Episode 7: Final Fantasy—Wash Your Damn Face! (Playstation)

Final Fantasy Origins: Final Fantasy 1

Platform: Playstation

Japanese Release Date: October 31, 2002

North American Release Date: April 8, 2003

Difficulty: Moderate

Amazon Price: Final Fantasy Origins Disc: $14.50

PSN Digital Download Price: $9.99.

Podcast: Download, iTunes, PodOmatic

One podcast episode, two reviews!
Lightning's Review of the NES Version

Terra’s Review

Your mother let you out of the house in that outfit? You go right home and change into something less stupid, young man!

The Good

• Updates that make the game run smoother, such as menu options that describe what an item is and allow the player to buy more than one item at a time.
• Graphics that keep the old school charm of the original but also add in a few more colors and more detailed background for the battle screens.
• Getting to choose the make up the party, which can greatly affect game play—try an all white mage party if you really want a challenge!
• Updated, 32 bit version of the music the Final Fantasy games are famous for. Be sure to listen for Derelict Keep!

The Bad

• The World Map seemed slightly larger than in the NES version, which could make getting from one place to another tedious—especially before the airship shows up.
• Being ambushed by nine monsters, when you only have four party members, and the monsters all get to first, and stun/petrify/insta-kill the entire party before the player can give any commands.
• The storyline involves Time Travel and will make your head hurt when you try to figure it out

The Ugly

• The opening CGI movie of a random knight fighting a random dragon:

Or perhaps…THE BEGINNING? (Of a huge money maker!)

The lowdown:  The remake keeps a lot of the charm of the original NES version while polishing the game up slightly. I’m particularly a fan of the updated menus, which are easier to navigate than the originals were.  The language for the script is more flowery and the graphics more colorful, but the game’s story is unchanged and the core and heart of the game have been kept intact. Recommended for people who want an old-school type experience or to play the game that launched one of the world’s biggest RPG franchises, but don’t want the frustration of buying one Heal potion at a time.

Music Credits:

RPG Roundup Theme Song: "Video Game Theme," J. Arthur Keenes Band. Creative Commons Attribution License.

Final Fantasy Original Soundtrack

Final Fantasy Playstation Soundtrack

Episode 6: Dragon Age 2—You Can’t Hide That Mage Pride

Dragon Age 2

Platform: Playstation3, Xbox, PC

Release Date: North America: 3/8/2011, Australia 3/10/11, Europe 3/11/11, Japan 2/2/12

Difficulty: Baseline easy, but with options to make combat more difficult.

Amazon Price:  Standard Edition: PS3 $14.99, Xbox360, $14.98, PC/MAC $20.34, PC Download $23.68, MAC download $15.29.

Podcast: Download, iTunes, PodOmatic

Terra’s Review (Now with bad photoshop!)

Clean your house, Fenris.

The Good

• An in-depth, politically based storyline that stays politically based, instead of turning into a quest to kill/revive/become/flip off God.

• Improved animation, especially when it comes to the main character’s facial expressions—in DA:2, the player character can express emotions other than “stoned!”

• High replay value. Although the main events of the storyline same the same, such as Hawke’s rise to power and the growing tensions between the templars and the mages, a variety of events are  under the player’s control, including Hawke’s personality type, who to romance (if anyone), and who to side with when it comes to mages vs. templars.

• Easily adjustable difficulty level that ranges from “casual” to “nightmare.”

The Bad

• Gameplay that has been simplified from DA:Origins, including easier combat, repetitive dungeons, and fewer dialogue options for the player character. This is theorized to be due to a combination of rushed development and making the game more accessible to casual gamers.

• On the topic of repetitive, cut and paste dungeons…Every house in Hightown has the same layout! There are suburban housing developments with more variety.

The Ugly

• Carver’s stupid whining face.
  
  
  

Ser Pounce-A-Lot and Anders <3 <3 <3

The lowdown: Dragon Age 2 gets big points with me simply for having a storyline that starts out politically based and continues to be politically based the whole way through, with the action focused on the fate of one city and how the events in Kirkwall will affect the world. It’s a refreshing change from games that start politically but quickly escalate to saving the world!!! Although gameplay suffers slightly in comparison to Dragon Age: Origins and definitely been simplified, DA2 remains a strong and entertaining game.

Marian Hawke, Champion of Kirkwall and Fashion Icon

Music Credits:

RPG Roundup Theme Song: "Video Game Theme," J. Arthur Keenes Band. Creative Commons Attribution License.

Dragon Age II OST

Episode 5: The Last Remnant — Let's Kick Some A!

The Last Remnant

Platform: Xbox 360 (this is the version we played), PC

Release Date: November 20, 2008 (Japan, North America, Europe)

Difficulty: Moderate

Amazon Price: $44.99 new for Xbox 360 (yikes!), $11.95 for PC, $9.99 on Steam  

Podcast: Download, iTunes, Listen on PodOmatic

Lightning's Review

  

Is it a dramatic scene…or sexual tension?

The Good

• An addictive battle system that forces you to focus on strategy rather than mere button mashing. Managing character rosters, formations, battle commands…it’s all here, and some mastery of it is required for a successful playthrough.

