Marvin Gaye
Luther Vandross
Aretha Franklin
James Brown
Sly & The Family Stone
The Beatles
The Beach Boys
The Ramones
Al Green
Kool and the Gang
Led Zeppelin
The Smiths
Eric Clapton
Prince (I don't know if he can really be considered an "old" artiste)
Ray Charles

It's a shame that I can't play the demo for Final Fantasy XII but there has been very mixed reactions from people about the quality shown in that demo. As for Dragon Quest VIII, yes it was lacking a story to rival Final Fantasy but it was still decent and had fun gameplay in my opinion that kept me playing for a long time. I have got a lot of pleasure out of that game let me tell you. Anyway, glad you're enjoying the demo Dan and let's just hope that the actual game turns out to be great.

Whats the point in bringing a totally lame game and giving it the aclaimed final fantasy name and why are they bringing out one for the Ds and the Wii its just not making sense what do you guys think?

ff-leader

I've never played Crystal Chronicles but the reason for Square releasing games for Nintendo consoles is mainly because the birthplace of the Final Fantasy series started on the NES and continued through the SNES era and Square don't want to cut ties with the company who made the console where it all started. I'm sure Nintendo would say the same of Square. Anyway, I for one am really excited about the prospect of FFIII on my DS and as for Crystal Chronicles on the Wii - you never know, it might surprise you. 

I must say everyone, great topic and posting here, this is what I like to see at the FFU, you guys have made me proud!

Anyway, I think anyone who says you are not a true FF fan for stopping at XII has a rather shallow mind. I might well discontinue playing the series at XII as well but I would still consider myself to be an FF fan because of my devotion to Square's great games of the 80s and 90s. I don't like where the series is going with Final Fantasy XIII and furthermore, the director of that game is the one who was the scenario director for Final Fantasy X. For me, Final Fantasy X's story was pretty poor. Versus XIII is directed by Tetsuya Nomura and however much I try, I just can't get immersed into Nomura's games and to add to this, I loathe his character designs.

But don't be fooled if XII gives you false impression. You must remember, Yasumi Matsuno is directing XII and I consider him to be one of the best developers around (he created FFTactics and Vagrant Story). If you find XII enjoyable, you could well regret thinking XIII will follow suit, as I don't think it will based on first impressions. Me, like many other people I know, follow the developer not the series and as has been pointed put by Oblivion more than once; when Hideo Kojima stops developing the Metal Gear Solid series, pmany people will follow Kojima-san with his original material but it won't be half as popular as the Metal Gear series solely because of it's name. That's what the industry is like nowadays, it all boils down to franchise and name sales which really saddens me. People who come up with original content - their games won't be half as noticed as the Final Fantasys, the Devil May Crys and the like. I would happily stop at XII and play the old Final Fantasys again.

In many respects you could easily call yourself a fan if you know when to stop playing the games. I see a difference between a fan and a sort of (oh, I hate this word but it's the only one I can use to describe this group of people) fanboy. Fanboys *shudder* will follow the series wherever it goes, buy all the merchandise and still enjoy the series just because of what it is. Fans however would enjoy the series up until when they feel that it's gone to far or got to poor to continue playing. I fall into the "fan" category and the likelihood is, Final Fantasy XIII will not be in my Playstation 3 in the coming years.

[QUOTE="Somegamer"]

Meh, Final Fantasy X is a good game. It's just if you compare it to other entries in the series it doesn't look half as good.

ffxjunky06

Of course I'm going to compare games to the specific series they're in. I didn't say that because I didn't like Final Fantasy X, I don't like the series, which I think you were trying to imply. I just think that the Final Fantasy series had set itself a standard with the earlier entries in the series and Final Fantasy X didn't continue with that standard. Comparing Final Fantasy X-2 to the rest of the series is fine in my book, what's so bad about it? I really don't understand why it is such a bad thing comparing games with other games in the series: it happens all the time! When Resident Evil 4 came out, everyone compared it to the other entries in the series because it took a major step forward from the formula used in those earlier games. I may be getting your point wrong but personally, I can't see any problem with saying Final Fantasy X doesn't compare with some of the other games in the series and besides, this is a Final Fantasy union, we are bound to look at Final Fantasy games compared to other Final Fantasy games.

Meh, Final Fantasy X is a good game. It's just if you compare it to other entries in the series it doesn't look half as good.

As for the USA-Italy game, it finished 1-1 and there were three red cards. One for Italy (De Rossi) and two for the USA (Mastroeni and Pope). Italy scored through a Pirlo a free kick from just outside the box and Gilardino scored with a diving header. USA scored with a horror own goal from Zaccardo, the Italian attempting a left footed clearance next to his goal and slicing the ball into the net. All three of the red cards were correct decisions and justified in my opinion. De Rossi's elbow in Brian McBride's face was the worst, McBride's face was bleeding horribly after the challenge. Mastroeni tackled Pirlo I think from behind - Fifa has asked the referees to be strict about this. Finally, Eddie pope's red card was due to to yellow cards. Also, USA had a goal disallowed for offside. Kasey Keller got awarded the man of the match award.