So Dissidia comes out twenty-four days from now. I'm psyched. And I thought, how can I share this joy with my GS friends? And then it hit me...POLLS! :P

Please vote and share any other comments you'd like.

Match-up #1: Those Who Fight Further (FFVII) vs. Force Your Way (FFVIII)

Match-up #2: Dark Messenger (FFIX) vs. Seymour Battle (FFX)

Match-up #3: Those Who Fight (FFVII) vs. Don't Be Afraid (FFVIII) vs. Battle 1 (FFIX)

Yeah, I made the last one a three-for-all instead of a duel. I just couldn't come up with a competitive pairing between just two of the three.

Just caught this on GMA this morning. Gave me a good laugh. It probably will for you, too. :)

Short blog today.

I grew tired of my old banner and replaced it with a new one. Bottom line: Zack Fair is awesome, as are Moombas.

I really wish Moombas could become a FF mainstay like chocobos and moogles and cactaurs. Don't you think so? They just look so freakin' cool. Hehe, imagine what they'd look like if they made some sort of cameo in FFXIII...

On a final note, a demo for Dissidia (PSP) is supposedly going to be released today, if anyone's interested. I know I am. It's been kind of annoying only having Youtube vids of gameplay from the Japanese version to look at. Now we'll get to play it some. :)

EDIT (source: Joystiq): This just in! If you choose to preorder Dissidia at Amazon, if you type in the promotional code "SAVE5DIS" at checkout, you'll get an additional $5 off their already low release price of $36.99. Freakin' sweet, I say. :D

It has been thirteen years since I played my first Final Fantasy game, and since that time I have grown very accustomed not just to Final Fantasies, but to Squaresoft and Square Enix's other RPG endeavours. The console ventures, at least, are always incredibly deep and complex, fun to play, full of replayability, and all too memorable for anyone's good. Here's a list of my top five favorite Final Fantasies.

5. Final Fantasy IX

Back when this Final Fantasy first came out, I was not a fan of its predecessor in the least bit. I had grown incredibly bored of the story and frustrated by its battle system by the middle of the second disc. Then came this game. Its claim to "return back to basics" did not affect me in the least bit, as I had only played VII and VIII beforehand. But it was a new Final Fantasy and the battle system seemed more "normal" to me. I never beat the game, but my brother did and I got to see long ending that way. Still, it was fun and I enjoyed my time with IX.

4. Final Fantasy X

My first experience with FFX came in the form of a trailer vid on a demo disc I received from a copy of the Official Playstation Magazine. It had my jaw down to the ground. It was love at first sight. That first released picture of Tidus had me intrigued. Then came news that you could swap out characters whenever you pleased in the midst of battle...and that each character had a unique function for battles (at least initially)...and that your stats and spells and skills were all increased or learned through something called the Sphere Grid. And then there was, you know, the graphics...and the music. Somehow, I got my hands on what I could effectively call a Sampler Soundtrack. Without seeing 99.5% of the actual game's content, those songs had my imagination going wild. And the love affair just grew stronger from there. I convinced all my closest friends (who all had PS2s of their own or bought them in time for this game's release) to buy the game, and they did. It came out right before Christmas '02, and my awesome parents let me play it before Christmas. Thus, it came to pass that the very day my high school let out for Winter Break, I had all my friends over my house for our own personal FFX Launch party. We literally sat in my family room and played the first five or so hours of the game, taking turns every once in a while. It was fantastic. Equally amusing is my memory of the day I came into school absolutely busting to tell my friends about the revelation at Mt. Gagazet's peak. Even though then and still today I feel the game was all too short compared to the three that'd come before it, the story was still wonderful, its sequel was equally as fun and entertaining, and I could not not include this game on this list, especially given my own history with it. :)

3. Final Fantasy XII

I'm going to go ahead and say it right now: The games in this spot and the #2 spot are essentially tied. That's an odd thing to say, given that I haven't played a single solitary second of FFXII. However, I've watched hours of gameplay and that's why this game makes it so high on the list, even above a game that I just spent two paragraphs praising like crazy. Any game (and actually, this is the first and only time thus far in my life, at least that I can recall (and I have a great memory)) that is absolutely mesmerizing and fun just to watch is a great game indeed. I'm never bored when watching someone play this game. I've watched my friend Steve play over fifteen hours of this game, for crying out loud. I just bought a copy for myself two weeks ago (reason? My old PS2 had been dead for years and I decided to finally buy a new one.).

