Last night I was at GameStop buying a copy of BlazBlue: Continuum Shift for PlayStation 3 to play with the super rad WhiteDragonNall when I noticed something strange. This was a pretty large GameStop with high ceilings, so the had shelves above the game racks for bulkier items, like DJ Hero controllers, Dance Dance Revolution bundles and what have you. I noticed they had three copies of the Final Fantasy XIV Collector’s Edition for $25, so after coming home and discussing it with my wife like a rational adult (and fighting to quell the impatient fanboy within me) I went back and bought it today.

You see, even though I’ve heard mostly bad things about Final Fantasy XIV, what disappointed me the most about it was that it was going to be a blemish on my record. I own every numbered Final Fantasy game, some several times. I couldn’t justify a purchase of XIV because it was supposed to be really bad and my computer scored terribly on the benchmark (the lowest acceptable score was 1500… I got 710).

Seeing the Collector’s Edition for so cheap, though, I had to do it. As much of a gamer as I am, I’m just as much a game collector. I wrote an article before the game came out about how I thought it was a bummer that people who bought the CE got to play early and it sucks for people who weren’t able to get one before they sold out. I guess that wasn’t an issue.

Anyway, from what I managed to play before my computer begged me to stop, the game certainly LOOKS nice, and what else would you expect from Square Enix? The character models and environments were fantastic and the music was great. Of course, since it’s Square Enix, I played for about 45 minutes and about 30 of them were cinematics. If I had been able to run it better I probably would have enjoyed it.

Registration was a pain in the ass, though. Even outside of video games Square Enix makes their menus completely impossible to navigate.

Of course, now I know I need a video card upgrade before the MMO I REALLY want to play comes out. Speaking of which, to continue my trend of MMO Collector’s Editions (since I have the CE of Star Wars Galaxies, World of Warcraft: Cataclysm and now Final Fantasy XIV) I preordered this bad boy (click to embiggen):

Which reminds me: those of you waiting for The Old Republic, go preorder it now, because a preorder gets you early access based on when you register your preorder on the official website.

I guess this article really has no purpose but to tell you what I did today.

I’ve been thinking a lot about Final Fantasy lately for whatever reason. I think it’s my compulsive need to figure out what my favorite is in any given franchise, but unfortunately I like the different games and characters for different reasons so it’s hard to rate them. There is one thing I’m absolutely sure of, though, and that is that Tidus from Final Fantasy X is the manliest Final Fantasy hero there is.

Also there will be spoilers for Final Fantasy X, but I figure if you haven’t played it yet you probably won’t.

Tidus gets a bad rap from today’s gamer because of his hair, his outfit, and his optimistic attitude. I think those people are stupid, and those are also the people that got “The Last Ride” removed from Super Street Fighter IV, got the colors taken out of Zelda: Skyward Sword, and basically act like morons on the internet whenever a game isn’t 12 shades of brown and have a buff guy with guns as the main character.

They also complain that he’s “whiny,” which I never understood, because I don’t recall him being some stupid broody downer like OTHER Final Fantasy heroes people seem to like (Squall, I’m looking at you, you unrelatable jackass). He spends a lot of the game trying to cheer other people up which is not a character trait I usually associate with someone who whines too much. He’s also voiced by James Arnold Taylor, who is awesome. John DiMaggio was the voice of Wakka and Tara Strong was Rikku, which shows you they only hired the best voice actors for the game.

I digress. Tidus is the most manly Final Fantasy character, and it is because he has NO FEAR.

Think about it. Tidus discovers that he doesn’t really exist… he and his home are dreams of the fayth, and that by completing his mission, destroying Sin and saving Yuna and the rest of Spira, the fayth will awaken and he will cease to exist.

Now, why are most people afraid of dying? It’s because they don’t know what will happen afterwards. A lot of people believe in an afterlife, but people are typically afraid of the nothingness that comes with death. They’re afraid that when they die, their consciousness is lost… they just cease to exist, and there is an eternal nothing.

Tidus KNOWS that is what awaits him. He knows he won’t technically be dying. There is no afterlife waiting for him. All there is is an eternal nothing.

AND HE GOES INTO IT HEADFIRST. He doesn’t stop to think of another way. He doesn’t slow down. Hell no. He is going to do whatever it takes to save the world and the woman he loves, even if it costs him his very existence. What a tough son of a bitch. I wish I was that badass. When he finds out that the only way to really stop Sin from ever coming back means that he will never exist again, he’s even MORE determined because no one will ever have to worry about the safety of Spira again.

