!" Yeeaaahhh, they thought you might try that, so they made it an exercise in futility to level up by making all enemies level up along with you - that's right, leveling up gives you no advantage whatsoever, in fact in many cases it actively hurts you! The junction system requires a lot of trial and error, and a lot of time spent drawing magic from sources and enemies. The cool thing is that once you put together a junction you really like, you can save it and use it interchangeably among your party members, so you really only need three, although it sucks because it serves as a reminder that characters don't actually have much skill or attribute-wise to differentiate themselves from one another. So no MP, no discernable roles for your characters or reason to level them up, also no armor and a completely different weapons system where you have to find magazines to give you ideas for upgrades, then hunt down rare items for said upgrades. It's reinvention run amok, I tells ya! Finally, there was also a lot of criticism for the writing. The focus on a love story wasn't toooo derided from what I recall (in fact, I had a friend who leaned very much into this, at one point saying “I think they’re gonna put Zell and Selphie together,” like we were watching Friends or something), but the flimisiness of how our two leads came to fall in love was, along with, well, how fucking bonkers things got. Not to mention that our leads are whiny, melodramatic teenagers! Our protagonist, Squall, is a pretty emotional guy. He has that cool indifference we got from Cloud last time around, but with a very distinct "Get out of my room, mom" aura. His internal dialogue can feel endless, as we're witness to his every thought, and most of his musings are not just negative, but also have this air of thinking he understands more than he actually does. Y'know, like a teenager. I must confess to a bias when it comes to this game in that when I first played it, though - I was going on sixteen at the time, the same age as these characters, and could TOTALLY see their teenage logic. Squall's tendency to quickly explain some bullshit philosophy as though he understood life better than most was totally the kind of thing I would do. Same with Rinoa deciding that she's in love with Squall, even though he's a complete prick to her - I absolutely could relate to seeing an attractive person and then just deciding “they’re AMAZING” based on that. The idea of Rinoa seeing Squall, bein like “he’s cute, he’s by himself, I’m a unique, adventurous girl, let’s go dance with him,” and catching feels seems like very much the sort of thing a teenager would do! I also think it tracks that our characters have tremendously imperfect responses to very serious situations. Zell lets slip extremely sensitive information and is wracked with guilt for his blunder, Squall gets lost in his head and works himself up only to start shouting at nobody in particular with everybody looking at him like bro, what the fuck. Quistis and Irvine each have a moment where they drop their personas to acknowledge that they're not always who they think they are. I mean it's not exactly John Hughes' Final Fantasy or anything, but so much happens in this story and it's a lot for anybody to process, much less young people still developing their senses of selves! Something I loved about this game's story was the relentless pacing, it feels like there's constantly something big happening, to the point where it's exhausting. The Mini D-Day vibes of that Dollet mission are outstanding, and it's just the kick off - the convoluted plan to assassinate the president, being captured after attacking the sorceress, escaping the desert prison and narrowly avoiding an exploding death, the gardens uprooting and doing battle, finding a hidden civilization, going out into space, then entering another plane of time... it's a never-ending rollercoaster of insanity, and I gotta say that I really enjoyed the ride. The orphanage thing, though.. yeah I got no defense there, that one asks us to suspend quite a lot of disbelief. The overall presentation carries this game impeccably, taking it to every wacky, batshit ass place it wants to go. Final Fantasy VIII is a gorgeous, incredibly stylish game, with a sleek, modern look that really makes it stand out amongst its PS1 brothers. Even the save icon looks like this inscrutable but beautiful modern art piece! The cities look fantastic. They looked great in VII, but here they feel even more lived in and detailed. Balamb is the perfect sleepy beach town, Dollet and Timber are great small towns with their own unique goings on. Deling City has this stunning big city quality to it, beautifully lit up and bustling, and Esthar is this spellbinding, futuristic utopia with an ungodly skyline and every other thing feeling so creative and forward thinking. The cinematic scenes are mindblowing, maybe a little dated by today's standards but still pass for at least good. They used actual models this time around, and it shows - long gone are the blocky little pixel people that kept VII from being the fully impressive graphical marvel it could have been. Our characters look like real people, with proper scale, and they don't disappear into the party leader's butt when you reach a location! Then there's the music, with Nobuo Uematsu striking gold yet again. I'd argue that this is the most consistent score of the PS1 trilogy, there may not be quite as much bombast but there are literally no duds, more often than not you'll find yourself hanging out in places longer than you need to just to hear the music a bit more. It's calm and soothing, it's adrenaline surging, it's sad and pensive or dark and mysterious, every mood the game evokes is matched perfectly. Find Your Way was the deep cut that got me the most, it feels like a classical composition that's just always been around. Finally, what kind of fanboy would I be if I didn't mention Triple Triad, one of the greatest mini-games of all time? Final Fantasy VIII should have been the first game in the series with a direct sequel, and it should've just been playing Triple Triad for forty hours. It's just such a brilliantly put together card game that it becomes addicting in and of itself. So yeah, that's Final Fantasy VIII, easily the most experimental of the PS1 games. It's imperfect, it's annoying, it's a little too pleased with itself, in fact I most likely listed more cons than pros here, but... I love it. I love the constant urgency of the story, I love the score, I love how fucking good it looks (well... for the most part), I love Triple Triad, and perhaps most of all, I