What do I love about this game...the Espers. The song that plays while summoning or fighting Espers. Balthier. The open battle encounters. The MMO-esque battle system. The Gambit system. The License Board. Quickenings. The antiquated, magical quality of the settings. And yet, I haven't played a lick of the game myself. Funny, huh? I can't wait to, though. I just know I'm going to love it. Because back when I first saw the game in action, it was at my friend Mike's house, a mutual friend of Steve's and mine. He introduced the game to the two of us and we got to watch him battle two Espers, Chaos and Cuchulainn. It was nuts watching his characters' health fluctuate so much, so many near death experiences and close calls, seeing the Quickenings and the License Board for the first time. It was all just too awesome to grasp. That excitement still lives inside me. I cannot wait to play the game. I'm sure it'll be great.

2. Final Fantasy VIII

So I didn't like this game back in '99. But I was an eighth grader then. Perhaps the story was too sappy for me. Perhaps too complex? Perhaps it was the Junction system that was too complex for my younger self. When I visited the game a second time, deciding to give it a second chance, three years ago, it was a totally different game to me. I was in love.

There was nothing like leveling Squall to level 30+ before the end of the first disc, being able to draw Tornado from birds outside Galbadia (?) as a result, and waltzing into the final battle of the disc with over 6.5k health. Then, later on, having things like Recover and Mug and being able to Junction Death to a weapon for instant kills. The game, in every way, felt a lot more comfortable and enjoyable once I grew up a bit more. I still haven't beat this one, but I definitely look forward to doing so.

1. Final Fantasy VII

What can I say here that hasn't been said by many other people already many times over? Well, this wasn't my first RPG, so you can cross that off the list. It was my second. But it was my first Final Fantasy. I had never before experienced such an engaging story in a video game before. I had never experienced turn-based combat like that, nor did I previously experience such a wide array of weapons, armor, magic spells, or the awesomeness we know as summons. It was a whole new world and the gameplay, coupled with the soundtrack and very lovable characters, made for a genuine masterpiece that I have loved since I first bought the game. To this day, FFVII is the only game I've ever played that I can beat, watch all the credits of, and then want to immediately start right up at the beginning again. Only since I've downloaded the game onto my PSP very recently did I finally think internally about how dated the graphics are. But when the game itself is so fantastic overall, I still can't find fault with that.

There's something wrong with me. I recently spent lots of money on the new PSP, the new PS2, and a few used games, and now I'm browsing for another game. It's all because of my cousin.

I get to blame my cousin for a lot of things, but in this case it's the fact that he was the first person I knew to own a PS1. By owning said PS1, he introduced me to my second RPG ever, Final Fantasy VII, as well as introduced me to Jumping Flash! and Wipeout. I can't recall how much I played Wipeout at his house. I remember my brother and I hounding him to play through all of Jumping Flash! time and time again with us merely watching. But anyway, I've always had a thing for Wipeout because it just looks so cool.

Which brings us to the present predicament. I am aware of two Wipeout games out for the PSP, Pure and Pulse. I also know of some of the differences between the two. Pure has the capacity for twice the content it starts with via downloadable content minipacks. Pulse does not have content packs in the US, but it does have the ability to use your own music and it has a neat single player campaign mode where you have to complete races of certain game modes before moving on to the next difficulty. I've read tons of reviews, professional and player, for both games and as far as Pulse is concerned, I keep hearing that it's "too repetitive". Meanwhile, Pure's got a boatload of content. I understand that Pulse probably has better graphics than Pure, since Pure was a launch title, but on Youtube vids, you can't tell the difference and the interface during races is pretty much the same.

So, to any PSP owners out there, which would you recommend for someone (read: me) whose practically a Wipeout newb?

I know I already posted a blog today, but the idea for this one popped into my head on the ride to work this afternoon and I won't be around for the next couple of days. Everyone with an mp3 player of some sort has made at least one playlist. Playlists are always interesting because you never know what someone else is listening to or what they've got on their player as a whole. They're fun for you because you can throw whatever you want into one.