THAT is why Tidus is the manliest Final Fantasy character. If you have any argument, it’s invalid. You lose.

Let’s all shed some manly tears in honor of this valiant hero.

So Square-Enix announced a North American release date for their upcoming MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV.

Actually, they announced TWO North American release dates.

That’s right, the game will launch on September 30, unless you buy the Collector’s Edition of the game, in which case you get to start playing September 22 and laugh at all the peasants with their noses pressed against the window, wishing with all their tiny little hearts to be inside.

Honestly, I don’t really know how I feel about this. I want to give Final Fantasy XIV a try, but the benchmark killed my laptop (well, it didn’t KILL it, per se… but I think it was the software equivalent of a swirlie and a wedgie) and I don’t have a PlayStation 3. It doesn’t affect me at all, but man… Squeenix, that’s cold.

It’s like, this isn’t going to make ANYONE happy except the small amount of people who are going to be able to preorder the Collector’s Edition. I’ve worked at GameStop, I know that there are strict caps on the amounts of preorders allowed on Collector’s Editions. So what happens to the fans who have been waiting for this game for years, and all of a sudden are told “Hey, too bad, you should have ponied up the extra 25 smackers.”

In their defense, there are a lot of cool things in the Collector’s Edition, like a behind the scenes DVD, an in-game Onion Helm (which the Final Fantasy fan in me is yearning for desperately without even having seen it), a security token and a cover by Yoshitaka Amano.

But still, I know how MMOs work. Imagine stepping into this gorgeous world on launch day and immediately being surrounded by people who are 15-20 levels higher than you. It’s going to tarnish the experience, for sure, and for a company that has built itself by selling experiences you’d think they’d be a little more compassionate.

Smart business sense though. You won’t find any of these Collector’s Editions sitting on shelves months later like you do with all other games though.

When Star Wars Galaxies launched a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, I bought the Collector’s Edition. I spent $80 on the game in a badass giant leathery box with an art book, pewter figurine, a pin, some in-game clothing and a spiral-bound instruction manual with gold signatures of the design team and George Lucas on the back. I didn’t get to play the game any earlier than anyone else did, though (if anything, I played AFTER most people, since a) the registration servers were borked most of the day and b) it launched on my then-girlfriend’s birthday who refused to understand that I had been waiting for that game for about three years).

Like I said, it doesn’t really affect me and from a business standpoint I can see why they’re doing it. It’s going to generate a lot of interest and they’ll make a ton of money off of these Collector’s Editions. Still, though… sucks for everyone else.

I want to talk about Final Fantasy XIII for a bit.

If you’ve been following my thoughts on the game leading up to its release, you’ll remember I’ve been kinda up and down on the subject, my interest fluctuating much like the wave pools at a water park. At first I wasn’t even sure I’d pick it up on release day, but a few days before my cynicism got hit by a Limit Break of excitement and I decided I’d get it day one. Come on, it’s Final Fantasy!

Or is it?

As of this writing, I’m about 14 hours into the game (I know I’m slow, but I work full time, live with a fiancée who is currently addicted to watching Bleach, and I’ve been playing the new Pokémon as well), and from everything I’ve read, the game will suddenly “click” around the 15 hour mark. I want to write my impressions pre-click, since 14 hours is a long time to invest waiting for something to pick up.

Honestly though, the game is awesome. I’m really, really enjoying it thus far. I’m actually enjoying taking my time with it, because Final Fantasy XIII is much more fast-paced and up-tempo than any other Final Fantasy, and pretty much any other JRPG I’ve ever played. I can’t sit and play for five hours like I would before, the game is mentally taxing.

The first thing people want to know about is the battle system. I wasn’t too sure about it when I would read previews from news blogs, but I think that’s mostly because no one really did that great a job describing it. The best way I can think of describing Final Fantasy XIII’s battle system is if you jammed together Final Fantasy X-2 and Chrono Cross. You have the on-the-fly job switching of X-2 and the attack “costs” of Chrono Cross.

It’s still very much a turn-based system, but it disguises itself well. You still have an ATB bar that needs to fill up before you can take action, but it’s broken into segments. Each attack or spell you perform will use up one or more segments, so you can mix and match and try to make the most of your turn. Certain actions, like summoning your Eidolon, casting Libra, or using healing items can be done at any time and don’t interrupt your ATB bar.

