Game Think


I haven’t blogged in over a month, and with TGS just a week and a half away I need to practice forming sentences about video games. I need to write something, anything. A song, a poem, a review, even a lazy Top 5 list.

1. Top 5 buttons
2. Top 5 Final Fantasy bits
3. Top 5 reasons why The Last of Us is overrated
4. Top 5 versions of Skyrim
5. Top 5 times I’ve fallen asleep playing games this week 

No, I think I’ll just share some thoughts on games. This is a stream of consciousness, a Sunday afternoon game think. About games.

I finished Final Fantasy VII the other week. Varied, vibrant and quirky as fuck, it has aged fantastically. I can still enjoy it for all the same reasons I did when I first played it back in 2000, but I also appreciated it in new ways this time around. The level of detail and beauty in the pre-rendered backgrounds stood out more than ever, and I took the time to fill my HDD with screenshot after screenshot. I noticed a karaoke corner in a Midgar bar, countless kanji that finally made sense, and even stumbled upon a cave on the Correl trains tracks that I’d never seen before.

Final Fantasy VII might be the best game ever made. Obviously it isn’t, as Metal Gear Solid 3 holds that distinction, but it might be. I’m starting to wonder if it’s better than FFVIII, my first FF and my go-to answer whenever anyone asks me “Matt, what is your favourite Final Fantasy?” I’d love to experience VIII with all the little extras that VII enjoys on the PS4/PC, especially the fast forward function that was a god-send for grinding. Square Enix, get on that please.

Nintendo Switch Update: you still can’t get one here for love nor money. And honestly, even if I did strike it lucky, I don’t think I’d buy one. I have too little gaming time and too little interest in the current software line-up. It won’t kill me to miss another Zelda, Mario’s never really done it for me, and my desire to like Splatoon far outweighs the enjoyment I derive from actually playing it. However, I am keeping a close eye on No More Heroes: Travis Strikes Again.

La Noire was crap.

Speaking of crap, that Shenmue 3 trailer was bloody awful. What’s the best case scenario here? A competent game that doesn’t upset the fan base too much? Shenmue-likers should do themselves a favour and switch their attention to the Yakuza series, if they haven’t already done so. It warms my heart to see so many people enjoying the series, thousands of casuals who refused to play 5, 6, 0 and Kiwami in Japanese at last falling for Nagoshi’s tongue-in-cheek crime drama. My copy of Kiwami is on its way from England, and I’m excited to play an English version of Yakuza for the first time since Y4.

Uncharted: The Lost Legacy is also winging its way from England, and I can’t wait to get started. It’s been a good year for video games, even if I’ve hardly played any of them.

My Ten Favourite Saturn Games, in order of how I’ve chosen to write them: Sega Rally Championship, Virtua Cop 2, Tomb Raider, Resident Evil, Alien Trilogy, X-Men Vs. Street Fighter, Virtua Fighter 2, Decathlete, Nights into Dreams, Panzer Dragoon.

I’ve been flicking through the recent 1500th issue of Famitsu. There’s a top 100 games list, as voted for by readers, and it’s as ridiculous as you’d expect. Plenty of recency bias, including Persona 5 at no.1 and more than a few inexcusable inclusions, such as Sonic Adventure 2 at no.29. Also, apparently there are 69 games better than MGS3. Edge also did a top 100 recently, but that was wrong too. People shouldn’t be allowed to have opinions.

Final Fantasy VII might be the best game ever made.


Comments

  1. So wait....according to Famitsu Sonic Adventure 2 is better than Metal Gear Solid 3? I need to sit down and process this. I'm actually excited to give LA Noire another chance, but that's in large part because I'm trying to get a career investigating crime scenes now. Though I love a lot of Nintendo's games, the Switch is IMO, the best place for any indies that appear right now. So convenient to just pick it up and play them, especially since I have less time to game too.

    I liked FFVII and even though it's the only FF I beat, I think IV, VI, and X beat it in both story and gameplay. Still a good game, just not my favorite FF or RPG.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. To be fair, it was a reader's poll. But still, Famitsu should have refused to print it. No MGS3 at no.1 invalidates the list.

      Sounds like an interesting career choice, though I'm not sure how useful LA Noire will be! That game was so flawed.

      Cheers

      Delete
    2. Not looking for it to help just think it would like up with my interests.

      Delete

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