Final Fantasy VII: Krise Kern

Liebes Square Enix, die Liebe meines Spiellebens.

Es ist einige Zeit gewesen, da ich meine Liebe für Sie im Schreiben erklärt habe und ich herzlichst hoffe, daß Sie nicht die steamy Nächte vergessen hatten, die wir zusammen am Sommer von `94 verbrachten. Ich vergesse nie, wie Sie mich unterrichteten, durch die schwache Ablichtung des Sony Flachschirmes zu lieben.

Die letzten Wochen, die wir zusammen verbracht haben, sind bittersüß gewesen. Bis Sie mir die Weisen zeigten, die Sie geändert haben, nahm ich an, daß unser Verhältnis noch durch Dekade-altes Programm gesprungen wurde. Ich fürchtete den drehen-gegründeten Tanz und beeinflußte zwischen Partner im Auftrag, während der Abend abnahm. Aber Sie erwarten mehr von mir jetzt, und Ihre Erwartung zwang mich, meine alten Weisen zu verschütten und mich zu bemühen, die kunst des Einzelnmann Kampfes zu erarbeiten. Gegangen die Tage von Umdrehungen, da Sie begabt mich die Fähigkeit, in der Realzeit zu spielen haben, während ich die kämpfe, die Phasen mich töten. Revel I in dieser neuen Freiheit.

Sogar in Ihrer änderung, erinnern Sie mich noch an, wo wir gewesen sind. Mit Magie und materia trösten Sie mich, und ich werde gewärmt. Mit Ihren Wörtern führen Sie mich, und Ihre langatmigen Schneidenszenen senden Schauer hinunter meinen Dorn. Your camera blesses me, and I am thankful. I know that I’ve strayed in the past, flirting with other code when twilight fades. But you have shown me the light, and I swear to be faithful forever more.

I eagerly await your return.

The World Ends With You

The long-awaited North American release of the heralded (yet largely unappreciated by Japanese gamers) Subarashiki Kono Sekai has brought a new revolution to handheld RPGs, proving that Square Enix is, despite its continued milking of the Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts franchises, still capable of original content.

Players take the role of Neku, a young cynic who finds himself in Shibuya’s famous scramble crossing with no recollection of how he ended up there or why. Neku discovers that he’s now part of the Death Game, and over the course of seven days must fight the “Noise” (various creatures that take the form of animals) to survive and complete daily missions. As the story progresses Neku learns more about himself, his allies, and the finer points of human interaction, in-between shopping for clothing, killing poisonous frogs and kangaroos, and reading the thoughts of passers-by.

In combat, Neku’s “deck” consists of 300 collectable pins with unique attack skills such as flame-throwing, bullets, and melee strikes. Attacks are executed by using the stylus in a variety of ways such as slashes and taps, some even integrating the microphone. As the game progresses, pins level up and grow more powerful as they’re utilized. While Neku’s action takes place on the bottom screen, the top screen features one of several allies who also fight the Noise. Allies are controlled via the D-Pad (or the face buttons for you southpaws) in a unique pattern combo system, with combos performed by either character giving bonuses to his or her partner on the opposite screen. For those who would find it hard to manage both screens at once, an auto-assist option is available to help players get adjusted and can easily be overridden by the player.

Designer Tetsuya Nomura (known for his work in the recent Final Fantasy games and the Kingdom Hearts series) has given the game a hip, urban feel, to match the setting of Tokyo’s current hotspot for teens, urban culture aficionados, and bleeding-edge fashionistas. The character designs are both comforting to S-E fans and at the same time a refreshing departure from the fantasy-based settings of its other series; featuring the sort of outfits that, while certainly outlandish by American standards, are a common sight in districts such as Shibuya and Harajuku. The game’s music also matches the mood - essential in a modern setting when the wrong tunes can quickly remove the player from the experience.

World takes steps to revolutionize how players gain XP with a “Mingle” mode in which XP is awarded when the player’s DS comes into WiFi contact with another DS, no matter what cart is in that system, ensuring that World will be slotted at anime conventions, LAN parties, and events like PAX for months to come. This and other in-game innovations are proof that if you’re looking for a change of pace in both the RPG genre and how you use your DS to play games, The World Ends With You is a must-buy.