It was Sephiroth with the katana in the Dining Room. BAM
So I just have to give a shoutout to a fresh, gaming celebrity on the interwebs - MatPat. This guy is known for creating the well-received series, Game Theory; a show analyzing mysteries and hypothesis' within the gaming world - a video game version of Mythbusters, if you will. One of his earlier videos looked at a moment that rocked the gaming world since 1997 - the murder of Aerith Gainsborough in Final Fantasy VII.
MatPat takes a look at a different game in each video and much to my enjoyment, he deeply analyzed a scene (albeit a sad one) from a Final Fantasy game. All of us know that in Final Fantasy VII, Aerith (or Aeris, a mistranslation) was impaled by Sephiroth's incredibly long katana, but MatPat proposes another killer of the Ancient, which is how he ends all of his videos; that is, by proposing a theory.
MatPat looks at the scene of Aerith's death very analytically; dissecting it in a true scholarly fashion. I suggest you watch the video to see how it plays out, because Mat's findings just might shock you.
I meant to blog about this a while back, but I've been extremely busy as of late. For you FF fans out there, you may have had this game on your radar for the past while: Final Fantasy Type-0, which was previously known as Agito. It's an upcoming title for the PSP and there's one word that comes to mind- blood.
The game is the most violent yet, (one of the bloodiest games I have ever laid my eyes on), and is sure to be one of the more mature games for the PSP. Besides the extreme violence (a chocobo dies!), Type-0 seems to be heavily laced with dark themes and a mature plot revolving around war and politics.
I haven't followed this game very much - in fact, this trailer is the first I've seen of this game, and the sheer violence and moodiness caught me off guard. Come to think of it, even though violence is a huge part of the Final Fantasy series, blood isn't a typical visual element. VII introduced blood while VIII used blood in one cutscene, but Type-0 has brought violence for the series to a whole new scale. Type-0 is sure to be the first Final Fantasy to receive an M rating, (at least in North America). That's my prediction.
And to top off this post, here's the aforementioned trailer in Japanese. Sorry, no Ingles yet!
Some of you probably remember the disappointing release of Final Fantasy XIV. After it's release, many reviews scored the game very poorly, received a bad reputation, and worst of all, angered many fans of the franchise. During the previous weekend, CEO of SquareEnix, Yoichi Wada, announced that Final Fantasy XIV will be ending it's subscription before the end of the year and heading into a strong development period that will completely change the game.
After the failed release of Final Fantasy XIV, many members on the development team that made the game either resigned or were switched with another employee. They had been re-working the game since, but only in small pieces. Soon, the game will be entering a very strong development period, as shown in the development chart in the link at the bottom. Many aspects of the game, such as the graphics, menu systems, communications, and many more will be revamped until everything is '2.0'. By 2013, Final Fantasy XIV will be quite different (and better, I hope) and the PS3 version will be released as 2.0.
I've never played Final Fantasy XIV, nor it's father, Final Fantasy XI. Both are MMOs, and although I'm not particularly fond of the genre, I'm more than willing to try something that has Final Fantasy in the title. So once the PS3 version is released in 2013, I'll be sure to document what the game is like. Here's to hoping it'll be good!
See what I did there? With the title? No? Well, you will in a minute - as if you could read. Final Fantim is one person, (or possibly many - I'm watching you), who has taken up the task of re-mastering the Final Fantasy VII OST. Of course, the collection is finished and available for download from the artist him/herself, (I'll provide a link at the bottom of this post). This re-mastering is very well done, with most pieces being recreated to not just sound like it's original version but to sound even better. And best of all, the whole thing is FREE.
So what's the catch? "There is none". I don't believe you. "Just like you didn't believe that George Lucas would f*** up the Star Wars blu-ray trilogy?" Touche.
Final Fantim has also remastered some tracks from Final Fantasy VI as well as one track from Final Fantasy IX. I have listened to all of his/her work many times over and it is, by far, the best re-mastering of the Final Fantasy VII OST out on the web, to my knowledge - and I know everything. "Really? Then what boxers am I wearing?" Clowns. "Creepy."
