I just know that I finished Xenoblade over a month ago and I still have "This is the Monados power!" and "We can really do this!" stuck in my head.

I agree with Lard.  I NEVER play my Wii, dusted it off for Xenoblade in December and thought it was a fantastic game.

Cool I'll pick it up.  I just got a ps2 to play all the titles I missed out on, I had an Xbox back in the day(wednesday).

I'll check it out!  What platform did it originally come out on?  I think most of 2013 will be spent catching up on all the ps1/ps2 games I missed.  There's a lot....

Hmmm.  I think the Final Fantasy name absolutely comes with a label of quality.  The production values are top notch.  That doesn't mean that every game is great, or that I LIKE every game, but I feel like there is a level of quality from those titles that can be counted on.  Maybe we are mixing up our definitions of high quality.  I see it as is this game polished, does it accomplish what it sets out to do, how does it run? 

I'm stupid addicted to Zorn and Thorns theme "Jesters of the Moon".

I recently got a ps2 and am playing through final fantasy ix right now.  I'm debating whether to play through X or XII next.  I've never played either one.

I never beat the first one.  I had it on gamefly and sent it back after a month.  I am almost done with Anor Londo if I remember correctly.  I'm contemplating going back to this before Dark Souls 2, but at the same time the story in that game isn't why you play so maybe I'll just wait for Dark Souls 2.

Too late...

First journal posted.  17 hours in.  If you have any questions then ask away!
http://www.rpgfan.com/boards/index.php?topic=9193.4470

Final Fantasy IX Journal: About 17 hours In

Note:  This game is over a decade old but it should be noted that SPOILERS will be in this log.
     
Story/Characters:  I just got to Lindblum for the second time.  I like the story and characters, I don't LOVE them but they are good.  Garnet and Zidane interact well and Vivi seems kind of awesome.  I'm really interested in seeing the part he has to play in the endgame.  Steiner is good for a few laughs but for the most part he is whatever.  I did laugh when Zidane was in a shop and saw a suit of armor and said something like "Who would ever buy that rusty thing?", then a few minutes later you are in the shop with Steiner and he looks at it and wants to buy it.  Things like that add quite a bit to the game  world in my opinion.  I also enjoyed when Zidane asked a girl out to go flying or whatever, then forgot who he had asked and hit Garnet up about it.  Those are just little things, but to me it's things like that that really make me enjoy the world within and rpg.  At this point the story on a grand scale isn't really good or bad.  It isn't anything new, but maybe it doesn't have to be.  It's engaging enough to draw me back to the game. 

Battle System:  At first it didn't seem like much, but now I'm addicted to leveling equipment up and gaining the abilities.  We'll see what happens, I have done very little grinding so far.  I think that the way the leveling is set up it might make grinding a little more enjoyable.  I was pretty excited when I got AUTO POTION for Zidane.  I just got Garnets first Eidolon but I haven't used him yet.  I sure hope the cinematic for his spell isn't like the ones in Final Fantasy VIII.  Those were soooo long, about the 5000 time I summoned Ifrit I wanted him to die.

Card Game: I've only played a couple games, meh.  It doesn't seem like anything exciting.  I'll try to play more before the next game journal.

Dislikes:  Meeting new characters and not being able to tell what they look like because of the dated graphics.  Random Encounters.  When I get pushed out to the World Map I tend to want to get right to where the story is leading me.  It's very frustrating when I take two steps, encounter a random battle, take two steps and encounter another one.  Then after a few minutes of making my way across the map I realize that I am at a dead end and have to turn around.  To me, this is where the game shows its age.  I think that that type of design is rare these days and I think it's a good thing.

Random Thoughts:  I like the cut scenes without voice actors, it really makes the developer use the characters expressions to convey what is happening.  The other thing I realized is that I would never want to play this game if it was "voiced".  Some of the things that are said would just sound ridiculous coming out of my tv.  It works when I have to read it.  If Steiner was voiced.....I would want to kill him.

So far:  I'm having a great time.  It's such a fun silly world, I hope I am only 1/3 of the way through this experience.

Thanks!

I have no doubt that Prince of Persia will come back, but I don't think we will see Elika or that world again.  Which is a shame.  They had a lot of options for a sequel with the ending that the first one had.

Agreed.  What really gets me is how did they not see this coming?  I like to think of it on a purely monetary level.  Put the arguments against the Real Money Auction House aside.  It exists and you want to make as much money as possible.  You want people constantly needing items in order to go to the Auction House.  Working on that logic, why would you design a game where you only ever need to create ONE Barbarian.  It doesn't make any sense.  I wouldn't call myself a hardcore Diablo 2 player, but I played enough.  Over the course of about 6 years I probably started 12 Paladins from scratch.  I will never start another Barbarian in Diablo 3.  Why would I?  I can just change my build to suit me for that minute.  The RMAH and the skill system as it is don't even work together on a fiscal level.  Odd.

I own The Last Story and Xenoblade.  I kind of feel obligated to support this game, and more importantly XSEED.  XSEED really deserves to be commended for the fan service they do.