What makes the battle system so interesting and fun is the Paradigm Shift. There are six classes, each suited for different tasks (Commandos are physical attackers, Ravagers are Black Mages, Medics are White Mages, Sentinels will draw enemy attention and shield themselves, Synergists will buff the party, and Saboteurs will debuff the enemy), and you can set up different combinations that you can switch to on the fly. You can have a Sentinel have a strong enemy focus on them, while a Commando and Ravager whale away at it, or have a Medic heal while a Synergist and Saboteur stack the odds against your foes. It allows for a very impressive amount of customization, and you’ll need to be quick on your feet in order to survive some of the tougher fights.

The story, the main draw for a Final Fantasy game, or any RPG in general, is actually pretty good once you figure out what the hell is going on. The game drops you right in the middle of a big conflict and starts throwing around all kinds of terms, like Fal’cie, l’cie, Pulse, Cocoon, and PSICOM and just kind of expects you to pick it up as you go. Luckily, there’s a “datalog” in the menu that acts as an encyclopedia so you can do a little bit of reading when you need a break from all the fighting.

The linearity that the game has taken a lot of flak for isn’t really that big a deal, to be honest. Yes, the game is essentially a series of “hallways,” and you’re pretty much pushed from point A to point B with a few battles in between, but in the context of the story, it makes sense. My only complaint is that the game is so gorgeous, you’ll want to look around and inspect things but what you can look around at is somewhat limited.

The characters are a lot of fun, and the voice acting is fantastic. A lot of people were complaining that the Japanese language track wasn’t selectable in the North American release, but honestly, it’s not needed. All six of the main cast are wonderfully brought to life by their voice actors, and considering some of the cheeseball lines they have to read it’s an impressive feat. Don’t listen to people when they complain about Hope or Vanille, though; both characters are a bit much at first but the more time you spend with them, the more you start to really understand where they’re coming from.

All in all, I’ve been very pleasantly surprised with the game so far. I always known it would be a good game, but I was unsure if it would be a good Final Fantasy game. Honestly, so far I’ve only seen one Chocobo (the one that lives in Sazh’s hair that I’ve come to call Frocobo), and I’ve seen Shiva and Odin, and that’s really it. Still, despite the lack of Final Fantasy elements, the game has a very Final Fantasy atmosphere, and you’d be able to tell even if the name wasn’t on the box.

Also, a word to Xbox 360 gamers: the game still looks fantastic on the 360. The reports that it doesn’t look as sharp as the PlayStation 3 version are true, but honestly you can’t tell unless they’re side-by-side. The only issue is the cinematics are compressed to fit on DVDs, but I probably wouldn’t have really noticed if I hadn’t read about it beforehand.

So if you were unsure about whether or not you should take the plunge, I say dive in. For a game that’s received so many mixed reviews, you’ll be very pleasantly surprised.

A group of teenagers save the world from a supernatural threat.

What game did I just describe?

A lot, I know.

I see a lot of talk on message boards and the like about how the Japanese-style RPG (or JRPG) is a dying breed, and this is mostly brought on because their storylines are all so similar. You have a group of plucky teens with stylish hair, a few giant swords, maybe a tough old guy who will probably die, and some insurmountable juggernaut that they somehow wind up surmounting.

People bitch and people moan that they’re all the same. Then, when a game comes along that DEFIES that cliché and creates an active battle system to appeal to those who detest a turn-based system, no one likes it.

Final Fantasy XII was awesome because it was different. Unfortunately, different also means that people think it sucks. When you think about it, though, it has everything that people claimed to desire for a JRPG, but these are the same things that are pointed to for the game’s “failure.”

Every Final Fantasy game thus far (except XI, which doesn’t count) eventually comes to the predictable point in the story where the ragtag group of fighters become the only people who can prevent the world’s demise. People cry, “do something different!” so they did.

Final Fantasy XII isn’t about saving the world. It’s a story about one particular kingdom, and overcoming the government of one part of the world. No one outside of Dalmasca gave a damn what Ashe and the others were doing. So what’s the consensus from Johnny Internet about the story of Final Fantasy XII?

“It’s boring.”

Riiiiiight.

Okay, so, combat. The turn-based system is growing a bit stale for some. Understandable. In an effort to revitalize the series’ reputation as far as the battle system goes, Square Enix blended menus and real-time conflicts, with the ability to customize the AI of your entire party. Everyone will dig this, right?

Johnny?

“They should do turn-based again.”

Gah.

I’ve come to the conclusion that there’s no pleasing some people, and there’s far too many “some people” these days. Everyone needs to just shut up. Except me.