• A complex customization system that allows you to create or upgrade your characters’ weapons and accessories. Most of the components needed are obtained through winning battles, exploring dungeons, and completing optional quests.

• A varied quest system that is in many ways superior to that of Final Fantasy XII. Instead of just hunting down monsters, you get more variety, albeit through fetch quests, treasure hunting, and acting as bodyguard. A few even show some glimpses of character development for your party members.

The Bad

• Massive load times and slowdown in the Xbox 360 version. Usually load times and slow frame rates don’t bother me, but this was noticeable.

• The story is lacking – there is not only very little of it, but it also fails to answer some screamingly obvious questions that you will have at the end of the game. Sometimes the cutscenes felt reduced to mechanisms that would allow you to merely move on and fight more battles.

The Ugly

• Some very interesting (but hilarious) NPC interactions. One of them tells a Baby Got Back joke. Yes, you read that correctly.
• The thought of what some of the fanfiction for this game might be like.
• Jokes about Lord David’s Gae Bolg. But maybe that was just us.

The master will not approve without Torgal in the party!

The lowdown: An RPG with a very solid and unique combat system, although with that attention to the story accordingly suffered. Think unique combat system + a souped-up version of Final Fantasy XII’s mark system + a more complex version of Final Fantasy IX’s synthesis system + Mystic Quest’s story (yes, you read that correctly) = The Last Remnant. If you like dungeon crawlers and have an Xbox 360, go for it! I would recommend the Steam version, however, since it’s cheaper, tends to have better reviews, and has some upgrades that the Xbox version does not. 

         Podcast Credits: 

         J. Arthur Keenes Band—"Videogame Theme." Creative Commons.

         The Last Remnant Soundtrack

Episode 4: La Pucelle Tactics – Behold Our Kitty and Crossbones Flag and Despair!

La Pucelle Tactics
Platform: PS2, ported to PS3
Japanese Release Date:  January 31, 2002
U.S. Release Date: May 4, 2004
Difficulty: Easy aside from sudden level spikes
Current Amazon Price: $31.99
Current Playstation Network Price: $9.99

 Podcast: Download,  iTunes,  Listen on PodOmatic

Terra’s Review

Behold Our Kitty and Crossbones flag and despair. MEOW

The Good:

• A story that’s more complex and in depth than “Go, characters! Wander the world on your way to defeating the big boss."

• Humor that underlies the series and keeps even the darkest moments on the storyline from getting too serious and depressing.

• All of the main characters have well-defined personalities and they all get development and their time to shine during the game.

• Getting to see the roots of the battle system and slightly twisted sense of humor that the Disgaea series builds on and continues to fine tune.

The Bad:

•   Dull level grinding without much choice or variety in maps and battles.

•   Slightly too convenient pairing off of the main characters.

•   Minimal healing items.

 The Ugly:

•  
  

You don’t want to know what’s on the other side of that wall

The Lowdown: La Pucelle is a solid game with a storyline that moves briskly and characters that will keep players engaged and entertained.

   Podcast Credits:

        J. Arthur Keenes Band --"Videogame Theme." Creative Commons.
La Pucelle Arranged Soundtrack

Episode 3: Phantasy Star II — Retro RPG Russian Roulette

Phantasy Star II

Platform: Sega Genesis

Japanese Release Date:  March 21, 1989

U.S. Release Date: March 1990 (before the original Final Fantasy!)

Difficulty: Freaking Hard 
Current Amazon Price: Sonic Ultimate Genesis: $14.96 for PS3 & Xbox 360

Current iTunes App Price: $2.99

Podcast: Download,  iTunes,  Listen on PodOmatic

Lightning's Review:

 Epic box art! Ummm...I didn't know Rolf was 70!

The Good

• Do you think games these days are too easy? Then look no further! According to my not-so-comprehensive internet research, this game has been cited as one of the hardest RPGs ever to grace the planet. I do not disagree with this assessment. When you win a tough battle or find your way through a labyrinth of hell, you will feel that you have accomplished something, dammit.    

• For reasons that I do not completely understand, the battles are oddly addictive. They require a good amount of strategy regarding choosing the right party members and knowing which attacks will be effective in particular situations. Don’t let its outward simplicity fool you!

The Bad

• For such a challenging game, the final boss is lame-o. However, the boss before right before that is a huge douchebag, which makes me scratch my head a little. I fully admit to flipping the TV screen off when Dark Force was defeated. 

• I put the game’s difficulty as a good; on the flip side, it can also be a bad thing. The battles can be hard, and you need some badass cartography skills to get through the long, meandering dungeons. Or GameFAQs. Even the great guides at GameFAQs, however, can be of little help at times.  

The Ugly

• ‘80s shoulder pads! Monsters called Rabbitguts! (It’s as gross as it sounds.) A translation where you sometimes have no idea who is saying what! All of this and more awaits you! 

 

No verdant plains in the background, folks! Or lush forests! Just…Tron. 

     The Lowdown: Not for the faint of heart. If this is your first RPG, then this may scare   you off forever. However, if you like retro RPGs and are up for a challenge, then I say go for it. Winning this game is something you can BRAG ABOUT. 

     Podcast Credits:

     J. Arthur Keenes Band --"Videogame Theme." Creative Commons.