The dude/dudette has really poured their heart and soul into this project. Similar to how I just spilled my coffee all over myself and my bedsheets. I LIKE TO TYPE AND DRINK IN BED, OKAY?!
Remember Stephen Hiscock, the artist who submitted some artwork? Yeah, the one with the OMFGDATISDASHIZ sketch of Bartz and his chocobo pal, Boco. Well, Steve is back with another sketch, and this time he drew a portrait of the Cloud Strife figure I showed off in the previous post. Steve decided to try a simpler approach to this sketch instead of a gritty one. Very well done Steve! Bravo! I can only hope to see more in the future.
Click image for a larger version.
If any of you readers out there would like to see some of your fanwork up here, whether it be art, music, or writing, I'd be more than happy to give a shout-out to you in this blog. Just send your work to sukotto.w@gmail.com. And if you want to see Stephen Hiscock's photography, click the link at the bottom of the entry for his Flickr page.
The other day, a friend of mine gave me two Final Fantasy figurines as gifts. The first figurine I show off is that of Terra from FFVI fame and the second Cloud Strife from the FFVII prequel, Crisis Core. Both of these collectibles are very nice and I'm quite happy to have these two entering my collection.
Pretty much all of the details are in the video above, as well as the un-boxing of Terra and Cloud. Both were made by Trading/Play arts under Square Enix supervision and the production is pretty good, even more so for the Cloud figure.
The Terra statue cost about $20 and the Cloud figure was about $30, the latter being a great price considering Play Art figures generally cost somewhere between $45-$70.
I usually don't end up getting many collectibles of this nature, so there won't be too many posts about figurines in the near future.
Enjoy this video and if you have questions or comments, post in the 'comments' section down below and I'll be sure to reply as quickly as possible!
If you're a personal friend of mine, you may have heard me mention this game or have seen me play it. This is Dissidia Final Fantasy and it's a very good anthology of the series, so to speak. The characters (and villains) you know and love from Final Fantasy have clashed in this title of epic proportions. Currently, there are two iterations in this 'spin-off' series, but I'll be talking about the first one.
In this video, I briefly talk about what the game is like and the battle that is taking place in the video. Here, I'll write a little more detail on Dissidia.
Dissidia is an action-RPG-fighting game. The player can choose from a multitude of characters - a hero and villain representing each game in the series up to FFX. Yes, that means you can create battles between Cloud and Sephiroth, Terra and Jecht, and many more. Even though it's a fighter, it's actually very heavy with RPG elements - with the exception of exploration since there's no world to explore. There are at least a few modes included such as Story mode, Arcade, Versus, Duel Colosseum, and extras like the Museum which allows you to view information of characters. You can also watch and edit replays, which the outcome has spawned many fan videos on the internet. There's also a mode that allows you to battle wirelessly with your friends. I've only had the chance to experience this mode once but it was very fun!
I remember when this game was first being launched, there was a lot of advertising for Dissidia. I saw many posters decorating game stores, TV commercials scanned into my eyeballs, and Square even released figurines of Dissidia as well as potion cans; each character having their face planted on said cans.
Well, that's really all I have to say about Dissidia. All that is left are the fond memories I have of playing this game. It piqued my interest in the Final Fantasy world as a whole, so the game is quite important to me. As I said in the video, it's a very addicting and entertaining game; I've played at least 100 hours. Dissidia has even served as a great way to blow off steam, whether it be taking a break from heavy work or taking a break from stress in general.
If you have a PSP but have never tried Dissidia, I very much recommend it. It's a great entry in the series and it deserves my Seal of Approval.
Fighting plays an important role in every Final Fantasy game, whether it be fighting the armies of a totalitarian empire or a protagonist fighting conflicting emotions. Nearly each entry in the main series begins headfirst into a scripted battle (read: not randomized), and this 'first battle' may or may not have some significance to the plot. I'll be looking over and commenting on the first encounter of each Final Fantasy, so grab your swords, shields, and gunblades as we look at the first steps of each journey.
"I will knock you all down!"
