Yaaaaaaay! I'm finally back online at home! No more public computers crap! :D The damn PS3 update is taking forever, I think I've missed a couple. Then I gotta get my Wii back online, get my PSP and DS configured...christ.

Anyways, I'm gonna try and blog a bit more now. And review, though I think I'm a little too generous with my scores. Going through my list I see a lot of high scores, though to be fair I added games that I really enjoyed. Still, I'm gonna try and provide some better reading other than "ZOMG AWESOME!!11!"

Peace guys.

Hai.

I'm not that interesting to track, heh. When I first joined I was all gung-ho about writing reviews and daily blogs and all that jazz, but as you can see that didn't last long. I decided to write this blog up quick cause I've had a decent number of people track me lately (dunno why, I'm not that awesome.) Just letting ya'll know I'm not too interesting to keep tabs on :P

That being said, I do fully intend to become more active when I'm back online at home. I'm not too fond of GS, especially its Moderators, but there are actually some pretty cool people here. IGN, Giantbomb, and others may have a less...Nazi-inspired moderation, but the people aren't as jawsome. Anyhoo, cool beans, ya'll are pretty cool to talk to.

Alrighty. To ease the blow to my wallet when I buy a PS3 Slim 250GB, I'm selling a bunch of crap to EB Games. I live in Ontario, Canada, so keep that in mind. I used to trade games in often, but haven't since the PS1 days. I believe The Legend of Dragoon was the last game I ever traded in for, heh. Needless to say, it's been awhile, and I'm unfamiliar with the rates. Now, I know that "ZOMG EB RIPS YOU OFF!!11!!" but that's fine, I don't really care. I don't play these games anymore, and their sole purpose is to lessen the cost of a PS3 and a game or two for it when I pick it up.

PS2 Games

Drakengard

Drakengard 2

Pirates - The Legend od Black Kat

Lord of the Rings - The Fellowship of the Ring

Power Drome

Motocross Mania 3

Summoner

Ford Racing 3

Primal

Timesplitters

All of these PS2 titles are in good condition except for Summoner and Timesplitters. Their discs are in good condition, but the box/booklet are a little messed (bought them used years ago.)

DS Games

Age of Empires: The Age of Kings

Spectrobes

Children of Mana

All in great condition. Spectrobes still has the collectible card dealies inside too, might net me an extra buck. Lulz.

Wii Games

Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga

Also in great condition.

I might also add a couple of GBA games in there as well, not sure yet.

So, how much do you think I would roughly get? Again, I know EB/Gamestop is a rip. I know ebay could get me more. I ain't going through the hassle of that. Just purely looking to save a few bucks on a PS3 with store credit.

Thanks guys!

Oh! I also have a few N64 games in good shape that I might add to the list, I know cartridges are worth more than discs.

The Legend of Zelda is one of Nintendo's babies, and one of the best selling and widely known franchise in the gaming community. With pretty much every title receiving praise and commercial success, it's no wonder Nintendo keeps churning them out. Don't get me wong; I own most of the Zelda titles and have enjoyed every aspect of them, but has the formula gotten stale?

Let me clarify. I'm not speaking of when you obtain a new weapon or piece of equipment, then using that to complete the dungeon. Nintendo has always made that enjoyable, planning interesting puzzles around said equipment. Such a formula works well, a staple of Zelda and Megaman, two successful series. What I speak of is the Field --> Dungeon --> Field formula, as well as the elemental themed dungeons. The 'FDF' formula derives from linearity, which is present in any good story. That's fine. What I would like to see instead is Field --> Event --> Dungeon --> Event --> Field. Twilight Princess attempted this with the Twilight, a subtext to the series' usual of defeating Ganon. The Twilight was certainly an interesting aspect that I found to work well, but there just wasn't enough malice in it. Surely Ganon realizes that Link is progressing, defeating his minions and becoming more powerful. It's the same in past Zelda's. Link is able to explore and have access to powerful artifacts which make him more powerful, defeating Ganon's few minions along the way.

