Final Fantasy VII: De Kern van de crisis

Beste Vierkante Enix, de liefde van mijn gokkenleven.

Het is wat tijd geweest aangezien ik mijn liefde voor u schriftelijk heb beweerd, en ik hoop oprecht u niet hebt vergeten de steamy nachten die wij samen in de zomer van `94 hebben besteed. Ik zal vergeten nooit hoe u me om door de schemerige verlichting van flat-screen van Sony onderwees te houden van.

De laatste weken die wij bitterzoet geweest zijn samen hebben doorgebracht. Tot u me de manieren toonde bent u veranderd, veronderstelde ik onze verhouding nog door decennium-oude routine werd gebonden. Ik vreesde de op draai-gebaseerde dans, die tussen partners in orde slingert aangezien de avond afnam. Maar u verwacht meer nu van me, en uw verwachting dwong me om mijn oude manieren af te werpen en ernaar te streven om de kunst van enig-mensengevecht te beheersen. Gegaan zijn de dagen van draaien, aangezien u begaafd me de capaciteit om in real time hebt te spelen aangezien ik zij vecht die leven om me te doden. I revel in deze nieuwe vrijheid.

Zelfs in uw verandering, herinnert u me nog aan waar wij zijn geweest. Met magisch en materia troost u me, en ik word verwarmd. With your words you guide me, and your lengthy cut-scenes send chills down my spine. 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.