love how it takes me back to that time in my life where I had next to no responsibilities and yet somehow felt like everything was such a huge, unbearable deal. Figure that shit out.. cuz I certainly haven't. Stray Observations - A love story, but with mental illness, amnesia, and time compression - I would've loved to have heard that pitch in the writer's room. - Some of the playable characters' introductory scenes crack me up. For example, Zell and Irvine (especially Irvine) get that soap opera thing where they’re facing away from the camera and dramatically turn to face the viewer. Yours is okay though Quistis, ain’t nobody mad at you, baby girl. - Women fawn over Squall, and he haaaates it. He’s basically like why are these women paying attention to me, all I do is brush my emo hair out of my gorgeous eyes and talk like a rebel who plays by his own rules. - I personally think that FF8 doesn't have a truly insufferable character to offer. sure, Zell is a lil extra, Rinoa's kinda whiny, and Irvine comes off as a bit douchey at first, but we certainly don't get a Cait Sith or Amarant type character, so at least there's that! - Fujin and Raijin’s relationship: STRANGE. - I totally laughed during my very first playthrough when someone called Squall 'sir' and he was like “Sir? I’m sixteen.” Of course, I was around that age then. I'll think of that every so often now when I get called 'sir,' but definitely keep the “Sir? I’m forty” retort to myself. - What a pain in the ass when you forget to switch your junctions over. Also sometimes with the flashbacks to Laguna you won’t have a choice and you’ll be getting in fights with one of your characters unjunctioned for no reason. Like this was your system bro, I wanted MP. Help me out here! - Their main method of selling Squall's past is with these constant shots of him as a sad little boy. Standing in the rain, saying “I’m all alone,” hanging his head, wearing an “All Girls Are The Same” T-shirt (probably). Part of me still identifies with it, abandonment is a horrible thing for a child to have to process, and of course it results in a damaged grown-up. However, the other part of me can’t help thinking “Yeah Square, we get it, Squall is sad, can we move this along please?” - The base blows up and we have no idea what happened. Normally, we wouldn’t be too concerned, but after what happened with *ahem* in FF7, we were on high alert for the writers pulling any shit like that again - I remember watching that scene like "...they wouldn't... right?" - "THAT PATHETIC MARRIED COUPLE'S!?" is such an awkwardly written reveal (no, that apostrophe is not a typo). A shame because it is a genuinely shocking moment! - The whole sub plot with Laguna is definitely strange, but I do like how his segments prep us for areas we'll get to later in the game, serve up a lot of lore that we won't even be able to fit into the big picture til later on, and that we even get to meet him towards the end of the game. In glorious Esthar, no less! Man. That place is the shit. - The alerts start ringing again when Rinoa goes floating off in space, we’re like FUCK ARE THEY JUST GONNA KILL SOMEONE IN EVERY GAME NOW??? - The cool thing about everything being so off the rails is that it gave us a lot of interesting fan theories. The Squall Is Dead and Rinoa Is Ultimecia ones are shockingly well thought out and actually help explain a lot of this mess of a story! - That abstract ending sequence (the beginning at least, that shit goes on for a whiiiile) ranges from unsettling to low key terrifying. Faceless Squall in particular is surprisingly disturbing! - Rinoa find’s Squall’s body, holds him close, and flowers start flying everywhere. Gaaaayyyyyyyyyyy. THAT Trophy: Omega Destroyed I guess Ruby and Emerald weren't hard enough? Omega Weapon is Final Fantasy VIII's optional boss, and has an absurd fuckton of HP. Like it's to the point where it's just silly! You'll be healing and reviving quite a lot, and it goes on for quite some time - and beating it basically gets you a useless item you can convert into a rare card, and what amounts to the same thing as that "I Completed Vice City 100% And All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt" outfit. FF7 weapons gave us Master Materia.. but yeah these are cool too I guess🙄 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather342 Posted December 19, 2023 Share Posted December 19, 2023 Great write up Smevz! 😁 Final Fantasy 8 was the first game I ever played on Playstation when I was a kid (or at least, when my brother would let me play on his Playstation 😅), so this one does hold a special place in my heart. Although as a kid I never understood the junction system, way too much for my 12 year old brain to wrap itself around, so I kind muddled through most of the game. Being my first FF game, and my first ever JRPG, I didn't realise just how much it veered off traditional JRPG formula until I played FF9. But I still love this game. All of the events on disc 1 I felt were so well done. But I'm firmly a believer in the Squall is dead theory, I don't care that folk at Square said otherwise 😅. All of the stuff that happens after disc 1 is just so wild, and Squall and his squad are generally just so unremarkable that it has to be some kind of crazy life flashing before your eyes as you die scenario 🤣 Anyway, that's enough rambling. I'll always rate FF8 and FF10 as my two favourites in Final Fantasy. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YaManSmevz Posted December 21, 2023 Author Share Posted December 21, 2023 On 12/16/2023 at 5:42 PM, StraightVege said: Ah, now that you mention it, I do recall having Sephiroth in my party for a time. It ended up being quite disappointing for deluded kid me, since he wasn't as overpowered as I had expected, and it was buggy (could crash the game). There were a lot of Sephiroth codes, though, so maybe I just used a bad one. I did the same thing, expecting OP Sephiroth from when you "play as him" in Kalm. And I had the same experience... so if there was a non-buggy one, I didn't find it either😔 On 12/16/2023 at 5:42 PM, StraightVege said: Indeed, especially when it's 1997 and you can't simply ask for advice on the Internet. The strategy guide I owned was inaccurate regarding how to breed a Gold Chocobo, so I wasted far too many hours trying to figure it out myself. Eventually, my older brother got lucky with his experimentation and made one at last, which resulted in a big celebratory moment I'll never forget. That first cast of the Knights materia was mind-blowing to us, haha. YES!! Oh my god, you're right.. breeding over and over and thinking