Episode 23: Final Fantasy XV: Episode Duscae—Girls, Goblins, and Mullets

Episode 23: Final Fantasy XV: Episode Duscae—Girls, Goblins, and Mullets

Platform: Playstation 4

Release Date: 3/17/2015

Difficulty:  Moderate

Price: Free! …If you bought Final Fantasy Type-0.

Podcast: Download, iTunes, PodOmatic
 

Terra’s Review

Nutritious and filling! Just what you need when fighting goblins!

The Good

• It’s a Final Fantasy game, so of course the graphics and music are amazing.
• The demo featured an impressive open world to run around in and a cave to explore. People who were sick of F13’s hallways are sure to appreciate this aspect of 15.
• Noctis’ car looked pretty cool.

The Bad

• Oh boy, the combat. “Hi we’re a huge mob of monsters and we’re here to attack you and we move super fast and you can’t target us to pick us off one at time and hahaha Ramuh only knows what your AI controlled party members are targeting.”
• I realize this is a demo that’s mostly focused on the battle mechanic, but I wish that it had given me a better idea of what the main character’s personalities were and how they interacted with each other.
• The only female character that showed up was clearly designed for max sex appeal.  She couldn’t at least get a shirt that covers her bra? L
• Goddamn goblins.

The Ugly

• The hair. Just. Gladiolus has mullet and I don’t know what the hell is going on with Noctis’s hair.

The…Huh, I’m Not Sure How I Feel About That

• The Coleman product placement. On one hand, I find it hilarious. On the other, it’s really weird seeing those Coleman branded chairs in a world where the rest of the writing is Final Fantasy rune squiggles.
• The cooking. I like the concept, but it doesn’t seem like you get much control over what the game makes.

 

Behold the power of Product Placement!

The lowdown: I was hoping that the demo would blow my mind and erase all the doubts I had about some aspects of FF15, like the all male cast and the active battle system. Unfortunately, it just reinforced those doubts. I’m not writing the game off and will still play it when it comes out, but hopefully Square will at least make some improvements to the battle system before it’s released.

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

Episode 22: Pokémon X-Y—Pokémon Noobs

Episode 22: Pokémon X-Y—Pokémon Noobs

Pokémon X-Y

Platform:  Nintendo 3DS

Worldwide Release Date: 10/12/13

Difficulty: Easy

Current Amazon Price: $39.16

Podcast: Download, iTunes, PodOmatic

Lightning's Review

 

100 hours? Must have left the DS on for too long. 

The Good

• The completionist in you should come out here!  Lots of Pokémon to catch, and even more for you to do regarding battles and storyline after the end of the game. This game should keep you very, very busy if you want it to.
• Bright, endearing visuals that are apparently a step up from previous installments. The cartoony style of the game fits it well, and I thought the full 3D perspective showed a lot of what the 3DS has to offer.
• Your stomping grounds, the Kalos Region, is inspired by France and does a good job of portraying that – cities are littered with cafes, clothes boutiques sell you various outfits, and you can even give your Furfou (a poodle-like Pokémon) special haircuts to alter its appearance. It might not be for everybody, but Fake France was a lot of fun for me. 

The Bad

• Despite all the content, I found myself suffering from tedium after awhile. All the towns and gyms started to blur together, and I even got sick of catching Pokémon! When I hit that point, I started speeding up to finish the game.
• This game is very light on story - so if you’re looking for one, don’t come here. Actually, I think the lack of story is what made things tedious for me towards the end of the game. 

The Ugly

• Some of the Pokémon, unfortunately. Mr. Mime will give me nightmares.
• Those damn minigames. Berry Picker! And Tap It! The music is STILL stuck in my head.

…I’ll admit, the Skiddo Ranch made me squee a little. 

The Lowdown: 

A decent game, though I have some reservations due to getting bored. RPG goers who are all about the story should look elsewhere, though if you are a completionist you’ll find that this game won’t disappoint. Given that there are tons of Pokémon to catch and a solid endgame, you could find yourself putting plenty of hours in for what you paid.  

Music Credits:
Pokemon X/Y OST
RPG Roundup Theme Song: "Video Game Theme," J. Arthur Keenes Band. Creative Commons Attribution License.