In the first Final Fantasy, there really wasn't a 'first battle' that threw the player into the action right away. No, instead you'd have the choice of entering the city of Cornelia for the first time or surveying the surrounding landscape, (but the prior choice is a smart one). One could argue that the first battle is either a random encounter (most likely with IMPS) or the first encounter with Garland in the Temple of Chaos. I like to think it's the latter since it's more significant and the actions the player makes before fighting Garland (exploring Cornelia, buying equipment, grinding, etc.) act as a buildup to that moment. This beginning contrasts to later entries in the series; buildups to the first encounter are instead evoked through opening cut-scenes.
Where's the suicide option?!
Final Fantasy II is one of the least played Final Fantasy games, so I'll go over the premise. The main characters of FFII are Firion, Maria, Guy, and Leon, all of whom are friends and live in a peaceful village. One day, the village is overrun by the Empire's forces and the four young ones are forced to flee. As they were making their way to the forest, they were ambushed by four knights, and this is where the first encounter (and the first scripted battle in the series, to my knowledge) comes in. The player controls all four characters and can choose what to do, although running from the battle is hopeless. Even more hopeless, though, is winning the battle. One is forced to do battle against Knights from the Empire, who are late game enemies, using four very weak characters. The first battle creates a sense of hopelessness that is evoked many times throughout the game by characters such as Princess Hilda and Gordon. It also depicts just how evil and powerful the Empire is; even killing innocents to take power.
Final Fantasy III is one of the most magical in the series, in my opinion. The player takes control of four kids who are playing 'onion knight' in a cave just outside their home village of Ur. Out of nowhere, an earthquake shatters the ground beneath their feet and they fall further into the cave. This is where the game begins; putting the player into their first battle against three goblins. This was actually a little different in the DS version of FFIII, since the four party members were given their own names, plots, and character attributes. The player starts with one character, Luneth, and is forced to face off against a single goblin. Or was it three?
We now exit the 8-bit era and enter glorious 16-bitness. Final Fantasy IV was the first in the Super Famicom trilogy, (and was what launched Nobuo Uematsu's career to stardom, arguably). The first battle in FFIV is a scripted one, similar to the first in FFII but this time you don't have to die! No, in fact, the player will always win. The battle is actually a set of encounters; the first being a battle against three Arimans, and the second against a Zu. Like I said, they're scripted so there's no control for the player but thinking back to 1991, these battles were probably meant to emphasize the graphical capabilities of the Super Nintendo.
Final Fantasy V holds a special place for me, although it's one of the least played titles in the series. After a cutscene or two, we see the hero of the game, Bartz, for the first time. He's camping out in a forest with his chocobo pal, Boco, when they hear a meteor crash-land nearby. When they check it out, they see a pair of goblins ready to take away another party member, Lenna. Bartz heroically jumps in to chase the goblins down, prompting the first battle of the game. Once the battle is won, Lenna is saved and so begins the journey of a world... maybe three.
Final Fantasy VI (although some of you older folk may remember this classic as FFIII on the Super Nintendo) is nostalgic game for many people. If you were an advent Super Nintendo gamer, you may remember the opening scene; an unnamed, minted-hair girl accompanied by two soldiers who are all using mech-suits called Magitek armor. With these suits in possession, they storm the village of Narshe. The first battle shows '???',(aka Terra/Tina), being ambushed by two Resistance fighters, although the battle is actually against two wolves. This opening scene plays an important role in setting the tone and atmosphere of the game.
Well, we got through the first six Final Fantasies. In a later post, I'll talk about the other games in the series, up until XIII.
So my good friend Stephen Hiscock is currently on a drawing frenzy and he's an artist who has unique ways of illustrating his ideas. The picture below is a drawing I requested and it's his own interpretation of the cover of Final Fantasy V. I'll include a link at the bottom if you would like to see Steve's photography ala his Flickr account.
Click the image for a larger version
The original cover of FFV for comparison.
This is such an awesome drawing. It really emphasizes Bartz's determination to rid the world of Exdeath. And y'know what? Steve drew this in 30 minutes. He has put a huge amount of detail and emphasis into the caricature of Bartz. The drawn chocobo is an intereptation that reminds me of the concept art of the chocobo during development of Final Fantasy II.
NOTE: For some of you, the video may be looking very 'shaky', where even the text is moving around. This may have been because I clicked the 'stabilize' option for the video. Click the link for a more static video! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UoEnH1O3dQg&feature=player_embedded#!