you've finally got it down, and then... GREEN CHOCOBO, FUCK!! I remember the Knights of the Round materia being the stuff of legend, when you finally get your hands on it, it really is something! On 12/17/2023 at 5:56 PM, Briste said: Excellent write up sir! This part here literally brought me back to the day I got my copy lol It was the first game I ever owned that needed multiple discs to contain the awesomeness. I remember opening the CD case and catching that whiff of new game, counting the THREE CDs encased and immediately opening the manual to look through it on the drive home from Electronics Boutique. Thank you very much, man! And that makes me so happy to hear you talk about your own experience picking it up when it was new😁 Reading the booklets is one of the things I really miss from those old days of gaming, I gotta say! On 12/17/2023 at 5:56 PM, Briste said: I didn't beat it 40 times like you, but it's the console game I've played the most in my life. I think I still have my memory card with my first play through ever saved, a triple master materias for each materia type, and a save right before that scene to re-watch whenever I was feeling down. Well done! I'll be replaying the PS5 version of FF7R in late January/February to get prepped for part 2. I can't wait! Dude that's what's up👊 And THAT'S what's up! I hope you have a grea-... well I don't have to hope anything, you WILL have a great time with that😂 once I cop a PS5 and am officially welcomed into the 2020s, I'll be right there with you catchin up on FF7RM😎 On 12/17/2023 at 6:09 PM, Shrooba said: Dang, the odds of you releasing this while I'm playing on FF7R! It's my first Final Fantasy, and I am absolutely loving it to death. And to think I'm not even halfway through the overall narrative of what the OG set out yet! 😅 I'll definitely give the OG a go some day. Mah man!! I'm super excited to see you getting into these games! Really glad you're having a great time with it... I must admit tho, it's hard to say if it would be better to recommend you to try out the OG or stay the hell away from it for now🤣 On 12/17/2023 at 6:09 PM, Shrooba said: I think FF7 was definitely ahead of it's time, with it's emphasis on protecting the planet and scrutinizing organizations that would disparage the ecosystem for militaristic and economic gain. Of course though, these conversations always existed, but in terms of recent years with division and misinformation on the topic, I feel it makes FF7 much more stronger, narratively, in retrospect. Yeah, it was a cool thing to see not only in video game form, but believable as well, something you could get behind and root for. Definitely agreed! On 12/17/2023 at 6:09 PM, Shrooba said: The music, as you said, is something that's been absolutely huge. You've got Jenova, the Airbuster, Sephiroth's iconic One-Winged Angel, but also some great ones that set the mood, like the bombastic battle theme-- especially, as you note, where Cloud triumphantly hops off the train at the beginning of the game. You get an idea of the absolute scope of Midgar, and here comes a blond-haired, sword-wielding warrior willing to overcome any force that stands in his way. With how intense it is, it really does put you in his shoes, going up against what essentially IS the government of Midgar, with just you and a ragtag group of other new faces who want to make change. Yeah it's a stellar fucking soundtrack. It's so good at putting you in each situation without feeling over the top or like it's trying too hard, and the fact that they were able to take the liberties they did with the original score in the remake and STILL have success with it is so great, I loves it🥰 On 12/17/2023 at 6:09 PM, Shrooba said: It's great how you mention the importance of materia, as well. Whilst I've yet to experience the full story, and the original game as a result, I feel as though FF7R's hard mode playthrough emulates the same feeling of mastering materia, based on what you've said in regards to the OG. How and what you equip on your party is ESSENTIAL for battles, and it turns what felt like standard "I'll wallop and cast the occasional spell" in fights to "alright, I'll build ATB with Tifa for the group, and use Cloud to build pressure, and Aerith to either heal when necessary or unleash devastating spells to stagger the enemy". Materias-- and how you level them up to increase their effects-- are a necessary aspect. There's even the case of the last couple chapters where I just went about bosses by using Cloud's counterstance ability, and having Manawall casted to make him a tank. It's funny, because there's a particular fight in the "combat simulator" where you use thundaga and firaga spells not even with the intent to cause damage, but simply to keep the boss preoccupied. In that regard, it's awesome to see Square Enix translate this detail into the more action-based gameplay of FF7R. Yoooo that's something I really really dug about the hard playthrough on the remake, they really make you play ball when it comes to the system. Especially that fucking ultimate weapon fight, war and glory or whatever it's called, you can NOT just muscle your way through it, you gotta play smart. So yes, agreed once again! On 12/17/2023 at 6:09 PM, Shrooba said: Also, it's funny how Avalanche is supposed to be this super secretive organization, yet you have Barret and the others openly proclaiming their next goals on a frickin' public train!!! 😂 Right?? Hey Barret, you already have a damn gun on your arm, maybe you could try and act cool instead of picking fights with strangers while on the way to committing terrorist acts?? On 12/19/2023 at 1:49 PM, Heather342 said: Great write up Smevz! 