A change that I would love is a sense of urgency, more presence by Ganon and his armies. Zelda titles are starting to take a more story oriented turn, so I don't think this would be hard to implement. A great way to initiate this would be my second ponder; elemental themed dungeons. While I enjoy the good ol' Forest Temple and Death Mountain dungeons, how about a different context? How about instead of a regular Forest Temple, a training facility for Ganon's army set in the woods. More story and progressive relevance. Death Mountain could become a massive forge to produce weapons for Ganon's army, with the Goron's under oppression. Again, more relevance. The Water Temple could be Zora themed, but how about a strategic strike by Ganon to enslave the Zora, viewing them as a threat, effectively turning the area into a Zora prison. Twilight Princess gave us an interesting sky based temple. How about instead of that, a massive airship, or better yet, a fleet of airships set to bombard Hyrule Castle? Again, shows evil malevolence as well as giving a sense of urgency, and sets up many possibilities for puzzles, such as having to clawshot from ship to ship, the ultimate goal being the Flagship to defeat the boss and halt the bombardment. All of these possibilities give so many opportunities for real interaction between good and evil, and it also adds an interesting twist to the story. It would mean that Ganon has struck first, and struck hard, leaving the world in disarray. It would give a more evil presence to the world, and a more involving dialogue between Hero and Evil...well, Ganon would talk. Link would just listen.

I'm fully confident that whatever the wizards at Nintendo do for the next Legend of Zelda will be amazing. Just a few ideas I've been pondering.

Game on.

What better way to kick off my first blog than to muse about my favorite gaming series of all time? Final Fantasy has come to be one of the most misleading titles in gaming. Far from final, it has instead spawned an army of quality and entertainment for the gaming community. To think, the very first installment was a last minute effort by Squaresoft to save themselves from bankruptcy. Our Japanese brothers in gaming ate it up, and two decades later it has exploded into the RPG giant it is today. It has become the gaming equivalent of the New York Yankees; near infinite budget, well known names, always a serious contender, if not sweeping the World Series that is gaming. What does the Final Fantasy series have that others do not? Why are they at the forefront, with other excellent titles taking the backseat? In a word: genius. Final Fantasy was one of the sole RPG's back when the genre was considered as table-top only. Another metaphor for you; the early 90's were basically the stock market for RPG's. You had to buy low back then, take a chance. Luckily for Squaresoft, they were able to sell high. They were able to establish not only Final Fantasy as well as themselves, but RPG's in general as a full genre. Square Enix now has the fans and funds to support them, knowing they can buy high and sell even higher. The characters of Final Fantasy have yet to be matched in terms of legacy. Who overshadows Cloud Strife, hero of Final Fantasy VII? How about Sephiroth, in terms of pure badassery? Squall? Seifer? How about Vivi, whose appearance is a throwback to the SNES job class days? None that I can think of. How about Auron? Or Tidus' personality, and relationship to Yuna? Hmm, still got nothing. How about the leading man himself, the sky pirate Balthier? Nada. Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of RPG's in general, and love many of the different series available. They just can't compare to the sheer sense of awe that SE gives us with each new installment of Final Fantasy. And with Fabula Nova Crystallis laying siege to the gaming market, they won't be anytime soon. FF has even branched into the MMO world, and while FFXI wasn't as successful in that area as WoW was, it held, and still holds a strong presence in the realm of MMO's. Not to mention that FFXIV is on the horizon, looking beyond promising. Plus there's that old rumor about a Final Fantasy VII remake...sorry, drooled a bit. How about the spin-offs? Final Fantasy Tactics, anyone? What started as a regular Strategy RPG has become the catalyst for the legacy of Ivalice, spawning successful sequels and a remake on the PSP. Then there's Final Fantasy VII: Dirge of Cerberus. A great game in its own right, and a fresh perspective on the FFVII universe. Then there's Dissidia, which is also an amazing representation of the Final Fantasy universe as a whole. Kingdom Hearts even hosts Final Fantasy characters as part of the active story, as well as make use of many of the elements (names of spells and weapons, mostly.) There's just nothing this series can do wrong. It basically boils down to trust. When SE announces a new Final Fantasy game, I am overcome by excitement and anticipation. When it's finally released, I immediately go and purchase it without a second thought. When I get home, I order a pizza and flip through the manual, my excitement growing. When the pizza arrives, I pop the game in the console, knowing with 100% certainty that I'm about to have a hell of a time. There's no second guessing my purchase, no aisle pacing trying to decide on a title (c'mon, we've all done it.) And as such, I eagerly await the release of FFXIII and Versus. Might as well pre-order my pizza. Game on.