Hey folks! Onion Knight here and I'm bringing you a little vlog I did for the Grove. Although I'm not sure if I can call it a vlog. Maybe an educational video?
I decided the other night, (after many cups of coffee and being deprived of much needed sleep), that I wanted to show off my Final Fantasy collection. Unfortunately, I don't have much technology to work with. The video was recorded with my camera phone (5.0 Megapixels), so the volume of my voice didn't come out very loud, (you may need to turn up the volume).Once I can get access to a better camera, I'll hook up another vlog.
In this first vlog, I show three Final Fantasy games that were released for the Super Famicom (that's Japanese for Super Nintendo): Final Fantasy IV, V, and VI. I also show off the console for a bit, too.
So, watch the video and just enjoy! Remember to leave any comments on the page, and follow and share my blog too!
Remember: It may say Final in the title, but this Fantasy is never over.
Music is an important part of every person's life - we hear it, feel it, want it and need it. Music is a language that tells many stories; a language so beautiful that sometimes it can't be expressed in words. Final Fantasy games tell great stories and parts of those stories are written by the composer's music. Nobuo Uematsu is the musician behind most of the franchise's tracks and his work has become some of the most recognized in the world.
This is my first post about the music of Final Fantasy and I'm glad to be bringing up this specific topic: piano covers. With access to Youtube, Final Fantasy fans all over the world can share their renditions of musical pieces and enjoy another's. I have listened to many renditions and today, I'm sharing what I think are some the best piano covers on Youtube.
This is the Theme of Love from Final Fantasy IV. This is actually a cover of the Piano Collections, (more on that in a bit), and it's a peice that has made Uematsu pretty famous, since this particular song is taught to school children in Japan as part of their music curricula. The Theme of Love plays in IV during the scenes that involve Cecil and Rosa; lovers who are separated and reunited many times throughout the game.
This a good cover of "The Coin Song", although this piece is also known as Edgar's theme. Edgar, the twin brother of Sabin and prince of his own kingdom, is a man who places his fate on the toss of a coin. Edgar is also a character with a sad side, probably as a result to his recklessness of 'fate-tossing'. Maybe that's why it's usually called the coin song.
Here's a piece that's a little more exciting. Like the previous tune, this one has two names. "Clash on the Bridge", (although I've also heard "Battle on the Big Bridge"), and Gilgamesh's Theme. To my knowledge, this song plays during the attack on a bridge that leads to Exdeath's castle in Final Fantasy V.
For those of you who don't know, Gilgamesh is a recurring character throughout the Final Fantasy series. V is his first appearance, and he acted as Exdeath's 'righthand man' while defending the Big Bridge.
Okay, admit it. This person is amazing when it comes to playing the piano. Wait, person? More like God! I don't think I've seen hands as fast as those! (That's what she said). Anyways, this is the battle theme from Final Fantasy VII and once again, it's from the piano collections. In my opinion, this is (still) one of the best battle themes in the series, and this pianist plays it marvelously.
Once again, another fine example of a great piano cover. This one is You're Not Alone from Final Fantasy IX. The ninth game is still one of the most underrated games in the series, and this piece strengthens what I'm saying. I can't exactly remember when this song played in the game but I'm sure it had something to do with Zidane... or maybe it was Amarant?
I lazed on the next three songs, because they're all from Final Fantasy X! To Zanarkand is just one of best songs I've ever listened to. Seriously, listen to it. Bring a tissue with you too. For most people, this one hits where it hurts, (the tear ducts). The song is a story about a young man and woman; both learning the values of sacrifice through love and loss. So please, listen to this story...
This is a great piece. Seriously Nobuo, what's your secret? How does the man do it?! Well, maybe if I keep sending him enough letters every week, he'll tell me once he's become annoyed. But for now, I'll just bask in his creation. This particular song plays when Yuna and the gang become trapped within the Via Purifico. Too bad you only hear it once in the game.
The final one I'm presenting is a personal favorite of mine: Besaid Island. This song plays when Tidus and Wakka are running around Besaid Island. I listen to this tune all the time. The young lady playing the piano also puts off a spectacular performance. Bravo!