😁 Thank you so much!! I really appreciate it😁 On 12/19/2023 at 1:49 PM, Heather342 said: Final Fantasy 8 was the first game I ever played on Playstation when I was a kid (or at least, when my brother would let me play on his Playstation 😅), so this one does hold a special place in my heart. Although as a kid I never understood the junction system, way too much for my 12 year old brain to wrap itself around, so I kind muddled through most of the game. Being my first FF game, and my first ever JRPG, I didn't realise just how much it veered off traditional JRPG formula until I played FF9. That's a trip! Sometimes I forget that FF8 came first for a lot of peeps, it must have been wild to play 9 and think it's all different, meanwhile everyone else is like "nah man, this is how it always was." I actually got the opposite experience as you, my younger sister loved playing 8 but needed a lil help getting started - it made me really happy to see her take such an interest, I'm sure your bro felt the same! On 12/19/2023 at 1:49 PM, Heather342 said: But I still love this game. All of the events on disc 1 I felt were so well done. But I'm firmly a believer in the Squall is dead theory, I don't care that folk at Square said otherwise 😅. All of the stuff that happens after disc 1 is just so wild, and Squall and his squad are generally just so unremarkable that it has to be some kind of crazy life flashing before your eyes as you die scenario 🤣 YES!! I read about the Squall Is Dead theory fully expecting an implausible but fun read.. little did I know it would make the entire game make a freakish amount of sense!! On 12/19/2023 at 1:49 PM, Heather342 said: Anyway, that's enough rambling. I'll always rate FF8 and FF10 as my two favourites in Final Fantasy. Heather, you have excellent credit around here, you can ramble all you want👊 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post YaManSmevz Posted December 29, 2023 Author Popular Post Share Posted December 29, 2023 Yearly Beloved, 2023 Well hello there, and a good whatever-the-fuck-time-of-day-it-is to you! My name is Smevz, and I am pleased to welcome you to the third annual Yearly Beloved Awards. Now before you wildly applaud with such abandon as to accidentally flip your monitor or laptop over (or have your phone excitedly fly out of your hand), it should be noted that this year has far less eligible games than usual, and therefore much less variety. As some of you may know, progress towards anything PlayStation-related around here fell off of a rather steep cliff in the latter half of the year, for reasons that fall under the sizeable umbrella of "Life Gonna Life." In spite of this however, we (being myself as well as the ragtag team of writers whom only I can see) will do our damndest to provide something at least borderline readable and marginally entertaining! First things first - as I've alluded to, it's been a pretty rough year, and I wouldn't feel right without giving a big shout to @Platinum_Vice, @KindaSabbath, @DrunkenEngineer, @Copanele, @DrBloodmoney, @rjkclarke, @Billie__227, @PlutoRico, @Shrooba, @The_Kopite, and @Destructor-8. Y'all are some real, down af homies and I appreciate you all! One more sea of blue for all the lovely folks who are kind enough to stop by and check out all the silliness I post here: @Heather342, @realm722, @Redblaziken8, @StraightVege, @Briste, @Hurricane_Tanya, @CelestialRequiem, @pelagia14, @jonesey46, @gruffiiti, @Super_Mep, and I know I'm forgetting a few, I do apologize. Thank you so much! Fuck. I was gonna do something.. got carried away there and totally forg-OH SHIT THE AWARDS!! *Pretend there's trumpets or some shit here, our funding got cut again* Most Addicting Gameplay - XCOM: Enemy Within The only thing in recent years to truly scratch that RTS itch! - Broforce The mayhem, the delicious mayhem. When you're in a groove with all the chaos, it's seriously hard to put down! - Pyre All that NBA Jam RPG talk is true, it's a type of game you simply never knew that you've always wanted to play. - Valfaris All those old school side scrolling shooters melded together into a sleek, modern package. And that shotgun?? C'mon. - Sayonara Wild Hearts Fun, fast paced rhythm gaming goodness, with music too bad ass for you to care when you fail a level. Right off the bat, it's a close one... and Sayonara Wild Hearts takes it by a nose! Best Music - VA-11 Hall-A Slick sounding electronica ranging from chill downtempo stuff to straight up industrial. - Final Fantasy IX Freakishly diverse, but always with a unique warmth that sets it apart from its PS1 brothers. I hear it's Nobuo Uematsu's favorite of all his FF soundtracks, and it's hard to argue with! - Valfaris Exactly the type of wild, headbanging jams you need while blasting aliens' faces off! This thing fucking rips. - Sayonara Wild Hearts Pure dance-pop heaven from start to finish, impeccably written and produced, but with some serious soul as well! - Streets of Rage 2 Impossibly cool soundtrack - it's from goddamn 1992 and it still sounds dope. So vibrant, so head-bobbing, much going on. The SNES' dirty secret was that it could never sound this good! Another all-out bloodbath, but the last one (barely) standing is gonna be Sayonara Wild Hearts! Best Graphics - NBA 2K23 That is not a televised basketball game, that's just what these things look like now. I played Bulls Vs. Blazers way back in the day, so to an old fuck like me, this is astonishing. - Trek to Yomi The Kurosawa worship is supremely well done, from camera angles to lighting and everything in between. The only flaw is that as good as it looks, you find yourself forgetting to play at times! - Mafia The remake of this game saw no wasted efforts, the city of Lost Heaven is utterly stunning. - Enslaved: Odyssey to the West The gorgeous, Life Before People vibe of the world here is incredible, especially for a PS3 game. - God of War III Right from the jump, Santa Monica is showing off with that new hardware. I can't speak for the PS3 version, but the remaster is jaw-dropping. Going strictly with style for this one, Trek to Yomi takes it! Best Voice Acting - Trek to Yomi Just as the visuals capture that Kurosawa feel, so too does the audio. The acting and foley are exactly what you'd be hearing in a 50s samurai film. - Mafia Just like with the other upgrades this game received, the audio is some serious shit. Performances across the board are strong and believable. - 2064: Read Only Memories Everybody does their thing here, particularly with Lexi, Tomcat, and Jess, but Turing is just so adorable! - Enslaved: Odyssey to the West I loved Monkey and Trip's back and forth exchanges. Monkey's cool, sarcastic vibe during constant crisis could've gotten grating so easily, but he pulls it off nicely! - Red Dead Redemption Impressive work from the entire crew, especially with the more erratic characters like Seth. Classic Rockstar madness but with a surprisingly level quality to it. Close one yet again, but perhaps the additional work on the DLC gave an unfair advantage - Red Dead Redemption comes through with the dub! Best Story - VA-11 Hall-A That shocker in the middle hits like something that could very easily happen to you, and the good endings are just so heartwarming. - Final Fantasy IX Learning how to lean on your friends and let them lean on you while tackling existential dread in the midst of a war ravaged planet - as good a set up as any! - Mafia With the new, glistening presentation, the storytelling really gets to shine here, and you feel right there with Tommy throughout his