For your amusement, I've listed the contents of my "321Daily" playlist below. This is an ever-changing, ever-evolving playlist that I modify in some way at least once a week. Usually, I go for pumping techno or rock to get me going, but in its current state, it seems to just be a bunch of catchy tunes.

I ask you: Can you get more random than this?

1. Jellyhead - Crush
2. Donkey Kong Country 2 Tricky Swamp Sty1e OC Remix - Siamey
3. You're Gonna Go Far, Kid - The Offspring
4. 155 - +44
5. Hot 'N Cold - Katy Perry
6. Boom Boom Boom Boom - Vengaboys
7. The Animal Song - Savage Garden
8. Level Complete - Jumping Flash! Soundtrack
9. Best Friend - Toy Box
10. The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide is Press Coverage - Panic! at the Disco
11. London Beckoned Songs About Money Written By Machines - Panic! at the Disco
12. Camisado - Panic! at the Disco
13. Time to Dance - Panic! at the Disco
14. Lying is the Most Fun A Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off - Panic! at the Disco
15. But It's Better If You Do - Panic! at the Disco
16. Super Mario 64 Fleeting Ecstasy OC Remix - chthonic
17. No Strings Attached - 'N Sync
18. Boss Battle - Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie (SNES) Soundtrack
19. I Want You - Savage Garden
20. Palm Reader - Third Eye Blind
21. Wounded - Third Eye Blind
22. Force Your Way - Final Fantasy VIII Soundtrack
23. Fame ("less than" symbol) Infamy - Fall Out Boy
24. Thriller - Fall Out Boy
25. Poker Face - Lady Gaga
26. Just Dance - Lady Gaga
27. Please Don't Leave Me - Pink
28. Boom Boom Pow - Black Eyed Peas
29. Right Round - Flo Rida
30. Life is Beautiful - Sixx A.M.
31. Attack - 30 Seconds to Mars
32. Genesis of Next (from Cyborg009) - Globe
33. Brand New Day - Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog Soundtrack
34. My Eyes - Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog Soundtrack
35. I Gotta Feeling - Black Eyed Peas
36. So Human - Lady Sovereign
37. I Know You Want Me - Pitbull

I beat Suikoden Tierkreis around 2am this morning. Here's my review of the game. :)

• Very sleek.
• I love that there isn't a uniformly sized memory stick that you are forced to use (like the PS1 15-slot ones or the PS2 8MB ones).
• I love that you use little memory sticks to store game demos, downloaded games, and game saves.
• Portable PS1 games are so awesome.
• Crisis Core had me at hello. Talk about a great first impression of what the PSP is capable of.

Now that I own a PSP, I'm starting to think upon that whole "PSP vs. DS" argument. I mean, I've been a very active DS gamer since its launch and it's been great. The DS has too many great games for the average person to afford. But then its competition displays far superior graphics, can let you create as many gamesaves as you want, and does lots of other things I probably haven't even discovered yet. How is this possible?! On paper, it seems like the PSP should be on top, if not by just a little. The answer is simple: very accessible games designed to be enjoyed by kids and adults alike. That's how Nintendo usually wins out.

I can give more credit to Sony now, though. They've got a really great handheld.

Now one can only hope that Nintendo's next gen handheld has a freakin' analog stick and GOOD 3D graphics (hopefully) akin to the Gamecube's, but better. I'm kind of getting sick of the fact that Nintendo systems never boast as good a graphics machine as their competition and the fact that DS owners must contend with clearly inferior versions of games being released on multiple platforms. Why the heck does that have to be the case?

