XIII-2 demo: My thoughts

 This is probably the tardiest post I've written, but it's better than a sharp stick in the eye! Welcome to the Grove, folks! I am your gardener, The Onion Knight, and today I want to give my thoughts on the XIII-2 demo that was released about two weeks ago.

 By 'tardiest post', I meant that this is something I should have documented when I first played the demo, (I just haven't had the time, I apologize!). Final Fantasy XIII-2 was released nearly two weeks ago on January 31. I haven't played it yet, but I've heard multiple good things about it. Of course, many people were upset with Final Fantasy XIII and Square, hoping to heal the fan's broken spirits, made many changes to its sequel to satisfy gamer's tastes. I'll talk more about the full game itself after I've played it, since I plan to review it eventually. For the time being though, I'll talk about the demo.

 Once you start the demo and play past the title menu, the player is treated to a cutscene with Lighting's narration thrown in. I didn't really pay much attention since I would be seeing this again anyways. Immediately, you're thrown into a boss battle. It's a pretty easy one, and during the battle you'll perform these actions called 'active cutscenes', where you have to time button commands in order to deal damage, (and get a better reward with victory). After the battle, you can walk around the Bresha Ruins, talk to some NPCs, fight monsters, collect items - typical Final Fantasy fare. For a demo, XIII-2 was fairly customization-oriented. You can change your party leader, capture monsters for your party, gain and change equipment, level up your characters freely, and change many options - which, to my knowledge, isn't seen in many video game demos. The battle system is essentially the same as its predecessor, XIII, except now you can command monsters and change your party leader during battle, which is a nice touch.

 The element of this demo I liked the most was the atmosphere of the game. Although I could only explore Bresha Ruins, it was a great setting to begin with. The rain droplets falling into your tv screen, the serene music, and the overall mood - it was like something out of a Metroid game!

 Overall, I enjoyed the demo and I know that what I'm getting will be a great title. I pre-ordered the Collector's Edition a while ago on Amazon and I also hope to pick up some DLC for the game. If you liked XIII, I'm quite certain you'll like the sequel and if you didn't enjoy it - well, why not give it a try?

This is the Onion Knight signing off. Have a good day!

A New Final Fantasy XIV

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!





Press release from Yoichi Wada on the Lodestone
FFXIV development roadmap

The Fantim Menace

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?!

Final Fantim's download page