wild ride. - Dead Space Utterly terrifying - the best horror story I've experienced in ages, and it's a freakin PS3 game! - Red Dead Redemption Just how well the old west backdrop is realized would've sold the game on its own, but the story takes you far more places than you'd expect! Yet another close one, but Red Dead Redemption takes it! Best Playable Character - VA-11 Hall-A, Jill Stingray Jill makes the role of the every day person going to work feel so real, so relatable. It may not sound too exciting, but you really enjoy being with her every step of the way. - Final Fantasy IX, Vivi Ornitier The arc this young man embarks on is nothing short of tremendous. He takes on some serious issues and finds a beautiful, well-earned acceptance. Plus he's just so endlessly likeable! - Resident Evil 4, Leon S. Kennedy Some how, some way, this dreamboat managed to strike the perfect balance between debonair action hero and total cornball, and we love him for it. - Enslaved: Odyssey to the West, Monkey A sarcastic meathead? Yeah, I didn't expect to like him so much either! His wit and growing compassion as the game progresses are both quite a treat, and jesus can he parkour like a lunatic. - Red Dead Redemption, John Marston Our reluctant old west (anti?) hero, with just the right amount of self awareness, reflected in how you choose to make him behave. The first head-and-shoulders-above-the-rest victory of the year - there was just no way I was gonna say no to Vivi. Best NPC - Resident Evil 4, The Merchant Absolute legend. Never has a throat full of phlegm sounded so great. "EEHHHEHEHEHHEHH... THANK YOU." - Katamari Damacy Reroll, The King Dude is a total wise-ass, sounds like a record scratching when he talks, and throws freakin STARS UP INTO THE SKY. If that doesn't merit a nomination, I don't know what else could! - 2064: Read Only Memories, Turing This little guy manages to be so endearing right away, despite sounding like Data from The Simpsons. The playthrough where you have to be mean to him is surprisingly painful! - Enslaved: Odyssey to the West, Trip The baddie with the bold plan to enslave a muscle-bound man with a name like Monkey. Impressive tech knowledge as well, especially considering the world's pretty much gone Mad Max! - Red Dead Redemption, Bonnie MacFarlane Not exactly revolutionary by today's standards, but being introduced to a woman by her saving your ass is a refreshing way to meet a woman in the gaming world! I've just gotten too many hours of enjoyment from this character, the wins gotta go to The Merchant! Best WHATATWIST Moment - Stories Untold: “But that’s not what happened, is it?” Oof. This one got an audible "aw, fuck" out of me. - Mafia: “Mr. Angelo?” A series of twists at the end, some you might see coming, others maybe not so much. But they're all paced so well! - 2064: Read Only Memories: “Come out… come out… WHEREVER YOU ARE!” This one is here more for how it's handled than the twist itself. Gave me that little pang of "aaaa!" - Dead Space: “Sorry, Isaac.” Not every twist needs to surprise you to be effective! - Red Dead Redemption: “I love you. Now go. Git!” Genuinely did not see that coming, and can't believe I'd made it a decade plus without having it ruined for me! It ended like how a film of its genre should end - the award goes to Mafia! Most Satisfying Completion - NBA 2K23 An ungodly amount of time spent online with hungry, hungry neckbeards in a race against the clock... always wanted one of these plats but always ended up getting scared off. Feels good to have one under my belt! - Final Fantasy IX Was dreading this one for so long purely because of that stupid jump rope game, but I can't tell you the exhilaration I felt when that finally got knocked out, and I suddenly had this entire game in front of me! - WWE 2K22 Much like NBA 2K23, this one became a race against a clock. So glad to have knocked out that PAIN IN THE ASS MODE WH-... ahem. So glad that I persevered! - Broforce Was completely terrified of this one after seeing how quickly and easily you could die... but once you start, it's just too fun. - Red Dead Redemption Wasn't even sure I'd get to play this masterpiece, much less complete it! This game asks so much of you, in fact I remember being utterly exhausted by the end... but it was well worth it! By the slimmest of margins, NBA 2K23 scoops it up! Best Game I Been Sleepin On - Mafia Literally waited twenty years to play this bad boy, and I'm so happy to say that it was worth the wait! - Pyre Had one too many cool people singing its praises, so I had little choice other than to try it out... and it turns out they were right! - Dead Space Started this one a good ten years ago or somethin like that, then at long last finished it this year. - Red Dead Redemption Same as above, played the first half hour forever ago and for whatever reason just skipped out. Should have corrected this much sooner! - God of War III How could I give up on God of War with the second installment?? What the hell was wrong with me?? Oh well... we're here now, that's what matters! Once again, almost too close, but Red Dead Redemption is our winner! Best Blast From the Past - Final Fantasy IX I always looked back fondly on the PS1 games (I know, how unusual), but this was the one I remembered the least of, so getting re-acquainted was fantastic! - Resident Evil 4 Was never the biggest fan of this one, but I remember very well when it was the top dog, and replaying it now definitely made my respect for it grow considerably! - XCOM: Enemy Within I first found this game in 360 forums looking for something to give me that sweet RTS feel. It did it for me then, and it did it for me this year too! - Katamari Damacy Reroll While the trophy hunt may have planted its share of frustration, the off the wall zaniness of Katamari's gameplay remains just as silly, charming, and flat out funny as it was twenty years ago. - Streets of Rage 2 A game I missed out on as a youth due to living in a SNES household, but damn if I wasn't fully aware of its greatness! It was a blast to experience it properly, with the homie KindaSabbath🤘 On the grounds alone that it feels like revisionist history, helping me right a wrong committed all those years ago... Streets of Rage 2 squeaks this one out! Most Fun Trophy Hunt - WWE 2K22 This brought me back to the old GM mode, and before that PPV mode on Smackdown 2, if anybody remembers that! Just trying to make matches as good as I can was so fucking rewarding! - Broforce For a trophy that should've been an ungodly pain in the ass, I had so much fun getting each level down, figuring out my paths, and watching