Yes, the guy who for years has been all about the DS and has sworn he would never buy a PSP...has bought a PSP. It happened yesterday. Because two days ago, I learned that FF7 had been released on the PSN. If you want to know the way to my heart, it's by giving me a new way to play FF7. Portable FF7 sounds like pure win in theory, and seeing vids on Youtube of this theory in action dang well almost made me make a mess of myself. I was in grade school again, over at my cousin's house, watching him try to tame a chocobo by the ranch...and months later, watching him narrowly live through Sephiroth's devastating summon spell, Nova (you know, the comet that blows a hole through Jupiter and causes it to explode). Those are gaming memories I'll never forget, just like how I can remember a couple of times when this same cousin was over our house while we were trying to defeat a really tough boss in Super Mario RPG and he was on calculator duty, helping us calculate how much health the boss had left (yeah, my brother and I played RPGs like total noobs back in the day...but really, it was our first RPG. FF7 was our second and no, we didn't use calculators for that. We'd already moved on from that.).

My brother also never planned on buying a PSP; that is, until I told him that I'd heard that they were making a remake of Final Fantasy Tactics for Sony's handheld. Next to Legend of Dragoon, it's his favorite game EVER. So it wasn't a matter of going against loyalty or stern decisions made in the past. All sense of reason was abandoned in a second, and he had his PSP in time for his 19th birthday and I gave him his first game, FF Tactics.

This is the equivalent situation for me. I have just about 30 games now in my DS collection, and I was perfectly content just being a DS owner this gaming generation. And then portable FF7 came along and my inhibitions flew away just like that. Thank God I had some spare money. I feel guilty about buying it, but I know I'll play it. Honestly, I don't care if it's the only game I ever have for the system (which is already not true, because I bought a used copy of Crisis Core yesterday). At least now I have one and I can stop being jealous if a PSP game I would have been interested in is released. I know now that in general, I need to be REALLY thrifty and conservative in deciding which, if any, DS and PSP games I buy for the foreseeable future. There are some DS games, for example, that are absolute must-buys, such as the second Layton game and Golden Sun DS. But something like Scribblenauts...it sounds cool, and is certainly getting lots of high praise, but now that I've dropped like $200 on Sony-related items, I can't take even the slightest gamble on a game. My financial health cannot afford to take such a risk.

I seem to be digressing an awful lot. Well, allow me to digress again by closing this post with a question or two. As you know, I plan on downloading FF7 off the PSN. I ask this to any PSP owners out there: Is it possible for me to dl the game onto my computer, stick my MemStick into my HD tower, cut and paste it onto the stick, and then put the stick in my PSP to play it? On the PSN site, it keeps mentioning a USB cable but I don't see why that's necessary. And, I'd dl right onto the PSP, but my internet is dodgy and I doubt I'd even be able to connect.

Bad: I've decided to quit WoW, for the third time. Between my internet not letting me connect to the game 90% of the time, my guild officially stating it's not a "raiding guild" and therefore deciding to stop raiding altogether even though we're freakin' fantastic at it, my new best friend halfway across the continent (the guy I was writing the RP story with) finding a girlfriend and dropping off the radar completely (though I'm very happy for him), and the fact there's nothing for a Seeker/Loremaster/non-PvPer to do besides raid, there's no longer anything in it for me. I'd rather save my money, tyvm, than blow it standing around in Dalaran shouting "Want to run heroics. Will pay" or some crap like that.

Bad: I had an interview for what would have been a great job at a really nice high school...but I found out yesterday I didn't get the job. Something about my personality...yeah, I'm gonna go reinvent myself as a selfish, mean-spirited b**tard. I think then I'll be more of a worthwhile candidate.

Bad: I almost passed out in my car while driving to work today. Oh yeah. Good times. I've always thought that if I started to feel real dizzy that I'd immediately think to put the car in park and put the hazard lights on, but my mind went absolutely blank and I just sat there as my vision blurred up just hoping the light would turn green. So much for my safety plan. At least I didn't pass out.

Good: My dad and I have been reorganizing the unfinished half of our basement and we stumbled across all my Scouting memorabilia. Patches, neckerchiefs, pins, books. In case I've never mentioned it, I'm an Eagle Scout and ridiculously proud of it. Becoming reacquainted with these treasured relics of a major aspect of my past has been the only thing that has made the last week livable. Truly.

If I wasn't so sure that eventually things will turn out okay for me, I really think I would have hit bottom this week. Either that, or I would have passed out in the car, coasted at about 3mph into the middle of a major intersection and gotten myself killed as a result of being involved in a major accident, whilst unconscious.

A guy can only take so much of this before he snaps.