I forgot to mention, these last three pieces are from the piano collections as well. The piano collections are Final Fantasy tunes re-imagined for the piano; most have added parts to them and the songs themselves become longer and more complex to play. Nearly all of the collections were arranged by Uematsu himself, but I believe Masashi Hamauzu has also had a hand.
Well I'm glad you read today's entry, and I hope you enjoyed the music! Sayounara!
You've probably already heard the news about Final Fantasy X by now. The 10 year old PS2 game is getting the HD treatment for the PS3 and PS Vita, but it may be more than your typical high-definition update.
Think he can sing Suteki Da Ne well?
SquareEnix gave the announcement at the Tokyo Game Show last week and apparently, Final Fantasy X is getting good treatment. Not only will the game be updated to HD, but the models and textures are getting a face-lift as well. That's really good since the graphics in X haven't aged all that well and it really could use the treatment.
Although some fans are a little upset that VII is not getting the remake treatment, many people are happy with the choice - including myself. Final Fantasy X is one my favorites in the long-running franchise and I'll definitely be getting this game the day it's released. I must say, however, that I am surprised X is getting the HD treatment. Square is known for remaking their older titles, up to VI. People were actually expecting announcements of remakes for V and VI for the 3DS but instead we got X. (You'd think they'd go in order, eh?)
Either way you look at it, this is an exciting announcement and I'll be looking forward to any more updates on the Final Fantasy X remake. Here's hoping that getting the Celestial weapons won't be so tough this time around!
Happy Almost-Anniversary Final Fantasy X! (The game came out in December here in North America.)
Hey folks! I've got time to write another article since I'm waiting for my socks to dry. Today, I want to mention a couple of Final Fantasy games that were recently shown at the Tokyo Games Show that just ended a day ago.
I certainly hope you've been keeping up with the TGS, since a lot of great games and new features were shown. Just to name a couple of things, the upcoming Zelda: Skyward Sword showed a new gameplay feature involving equipment upgrades while the next Fire Emblem for the 3DS will play similar to the 3D console Fire Emblems, Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn. But, back to the topic of discussion!
So, two new Final Fantasy games were shown; both for the 3DS. The first is Final Fantasy Theatrytyt... Theratrytuhm... Thea... t... dfghjkljskkdfh. THEATRHYTHM.
Ahem. So this new Final Fantasy game is a rhythm based game, and the gameplay is very similar of the zany Elite Beat Agents. It sports a cute art style and music tracks ranging from many games in the main series. Characters from nearly every Final Fantasy game are also involved, such as Lightning from Final Fantasy XIII and the Warrior of Light from the NES original. It's an interesting genre for Square to explore and it just goes to show that the developers are willing to be creative and try new genres, even if it doesn't seem fitting at first.
The second game, which I believe is being developed by the same team that remade Final Fantasy III and IV for the DS, is called Bravely Default. This game seems somewhat reminiscent of another game they created called the 4 Heroes of Light. Not much is known, yet, but if I come across anything interesting I'll make sure to post it. Considering the development team, the game should turn out to be pretty good.
Both games are for the 3DS, so if you're looking for an FF game, you've got a choice of a title that seems fairly laid back and another that is heavily RPG turn-based.
If you've never played the original version of Final Fantasy III, then you're probably scratching your head as to what this acronym stands for. It is considered the worst, yet the best job (read: class) in the game. FEOK stands for Fully Equipped Onion Knight.
If you've played the DS version of Final Fantasy III, then you may have seen the secret class known as the Onion Knight. In that version of the game, it is the best job, albeit the difficulty to obtain it and level it up. But this is not an FEOK. Fully Equipped Onion Knights only appear in the NES/Famicom version of the game due to how the Onion Knight is presented. You begin the adventure immediately with four nameless Onion Knights. If you were to compare stats of the Onion Knight to other classes, it's the worst and training this job can be very difficult and tedious.
The difference between an FEOK and a regular Onion Knight are their equipment. If you equip the Onion Knight with a specific set, called the Onion equipment, then it will become an FEOK, as the FF community has coined it. This FEOK is godly powerful and will destroy anything in its path without difficulty. In my experience, I've used only one FEOK and I managed to defeat the final boss with just that one character... at level 45... in three rounds! It's certainly impressive but the downside is the method to obtain the set.