myself get better and better. - Sayonara Wild Hearts So exhilarating to see what you can get away with on this level, and everything is so fast-paced, you don't even have time to get frustrated when things aren't going your way! - MLB The Show 21 Playing through a baseball season and into the post, with that feeling of finality hanging over your head as you work your way through... it's so tense, such a good time! - Red Dead Redemption This was great if only to watch the progression - my boy Platinum_Vice and I were doing these, looking like complete scrubs to start, but eventually getting to a point where we were carrying people on the Advanced mode! And of course, I'm a sucker for good co-op campaigns! Homie bias? Maybe. Red Dead Redemption wins! Best Feels Kicker - VA-11 Hall-A Again, that revelation halfway through the story, you're like whaaa?? - Final Fantasy IX Feeling the weight on some of these characters is a lot - obviously there's Vivi, but really everybody's got their shit going on, and the game ain't shy about it! - Mafia There were some predictable things hitting us towards the end, but damn if they didn't still hit anyway! - Sayonara Wild Hearts Seeing our character working all this out, whatever her loss may be, is truly therapeutic. And that powerful ass music only helps sell it! - Red Dead Redemption Again, I did not see that ending coming! Another close call in a post full of close calls, but VA-11 Hall-A just takes the edge! Most Charming Indie - VA-11 Hall-A Love Jill, love the bartending mechanic, love the music, love the supporting characters. - Unpacking This lil cutie accomplishes so much with so little, that alone is impressive! - Broforce All that 16-bit violence and gore is bizarrely endearing! - Treasures of the Aegean Such a dope, unique look this one has! Plus traversing the seemingly ever-growing map gets more and more fun the more secrets you figure out! - Valfaris That updated Contra feel with the hessian fantasy soundtrack is just pure bad ass! Really sticking to the "Charming" here... it was predictably close, however Unpacking is taking the title home! Least Best Game - Trek to Yomi The presentation is so good that you can't help overlooking the gameplay flaws. - Hue It may not have much to it, but the color based puzzles are so creative that they can carry an otherwise bare boned effort. - Moving Out The charm is just a touch inconsistent, but with such a goofy, benevolent package, how can you hold a grudge over something like that? - Enslaved: Odyssey to the West A stunning game with solid gameplay, just needed that extra oomph. - Medal of Honor Blah first person shooter, but holy fuck, some of the missions are incredibly fun and carry the whole game on their backs! The award has to go to the game that most closely reaches its potential, and that's gotta be Enslaved: Odyssey to the West. Most Best Game - Final Fantasy IX Incredible soundtrack, excellent writing, characters you fall in love with, and a great look, even for a game from 2000. - Resident Evil 4 Stone cold classic with revolutionary qualities. Definitely grew some more appreciation for this one! - Sayonara Wild Hearts Wildly fun gameplay, an alluring story that pulls at your heart strings, a fucking BANGIN soundtrack, and of course, Queen Latifah herself! - Dead Space Fun gameplay, masterfully tense atmosphere, genuinely terrifying! - Red Dead Redemption Rockstar brings the old west to life as only they can, with a huge, beautiful map, an excellent score, and brilliantly written characters. To finish us off, yet another photo finish... my game of the year honors go to Red Dead Redemption! Whew! We made it, we got through another awards ceremony, holy fuck! As always, thanks so much to everybody reading all my nonsense. So long 2023, you miserable little shitfucker. Here's hoping for a better 2024 for us all, eh? And now if you'll excuse me, I'd better sign off before the sleep deprivation REALLY starts kickin in.... 15 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrBloodmoney Posted December 29, 2023 Share Posted December 29, 2023 Woot Woot! 🙌 Sayonara representing heavy, and both Unpacking, AND The Merchant in unexpected (but deserving) wins - the Merchant taking it has to be a blow to the ego of the King of All Creation.... but that rascal needs knocking down a peg or two! Amazing how reading this, my "I-should-play-Trek-to-Yumi-o-meter" went shooting up... then dipping back down again, to settle about where it started 😆 I expected the comfortable victory taking of Red Dead, but it's still nice to see that game getting props so many years down the line! Hell of a year though - and a great read, m'dude! 🍻 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super_Mep Posted December 29, 2023 Share Posted December 29, 2023 @YaManSmevz I just downloaded Mafia the other day but now you've convinced me I need to move it up to the play now pile. I loved Mafia 2 back in 2010. Great read as always brother! 🤘 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Copanele Posted December 29, 2023 Share Posted December 29, 2023 What a great year this was! It's actually amazing how most of the games that won your awards are games that I need to play in 2024. Enslaved Odyssey to the West is locked and loaded because of many recommendations (you included ), Valfaris waits for me to finally fire it up already after the massive love that I had for Slain, and...did I tell you that I purchased Va-11 Hall-A? 😆 And of course, always appreciating someone who enjoys a good X-Com game! Also glad that you liked Broforce and Treasures of the Aegean, two fun but kinda obscure games Fantastic writeup. hope that 2024 brings even more quality games to the Playstation table! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pelagia14 Posted December 29, 2023 Share Posted December 29, 2023 (edited) I have to echo DrBloodmoney in that your 2023 Gaming post was a delightful read! - Best Music Nominees - Goddamn but that Valfaris song *slays*! I'm definitely going to have to check out the rest of its soundtrack! - Best Playable Character Nominees - RE4 is peak Leon in my opinion. Some of his moves are so over-the-top, and his one-liners so ridiculous, that I can't help but adore him. - Best NPC Nominees - Quote Never has a throat full of phlegm sounded so great. Lmao! Such an iconic performance, it's a shame that the remaster decided against having Paul Mercier voice him again. Any time I read one of The Merchant's lines, I can hear Mercier's exact delivery in my head. - Best WHATATWIST Moment Nominees - I hadn't really heard anything about Stories Untold until now. A quick search tells me that it is a horror game with an 80s aesthetic and a generally very positive sentiment, so I'm shocked that this slipped past my radar! --- (I also meant to reply to your FFVII & FFVIII posts much sooner but time is an elusive concept that often escapes me - they were fantastic nostalgia reads, and you really crushed them!) Edited December 29, 2023 by pelagia14 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonesey46 Posted December 29, 2023 Share Posted December 29, 2023 Well hey thanks for the mention! Another great post as always. I was so happy Sayonara won best soundtrack cause holy shit that shit goes hard. I still listen to it on Spotify months after beating it. I'm seeing a lot of love for Valhalla, and not just from you. I briefly watched someone play it but it didn't look like my kinda thing. Maybe I should give it a go? Also I've had Enslaved sat on my shelf for almost 2 years now, maybe I need to start that sooner rather than later. Anyway. Loved reading all your posts these past few months. I'm always lurking haha. Here's to a smashing 2024 for all of us. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YaManSmevz Posted December 29, 2023 Author Share Posted December 29, 2023 9 hours ago, DrBloodmoney said: Woot Woot! 🙌 Sayonara representing heavy, and both Unpacking, AND The Merchant in unexpected (but deserving) wins - the Merchant taking it has to be a blow to the ego of the King of All Creation.... but that rascal needs knocking down a peg or two! Hell yes man, I do believe you were the one who put the Sayonara on the radar for me, so thank you for that! And yeah, fuck that King! He probably just blamed the loss on the Prince anyway😄 9 hours ago, DrBloodmoney said: Amazing how reading this, my "I-should-play-Trek-to-Yumi-o-meter" went shooting up... then dipping back down again, to settle about where it started 😆 Hahaha duuude Trek is a textbook example of a game doing something so well that it almost feels mandatory... except the parts it doesn't do well bring it back down to earth. It's impossible to recommend in either direction with good conscience, but also 100% deserves mention. It's confusing for sure😂 9 hours ago, DrBloodmoney said: I expected the comfortable victory taking of Red Dead, but it's still nice to see that game getting props so many years down the line! Oddly enough, I was kinda surprised! 9 hours ago, DrBloodmoney said: Hell of a year though - and a great read, m'dude! 🍻 Thanks a lot, homie🍻 8 hours ago, Super_Mep said: @YaManSmevz I just downloaded Mafia the other day but now you've convinced me I need to move it up to the play now pile. I loved Mafia 2 back in 2010. Great read as always brother! 🤘 Thank you, sir! That's how I ended up playing Mafia as well, from loving the sequel on the 360😂 I definitely think it's worth slappin on, it's a great time for sure! 8 hours ago, Copanele said: What a great year this was! It's actually amazing how most of the games that won your awards are games that I need to play in 2024. Crap, now I'm nervous... I'm picturing your year-end post in December 2024 bein like "And the worst games of the year? All the ones Smevz really liked in 2023, what a bunch of dogshit"🤣 8 hours ago, Copanele said: Enslaved Odyssey to the West is locked and loaded because of many recommendations (you included ), Valfaris waits for me to finally fire it up already after the massive love that I had for Slain, and...did I tell you that I purchased Va-11 Hall-A? 😆 And of course, always appreciating someone who enjoys a good X-Com game! I forgot, you've got your PS3 in "Finish Him!" mode! Enslaved is really good, the story just kinda goes off the rails and those collectibles, good lord😂 I'm very excited to see how you like Valfaris and VA-11 Hall-A, and duuude I love me some XCOM... one of these days I'll stop being a lil wimp and try out XCOM 2🤣 8 hours ago, Copanele said: Also glad that you liked Broforce and Treasures of the Aegean, two fun but kinda obscure games Yes! Broforce was so much fun, and I've got you to thank for Aegean, that one is such a good time! 8 hours ago, Copanele said: Fantastic writeup. hope that 2024 brings even more quality games to the Playstation table! Thanks a lot my dude! Fingers crossed🤞🤞 6 hours ago, pelagia14 said: I have to echo DrBloodmoney in that your 2023 Gaming post was a delightful read! Thank you very much! Appreciate it😁 6 hours ago, pelagia14 said: - Best Music Nominees - Goddamn but that Valfaris song *slays*! I'm definitely going to have to check out the rest of its soundtrack! Yooo that one is solid😎 6 hours ago, pelagia14 said: - Best Playable Character Nominees - RE4 is peak Leon in my opinion. Some of his moves are so over-the-top, and his one-liners so ridiculous, that I can't help but adore him. I have to agree! He just wears that action hero skin so well. He was made for the spotlight, what can you say? 6 hours ago, pelagia14 said: - Best NPC Nominees - Lmao! Such an iconic performance, it's a shame that the remaster decided against having Paul Mercier voice him again. Any time I read one of The Merchant's lines, I can hear Mercier's exact delivery in my head. He's just too fun to mimic🤣🤣🤣 I don't know whose idea that whole thing with him was, but I hope they got a fat raise! 6 hours ago, pelagia14 said: - Best WHATATWIST Moment Nominees - I hadn't really heard anything about Stories Untold until now. A quick search tells me that it is a horror game with an 80s aesthetic and a generally very positive sentiment, so I'm shocked that this slipped past my radar! Nice! It's a really quick experience too, so definitely recommended. Late at night if possible😁 6 hours ago, pelagia14 said: --- (I also meant to reply to your FFVII & FFVIII posts much sooner but time is an elusive concept that often escapes me - they were fantastic nostalgia reads, and you really crushed them!) Dude thank you so much, that means a lot! I do my best😇 1 hour ago, jonesey46 said: Well hey thanks for the mention! Another great post as always. I was so happy Sayonara won best soundtrack cause holy shit that shit goes hard. I still listen to it on Spotify months after beating it. Thanks, buddy! And hell yes, that soundtrack is straight up ADDICTING. Lots of pre-shift dance parties in the car with that one! 1 hour ago, jonesey46 said: I'm seeing a lot of love for Valhalla, and not just from you. I briefly watched someone play it but it didn't look like my kinda thing. Maybe I should give it a go? I was hesitant as I'm not about that visual novel life, but I really ended up enjoying it a lot! I would hate to recommend it if you think it just wouldn't be your bag, but maybe watch some more stuff and see if your opinion changes? 