In the final dungeon, the Crystal Tower, there are these dragons that randomly appear. Killing them may sometimes reward you with a piece of the Onion equipment. This is really hard to do as the chances of finding the dragons are rare but even rarer are the dragons dropping the items you want. There is another method, however. A glitch was found (no, not the one with the Old Man and using surf along the shore of some island) which, when activated, would upgrade the item in a specific position in your inventory. For example, say I put an iron sword in x spot in my inventory, and then activated the glitch, the sword would upgrade to steel. Same goes for armor and even items, such as potions and gyshal greens. I won't go into specifics since I'll just leave the gamefaqs guide at the bottom, but this process, although seems easy enough, can take many hours to get a full set of Onion equipment. I believe it took me about 8 hours to get one full set, so if I wanted to get all 4 sets, then that would have taken 4 times as long! "Hey! This isn't first-grade math class!"
So if you ever get your hands on this game and decide to go through but don't want any difficulty, or you want to totally obliterate everything, then try this out!
Welcome to the Final Fantasy Grove! This is your writer, The Onion Knight, and this is my first post on this blog. Assuming you've read the title elsewhere before, (that's right, you've guessed it), today's article will be in honor of none other than the infamous Square translator, Ted Woolsey.
For those of you who don't know, Ted Woolsey is currently the Director of First Party Publishing for the XBOX Live Arcade service but Final Fantasy fans will know him better as the guy who translated and localized many of Square's games during the 16-bit era. He translated titles such as Final Fantasy III (FF VI in Japan), Chrono Trigger, Secret of Mana, Super Mario RPG, and many more. Ted is also credited with working with companies such as Craveyard and RealNetworks online gaming service.
So how did Mr. Woolsey become so famous in the Square community? After the mangled translation of Final Fantasy II on the SNES, Woolsey's translation of Final Fantasy VI was a masterpiece in comparison. He wrote colorful, and often witty, dialogue that really colored the characters differently than their Japanese versions. Although his translations of many games are sometimes not well-received by many fans in the RPG community, I for one very much enjoy his work, often referred to as 'Woolseyisms".
So how did it all start for Ted? Well, according to an interview with Ted Woolsey done by the Player One Podcast, (a podcast hosted by writers of former EGM), Ted had just earned his masters degree in Japanese Literature at the University of Washington and was looking for work in the Redmond area. He was quickly hired by Squaresoft and his first assignment was to play through the English version of Final Fantasy II on the SNES, so he could learn from what mistakes were made. Soon, Ted got to work on his first game, which was Final Fantasy Legends III on the Game Boy. Eventually, he would go on to translate Final Fantasy III, Chrono Trigger, Breath of Fire, Super Mario RPG, Final Fantasy Mystic Quest (a game that Ted himself got to direct and script), Secret of Mana, and a bunch more I can't remember right now.
Ted was usually given around 30 days to translate a game (on average, he would have to translate about 1500 pages of text), while being flown into Japan to work on the game there so he could have direct contact with his employers. This was just one of the few challenges Ted had to face as a translator. During that time in Japan, games were really seen as a kid's toy, but Ted saw otherwise. He realized these kinds of games were really artful objects meant for adults, and it was this understanding that fueled Ted to localize Square's games in an interesting and colorful fashion; one that would bring the quality of localization to a whole new level.
Ted would eventually leave Square just before the localization of Final Fantasy VII, since Square was moving their headquarters in North America from Washington to Los Angeles. Ted then signed up with games-developer Big Rain, which then was bought-out by Craveyard entertainment. There, Woolsey worked on one game - an RPG called Shadow Madness for the PlayStation, (more on that in a future article). Ted soon left the bankrupt company and then signed up for RealNetworks gaming where he would work for a handful of years, until he was hired by Microsoft.
Ted Woolsey is without a doubt a legend in the FF community and a pioneer of video game localization. He wrote scripts that were cherished and became memorable, and at the same time brought different perspectives onto the video games he translated.