1 hour ago, jonesey46 said: Also I've had Enslaved sat on my shelf for almost 2 years now, maybe I need to start that sooner rather than later. It's cool! The collectibles is probably the main complaint, but it's fun. Gorgeous looking game, too! 1 hour ago, jonesey46 said: Anyway. Loved reading all your posts these past few months. I'm always lurking haha. Here's to a smashing 2024 for all of us. Thanks a lot my G, I appreciate the lurks! Here's to 2024 indeed😎 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather342 Posted December 30, 2023 Share Posted December 30, 2023 Thanks for the shout-out Smevz! While I've not been the most active on the forums recently, I have been lurking in the shadows and reading up on all the posts 😊. Seeing Red Dead Redemption getting so many nods in this round up I felt compelled to recommend you play Red Dead Redemption 2. RDR2 is one that I put off for so long, doing the multiplayer first and dipping in and out of it over the past 3 years, I think that was the reason I kept shelving it. But this summer I finally decided to play the single player, and I have to say all those rave reviews were accurate. The game is an absolute masterpiece, I think you'll really like it. It's a huge undertaking for the platinum (my final in game time clocked in at 302 hours), but for me it never felt like an impossible grind, and those 4 months I spent with it are some of my gaming highlights for 2023. Don't sleep on it like I did! Although saying that I haven't played the original before, but I'll wait for the PS4 port to drop in price a bit more first 😊 Looking forward to seeing your gaming reviews for 2024! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum_Vice Posted December 30, 2023 Share Posted December 30, 2023 12 hours ago, YaManSmevz said: Well hello there, and a good whatever-the-fuck-time-of-day-it-is to you! It's the fucking morning here so good fucking morning to you too. 12 hours ago, YaManSmevz said: Now before you wildly applaud with such abandon as to accidentally flip your monitor or laptop over (or have your phone excitedly fly out of your hand) too late 12 hours ago, YaManSmevz said: it's been a pretty rough year, and I wouldn't feel right without giving a big shout to... I'm just happy to be here for you, homie. 12 hours ago, YaManSmevz said: - Broforce Please compare to Super Time Force Ultra when able. 12 hours ago, YaManSmevz said: - Valfaris Exactly the type of wild, headbanging jams you need while blasting aliens' faces off! This thing fucking rips. The vibes are impeccable. 12 hours ago, YaManSmevz said: I can't speak for the PS3 version, but the remaster is jaw-dropping. I can - it was incredible!! 12 hours ago, YaManSmevz said: Monkey's cool, sarcastic vibe during constant crisis could've gotten grating so easily, but he pulls it off nicely! Actually that's something that I never picked up on - the dialogue and voice acting never irritated me either, and yet it had such potential for edgelord adolescent schlock. 12 hours ago, YaManSmevz said: Best Voice Acting Red Dead Redemption comes through with the dub! He roots. 12 hours ago, YaManSmevz said: Best Story Yet another close one, but Red Dead Redemption takes it! He toots. 12 hours ago, YaManSmevz said: - Red Dead Redemption: “I love you. Now go. Git!” Genuinely did not see that coming, and can't believe I'd made it a decade plus without having it ruined for me! Wow, really? I'm so glad that you weren't spoiled! Such an incredible moment!! 12 hours ago, YaManSmevz said: Best Game I Been Sleepin On Once again, almost too close, but Red Dead Redemption is our winner! Damn - we be SWEEPIN dude. 12 hours ago, YaManSmevz said: This was great if only to watch the progression - my boy Platinum_Vice and I were doing these, looking like complete scrubs to start, but eventually getting to a point where we were carrying people on the Advanced mode! And of course, I'm a sucker for good co-op campaigns! Homie bias? Maybe. Red Dead Redemption wins! Out of all the people that I've played on-the-line... ... I can safely say that there's not a single other person out there who has exhibited such grace in their ability to catch an axe with their face. I hope you remember that for many years. Takes true talent. For real tho: "2023 be like..." We made that Co-Op our bitch. 12 hours ago, YaManSmevz said: To finish us off, yet another photo finish... my game of the year honors go to Red Dead Redemption! There's only one thing I can really say: please play the sequel this year. It is a slow burn... but so is a large log at the heart of a warm fire for a week-long camping trip. I've been saying since 2018 that RDR2's trophy list is the 'greatest hits of bad trophy requirements,' but Husky's helpful tool, a spoiler-free missables guide, and some multiplayer boosting partners (*ahem* - mic is ready, game is installed, beers are in the fridge) will help with this. The campaign is incredible and worth the trophy hunt. I wholeheartedly believe that you will enjoy running in the gang at a time when Dutch, Javier, Bill and John are peers. I believe that you'll play it eventually. Please refer back to this post for my prediction that you will have a special place in that heart of yours for Charles, Sadie, Hosea, Lenny, John/Abigail/Jack, and Arthur. Mainly though, if I know you like I think I know you: Charles and Sadie. Here's to an optimistic 2024. May it be a banger as I believe you have one coming. 👊 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
realm722 Posted December 30, 2023 Share Posted December 30, 2023 Finally got around to commenting! * Your mentioning of Broforce for most addicting gameplay loop has me intrigued. I've had it in my backlog for a while and it's about damn time I checked off a game from South Africa! * I'm super happy to see Sayonara Wild Hearts take home 2 awards! Best Gameplay+Best Music is no joke! It's a 9/10 game that I probably haven't done as great of a job as voicing as super underrated to others but I remember absolutely loving it. Heck, the trophy list is also brilliant for the unorthodox ways it'll have you play. * I know it didn't win but DAMN Mafia looks gorgeous from that shot of Best Graphics * Earning an NBA2k platinum is a genuinely incredible accomplishment. I've never had the patience nor the ability. My sports game crack is FIFA and even now I've resorted to only dabbling every other year. Huge congrats! Looking forward to what you'll cook up in 2024! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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